Austin Security Software Being Purchased By salesforce.com

Toopher purchase comes after year-long negotiations, but talks on acquisitions did not commence till early this year

Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) has announced the acquisition of Toopher Inc., an authentication software maker. The San Francisco based enterprise cloud computing solutions firm provided no financial details. Toopher Inc, an Austin-based software security firm, was founded in 2011, and is involved in developing a two-level security login system that operates through a combination of a password and the user’s smartphone global positioning system (GPS). It has deployed such a system for the University of Texas’ 24000 staff and faculty, which was installed in August 2014.

Interestingly, negotiations between Toopher CEO, Josh Alexander, and salesforce.com’s top executives took place in the same year. However, those were just the warm-ups that eventually lead to the formal commencement of acquisition talks early this year, till it reached to this point.

Once the acquisition takes place, all of the company’s 17 employees will be transferred into the ownership of salesforce.com. They will be working for the cloud-computing service company; however, they will still hold the same position as present. Market analysts and experts have critically acclaimed and supported the idea of acquisition. This marks the future prospects of the company.

The software giant has been able to finance its rapid operations successfully ever since it was founded. In August 2014, the company was able to raise $790,599 out of a planned $815,765 financing from 14 investors. More than a month ago, as per the filings of the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission, it was able to raise $200,000 out of a planned $300,000 from four venture capitalists.

It is an indication of the fast growth experienced by the company and there was little reason for salesforce.com to consider the option of acquiring the company seriously. Mr. Alexander has welcomed the acquisition with open arms, saying that it will be able to generate greater synergies between the two companies, with salesforce.com providing their cloud-computing solutions, and Toopher providing security software.

Meanwhile, the company is reportedly nearing the end of its development stage of constructing a third level security layer based on gesture, which can allow the users to protect their accounts conveniently. The layer is embedded in the system software and can be accessed with a single swipe of a finger. This development has been ongoing since the company unveiled its plan in mid-2013.

Salesforce.com’s stock price ended the day trading at $66.08, down 1.10% on the previous day, despite the acquisition news, when a deal was finalized by Wednesday morning, and one that will help salesforce.com ‘secure’ itself from threats in the near future.