9 October 2024

Big News Alert: Salesforce Buys Tableau Software – What Does This Mean for Your Small Business?

By Ronald Smith

Big News Alert: Salesforce Buys Tableau Software – What Does This Mean for Your Small Business?

In one of the biggest company deals ever, Salesforce has just purchased Tableau Software for a whopping $15.7 billion. This acquisition is expected to ignite a fierce competition between Salesforce and Microsoft in the world of data analytics and visualization, specifically within the CRM industry.

I reached out to a few industry experts to get their insights on how this acquisition will impact small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The Potential Impact of Salesforce’s Acquisition of Tableau Software

Brent Leary, a Co-founder and Partner at CRM Essentials LLC, believes that the effects of this acquisition will eventually trickle down to small businesses, based on their specific data needs.

It’s clear that this acquisition was primarily meant to cater to the larger enterprises and their customers. However, I can also foresee it having an impact on smaller customers at some point in the future, he explains.

The Small Business Market

I want to talk to you about Salesforce Essentials, a product specifically designed for small businesses. The interesting thing is that this product is built on the same platform as the enterprise-grade version that was involved in the deal. So, this means that even smaller players can benefit from Salesforce’s expertise, although it may take some time.

Now, let me explain why there is a growing need for Salesforce’s help among small businesses.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have an increasing amount of data at their disposal. And with that data, their need for data visualization also grows. This is where Salesforce comes in. With this acquisition, they now have the necessary tools to assist small businesses with visualizing their data.

Data Visualization

Have you ever seen charts, maps, and graphs, or those interactive images on dashboard screens? Well, all of these are examples of data visualization. They help make complex information easier to understand compared to just rows of numbers. By using analytics, Salesforce can organize and transform the data into these visual images, making it much more accessible for businesses.

Wow, Salesforce is really making a big move here. The price they’re willing to pay for Tableau is over double what they paid for MuleSoft last year. And let’s not forget about Microsoft’s Power BI, which is direct competition for Tableau when it comes to data visualization.

Organizing CRM Data

The main goal for businesses is to have more accurate sales forecasts, and that’s exactly what they’re hoping to achieve with this acquisition. But that’s not all! This acquisition will also help businesses make better use of their CRM data.

Now, let me explain why this is especially important for small businesses that want to automate their processes. As the amount of data continues to grow at a rapid pace, small businesses will need powerful tools like Tableau to assist them. They’ll need to quickly analyze information in order to make faster and better decisions. And by doing that, they’ll be able to provide the kind of top-notch services and experiences that their customers expect from them.

Streamlining Workflows

When we use workflow automation tools, we can make decisions faster and more accurately. This helps us do things more efficiently.

I think Salesforce, a business platform, will continue to focus on things like data integration, analytics, and artificial intelligence. These areas are becoming more and more important.

Another expert, Byron Matthews, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Miller Heiman Group, thinks this acquisition will have a big impact on the sales industry. He says that many sales organizations have to use 10 different technology tools, but this deal should make things simpler and easier.