IBM today announced it would acquire Bluewolf, a trendsetting cloud consultation and implementation company that has been one of Salesforce.com’s most crucial partners. Bluewolf has done thousands of Salesforce implementations for enterprises that include Australia Post, Pernod Ricard, Stanley Black & Decker, and Vodafone. The company will become part of IBM iX.
“In 2001, Bluewolf became Salesforce’s first consulting services partner and today continues to occupy a unique position within the Salesforce consulting ecosystem as one of its most strategic and successful pure-play partners,” said Bluewolf CEO Eric Berridge in a statement announcing the IBM agreement. “We have since expanded our business model and market experience…across the world. Now I believe we have the perfect alliance as part of the IBM iX team.” Berridge added that he expected Bluewolf to remain a committed Salesforce partner.
IBM Interactive Experience, or IBM iX, describes itself as a next-generation services company executing strategy, creative, and digital and mobile systems to help clients “get to the future first.” The IBM unit looks forward to tapping into Bluewolf’s experience in healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, and public sector verticals.
Though he was unsure of IBM’s reasoning behind the acquisition, CRM expert Paul Greenberg, founder of The 56 Group, commented that Bluewolf was a “highly successful and smart Salesforce partner that was wise enough to not only execute well, but to add some thought leadership, as well.”
CRM Essentials consultant Brent Leary said IBM pays homage to Salesforce’s marketplace prowess with the move. “I think IBM expects Salesforce’s Lightning Experience platform will eventually provide valuable consulting and professional services opportunities, and that they want to get a significant piece of the action.”
