CRM company Salesforce.com said January 6 that it has acquired enterprise application development firm Dimdim for approximately $31 million in cash.
San Francisco, CA-based Salesforce.com will leverage Dimdim’s real-time communications technologies to enhance its Chatter collaboration platform. More than 60,000 customers have used Chatter since it was deployed in June.
The Dimdim purchase will allow Salesforce.com to offer an integrated collaboration and communications platform, the company said. The company expects it to drive greater Chatter adoption, increase customer loyalty and differentiate its product portfolio.
“With Dimdim, we gain important communication technologies and an exciting team of developers,” said George Hu, EVP of platforms and marketing at Salesforce.com, on an investor conference call about the purchase. “This acquisition provides the foundation for future growth in the market.”
Salesforce.com did not disclose additional details about its plans for Dimdim. The company did state that Dimdim will not be sold as a standalone platform. The success of Facebook as a real-time collaboration tool was cited during the call as a reason Salesforce.com bought Dimdim.
“It will take us some time to iron out the road map. But think of the things you already do on Facebook, such as presence – when you see the green dot and know your friends are online and that you can communicate with them in real-time,” said Kendall Collins, CMO at Salesforce.com. “That ability presents an opportunity to completely change how you work.”
Dimdim was founded in 2007. It has offices in Lowell, MA, and in India.
