Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Parature, a provider of cloud-based customer-engagement solutions. Parature’s social customer service tools, including live chat, are becoming increasingly important due to the shift from laptop and desktop computers to mobile devices, especially tablets. Zach’s Investment Research says that it anticipates that this acquisition will help Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM software to compete more effectively against the likes of Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM). The terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.
Parature’s approach to its solutions enables organizations to take advantage of an extendable knowledge base available through self-service portals on the Web and Facebook, support ticketing, mobile customer care on virtually any device the customer chooses to use, social customer support, and chat for both traditional customer service scenarios and proactive sales engagement to create new, revenue-generating opportunities for the business. These capabilities complement the existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer-care solution with core strengths in workflow, extensibility and process-driven user experiences that allow contact center agents to do their best work.
As a provider of cloud-based customer service software to midsize and enterprise organizations, Parature has 70 million users worldwide and more than 500 well-known brands, including Ask.com, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, IBM, Saba Software Inc., Tagged Inc. and Threadless. The company also received the 2013 Frost & Sullivan Customer Value Enhancement Award for using social media to help organizations deliver outstanding customer service.
Currently, social media data has become a very important tool for companies to understand their target audience. Microsoft’s CRM software already equips organizations with advanced cloud-based technologies that increase the efficiency of their operations, solve complex business challenges and improve resource allocation. It also facilitates communication and collaboration among the state and local government offices and reduces IT expenses of these organizations and their partners across the world.
“Customers are more connected and better informed than ever before. Organizations are looking for business solutions that can strengthen their ability to connect with customers on their own terms, using whatever device and whatever channel they prefer,” said Bob Stutz, corporate vice president, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Parature is a perfect fit for every business and will enable us to offer customers one of the best cloud-based solutions for customer self-service. This is a compelling combination for organizations committed to delivering the best service experience that consistently exceeds their customers’ expectations.”
Microsoft will continue to offer Parature solutions and support all new and existing customers as the company works to further enhance these offerings.
For more information on the law and business of cloud computing, please see:
- Cloud Computing 2014: Cut Through the Fluff & Tackle the Critical Stuff
- Cybersecurity, Mobile Payments, Cloud Computing and the Internet of Things
Tags: cloud computing, Microsoft
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