SaaS business application provider Workday is acquiring Zimit -- which develops configure price quote (CPQ) software built specifically for services industries. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close before November 2021.
This is technology M&A deal number 555 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Will Workday, Zimit Tackle Quote-to-Cash Automation for MSPs?
Workday will leverage Zimit to offer quote-to-cash process automation in such service industries as communications, media, technology, and professional and business services.
Zimit and Workday have a history of working together. Indeed, a 2020 integration connected Workday Professional Services Automation (PSA) and Zimit Configure Price Quote (CPQ) to one another. That integration "takes customer project or service opportunities, provides a services-centric quote and proposal, and transitions it to Workday PSA to create the customer contract and project details," the companies say.
Read between the lines, and the Workday-Zimit combination could potentially compete with MSP-friendly software tools such as ConnectWise Sell (formerly Quosal) and ConnectWise Manage, and Quotewerks. Still, Workday is better known as an HR and financial management software provider to enterprise and midmarket accounts, rather than the MSP-driven SMB sector.
Workday Acquires Zimit: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, Workday Executive VP Pete Schlampp said:
“Zimit changed the game with its proprietary pricing engine and is one of the first — and only — companies to provide services quotes in a matter of minutes. Bringing Zimit into the Workday community is a natural fit and aligns with our mutual goal to automate complex finance processes.”
Added James Cramer, co-founder and co-CEO, Zimit:
“We’ve seen the tremendous value Workday customers realize when they streamline manual processes and move their services quotes and pricing to the cloud with Zimit CPQ. By joining forces with Workday, we’ll continue to innovate with a leader in cloud finance software and further our mutual goal to drive finance and business transformation at scale.”
Workday Partnerships, Investments and Acquisitions
Meanwhile, Workday has been busy inking strategic partnerships, making investments and occasionally buying software companies. Key moves include:
- inking a major Google Cloud partnership;
- investing in revenue management software startup Clari; and
- acquiring employee experience software provider Peakon ApS for $700 million.
Workday’s core SaaS applications focus on financial management, human capital management, enterprise planning, spend management, talent management, payroll and workforce management, analytics and reporting, and professional services automation (PSA). Key rivals include Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft and other enterprise application providers.
