Salesforce wants to deliver more automated field service using IoT data "Our acquisition of ClickSoftware will not only accelerate the growth of Service Cloud, but drive further innovation with Field Service Lightning to better meet the needs of our customers," Bill Patterson, EVP and GM of Salesforce Service Cloud said in a statement announcing the deal. ClickSoftware is actually older than Salesforce having been founded in 1997. The company went public in 2000, and remained listed until it went private again in 2015 in a deal with private equity company Francisco Partners, which bought it for $438 million. Francisco did alright for itself, holding on to the company for four years before more than doubling its money. The deal is expected to close in the fall and is subject to the normal regulatory approval process. Salesforce closes $15.7B Tableau deal