Why Indian IT firms are spending billions to gain Salesforce expertise

Core Insights - Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has made its largest acquisition since going public by acquiring Coastal Cloud for $700 million, marking the seventeenth acquisition of a Salesforce-centric firm by Indian software services providers in the past decade, highlighting the growing importance of Salesforce products as AI transforms businesses [1][9] Group 1: Acquisitions and Financials - Over the past decade, Indian IT services providers have invested at least $2 billion in acquiring firms to enhance their customer management software offerings, indicating a trend towards deeper reliance on customer data for insights and automation [3] - TCS's acquisition of Coastal Cloud follows its earlier purchase of ListEngage for $73 million, with the combined cost of these acquisitions exceeding any large client contract TCS secured in the past two years [10] - Salesforce reported $37.9 billion in revenue for the last year, a 9% increase from the previous year, while TCS reported $30.18 billion in revenue for FY25, making it slightly smaller than Salesforce [8] Group 2: Market Trends and Strategic Shifts - The focus on Salesforce systems is becoming critical for IT firms as they seek to leverage AI capabilities to boost revenue amid uncertain demand, with Salesforce projecting only 10% growth for FY26 [6] - Analysts suggest that the shift towards AI-led consulting and multi-cloud Salesforce services is essential for IT firms to remain competitive, especially as traditional growth strategies show limited potential [7][11] - The fragmented nature of the Salesforce ecosystem is driving acquisitions as a faster route to market compared to building capabilities from scratch [15] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has been the most active acquirer among top Indian IT firms, having made multiple acquisitions focused on CRM, while TCS has been slower to engage in this trend [12][13] - Mid-cap IT firms have also been proactive in acquiring Salesforce-specialized companies, with several notable acquisitions occurring as early as 2016, indicating a broader trend across the industry [16][17] - Smaller IT firms may benefit more from Salesforce-related acquisitions due to their domain-specific focus, which can drive faster growth in niche markets [18]