Home Salesforce.com Buys a Crowdsourcing Company

Salesforce.com Buys a Crowdsourcing Company

Salesforce.com is acquiring Jigsaw for $142 million in a deal that exemplifies how crowdsourcing has entered the business world.

Sugar CRM also uses Jigsaw for business directory information. The deal should cast a shadow on that relationship. Sugar CRM and Salesfore.com compete in the social CRM market. Salesforce.coms says the Jigsaw service will continue to be available on other platforms besides its own.

Jigsaw uses a Wikipedia-style crowd-sourcing model to deliver up-to-date business contact data. Salesforce.com see the company’s crowdsourcing methods as a leap in improvement over traditional enterprise data management models that require expensive integration and dedicated maintenance to keep the records updated.

Jigsaw’s crowdsourcing model leverages contact data from its community. The data is usually what is found on a business card, including name, title, company, mailing address, business telephone number and email address.

Jigsaw.com community members can access the database and accumulate points by helping maintain the quality of the information. The points may be used to access additional information.

Companies may purchase contact data from the service. Jigsaw also provides a subscription service that automates data cleansing services to update and improve the quality of the information for the end user.

Salesforce.com recently launched Salesforce Chatter. The company says Jigsaw will be integrated to allow for updates in contact information through real-time feeds.

But isn’t data becoming a commodity? Crowdsourcing techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated and there are lots of options out there. And then there is the veracity of the updated contact information.

Sales contacts are a company’s crown jewels. It may work for the small company seeking to beef up its lead pool but for the larger organization it may be just fine to use those enterprise technologies that Salesforce.com loves to kick.

On the flip side, it’s a different economic reality that we all face and low cost pools of data can be invaluable to companies.

Additionally, crowdsourcing helps companies use the information of the crowd to build its business. That’s the force Salesforce.com hopes will come with the Jigsaw purchase.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.