Salesforce to Invest $2.2 Billion in its French Business Over Five Years

Salesforce pledges to invest in growth, innovation and customer success in France prior to meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during his state visit to the U.S.

Announcement follows Salesforce’s being named the #1 CRM provider in France based on 2016 Market Share revenue by Gartner and ranked #1 by Great Place to Work in France

Leading French companies, including AccorHotels, AXA, Michelin and PSA, are powering their digital transformations with Salesforce

Salesforce employees in France commit to volunteer 20,000 hours in their local communities in 2018

WASHINGTON and PARIS—April 24, 2018—Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced plans to invest $2.2 billion in its French business over the next five years.

The company made the announcement to French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of an event in his honor during his first state visit to the United States. Salesforce President & Chief Financial Officer Mark Hawkins will attend the event at the U.S. State Department, hosted by Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence.

Salesforce is experiencing rapid growth in France and plans to significantly increase its headcount, real estate footprint and data center capacity in the country to support its growing customer base.

"France is home to some of the world’s most respected and innovative brands, and a growing number are turning to Salesforce to power their digital transformations,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. “We see tremendous opportunity in France and with this investment, Salesforce will continue to drive outstanding growth, innovation and customer success in the country."

Salesforce: #1 CRM, #1 Best Place to Work in France

Salesforce is the #1 CRM provider in France and is also the fastest growing among the three largest enterprise software vendors in the region according to Gartner Inc.’s April 2017 Market Share All Software Markets, Worldwide, 2016 market share report, based on 2016 total software revenue.

Leading French companies including AccorHotels, AXA, Michelin and PSA, as well as many small and mid-sized businesses including Good Goût, Leetchi and Petzl, use Salesforce to connect with their customers in a whole new way across sales, service, marketing, commerce and more.

In March, Salesforce was named the #1 Best Place to Work in France, highlighting the company’s focus on its employees, values and culture.

Salesforce Ecosystem Fueling French Economic Growth

Salesforce and its ecosystem of customers and partners in France will create more than 37,100 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs by 2022, and $24.3 billion in new business revenue according to research by IDC.

Additionally, French Trailblazers have earned more than 162,000 badges on Trailhead — Salesforce’s free, gamified online learning platform — acquiring the skills needed to succeed in today’s technology-driven economy and be a part of Salesforce’s flourishing ecosystem.

Salesforce is investing in innovation in France through Salesforce Ventures’ $100 million EMEA Fund. Salesforce Ventures has invested in innovative French companies including Augment, Devenson, FollowAnalytics, OpenDataSoft and Sigfox. Since 2008, Salesforce has acquired French companies InStranet, EntropySoft, and Kerensen Consulting. The company has also established research and development centers in Paris and Grenoble.

Salesforce’s Commitment to Giving Back in France

Salesforce.org leverages Salesforce’s technology, people and resources to give back to communities around the world. As part of the announcement, Salesforce employees in France are committing to volunteer 20,000 hours in their local communities in 2018.

Local employees volunteered more than 16,000 hours in 2017 with local nonprofits including ParisCode, an ongoing initiative of the city of Paris aimed at training 1,000 developers by 2020, and Lightforce, an initiative of the French Salesforce employees aimed to ensure access to electric lighting to a community in Kenya.

Salesforce.org has also donated nearly $400,000 in strategic grants to the local community in France and more than 175 French nonprofits — including Cultural Action for Alzheimer’s and Handicap International — use Salesforce for free or at a discounted rate.

Additional Information
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