(AOF) – Remote customer relationship management solutions provider Salesforce is in advanced talks to acquire data management software provider Informatica, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal. Informatica has a market capitalization of more than $11 billion, after its shares rose 43% this year as traders bet on a buyout.
A potential complicating factor: The price discussed is below Informatica’s closing stock price, which stood at $38.48 on Friday after its recent rise.
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Beautiful dynamics
According to the latest Truffle 100 ranking, the sector’s total turnover in France jumped 15% last year to cross the 25 billion euro mark. The sector has benefited from an unprecedented growth rate and confirms its recovery after the health crisis. The average annual growth over fifteen years is 12 times higher than that of GDP! Dassault Systèmes retains first place with more than 5.6 billion euros in revenue last year. Cegid, specialist in software for accountants, and the fintech Murex are placed in second and third position with respectively 791 and 711 million euros in turnover. Polarization is one of the characteristics of the sector: the gap in turnover between the 50th and the 100th publisher has increased further in 2022 to reach almost 28 million euros. Performance was improved as the profitability rate (as a percentage of turnover) increased from 9.1% to 10.4%. The outlook is good because artificial intelligence, seen as revolutionary, is expected to drive the market in 2023, as is cybersecurity.
Find out more about the IT / ESN sector (digital service companies)
Moving forward in generative AI
Digital companies have already started to adapt their offers and practices to this development, which combines ChatGPT and information systems. The most developed use cases concern call centers with the intervention of chatbots or in marketing, to generate text or images automatically. The potential is enormous and Accenture France aims to achieve 30% of its activity with the data & AI niche by 2025. World market leader, Accenture has announced $3 billion in investment over three years in this area, with a doubling in the number of dedicated employees to reach 80,000 (out of 738,000 in total). As for the French leader in the sector, Capgemini, it is targeting an investment of 2 billion euros over the next three years, and 60,000 specialized employees (out of 360,000 currently).
Artificial intelligence now regulated in Europe
An attempt was made to find a balance between the desire to protect the fundamental rights of citizens and the desire not to restrict the development of European start-ups. The French and German associations of digital companies, Numeum and Bitkom, had also called for a European regulation on artificial intelligence (AI Act) favorable to innovation for AI in Europe and without overly restrictive rules, particularly for generative AI. The European approach is to impose obligations for high-risk AI systems, rated from low to unacceptable. For the regulation of generative AI (ChatGPT type systems), the EU has established stronger requirements for the most powerful models.