Pune-based Persistent Systems Ltd, a software product and technology services provider has struck its sixth M&A deal after going public in 2010. According to VCcircle, the company has acquired Pune and California based CloudSquads Inc, an enterprise social apps platform, for an undisclosed sum.
The latest acquisition is being looked upon as an addition to Persistent’s growing clout over the SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) technology. Sharing more about the development Ranga Puranik, President, Persistent Systems added that, “CloudSquads complements our software product development and SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) technology expertise with consulting, IP connectors and implementation services around social community platforms.”
The news is a big one for CloudSquads which boasts of transforming social conversations into measurable ROI. The company was founded in 2009 by Ashish Seth and Henry Bruckstein. Since then CloudSquads has been in the business of strategy for engaging with consumers across all customer facing functions including brand, marketing, sales and support.
The company believes that social communities are the next step of evolution for the corporate web presence. Over the last few years CloudSquads has worked with some renowned global brands such as GE, Comcast, BT, among others.
Earlier acquisitions of Persistent Systems
Persistent Systems, a specialized global player software product and technology services, has been quite aggressive in M&A deals after it went public four years back. The company that operates from Pune has made its last acquisition in 2012 when it acquired location business from Openwave Systems Inc. at an undisclosed amount.
Prior to that in 2011 Peristent had acquired Agilent Technologies‘ software marketing and development business based in Grenoble, France. During that time it was the second acquisition by Persistent after it had raised Rs. 167 crore from the capital markets. Earlier in the same year, it acquired outsourced product development (OPD) business of Infospectrum Inc. and its Indian unit – Infospectrum India Private Limited for $6 million.
The latest acquisition of CloudSquads is expected to be completed during Q2 2014.
Developments in the SMAC space
Going by the trends the latest acquisition looks interesting when most of Persistent’s competitors are investing aggressively in SMAC. Flashing through the recent developments in the space – the country’s largest IT services firm, TCS, had set up a new business unit – Digital Software and Solutions Group, focused on industry-tailored digital solutions to help customers make the transition of adopting emerging technologies.
Prior to this in the beginning of Q4 2013, TCS was in the news for setting up a digital enterprise unit in Silicon Valley to club its social, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC) computing technology services under a single roof.
While TCS has been slightly ahead in investing in services like SMAC, other IT firms – Wipro, Infosys, HCL and Cognizant are not out of the race. The market for SMAC gets even more interesting with Persistent’s latest acquisition.
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