Smartrecruiters announced today that Salesforce, through its Salesforce Ventures fund, has invested an undisclosed amount. The announcement was 2 paragraphs deep in a new customer announcement. An undisclosed amount and less than top billing suggest it wasn’t a large amount. Especially when you consider that both Smartrecruiters and Salesforce haven’t been shy in releasing figures before.
The announcement comes on the heels of a recent Salesforce announcement suggesting a strong push to focus in the HR technology and HCM market with a new product focused on employee engagement. Salesforce also recently participated in a $110 million venture round for FinancialForce, an ERP and HCM platform developed on the Salesforce Force platform.
While the Smartrecruiters announcement isn’t big news, it does reflect another touchpoint on a growing list for Salesforce in the HR technology market. Salesforce has been toying with the HCM market for four years. You can see a chronicle of what I’ve written about the Salesforce moves in the HCM market here.
Rumors circulated earlier today about a possible takeover bid by Oracle being under review by Salesforce. Given Oracle’s position in HCM, this would seemingly remove the momentum from any Salesforce move into this market.