Workday is acquiring employee listening platform software company Peakon ApS in an all-cash deal valued at $700 million -- subject to potential adjustments. The deal is expected to close before May 2021.This is M&A deal number 76 that ChannelE2E has covered thus far in 2021. See a full list of mergers and acquisitions from 2020 and 2021 here.WorkDay is best-known for SaaS-based human resources software, though the company has been building SaaS applications that also address financial management, professional services automation (PSA) and enterprise resource planning (ERP).
Workday Acquires Peakon: Software Details
Peakon is a people analytics platform that enables organizations to gain visibility into employee experience, sentiment and productivity that can help drive employee engagement and improve organizational performance. Peakon's software can automatically send targeted surveys to gauge employee sentiment, and then return insights and recommend actions based on employee feedback, according to a statement announcing the deal.Peakon’s technology, combined with Workday's human resources SaaS platform, will help organizations discover and respond to evolving employee feelings, needs and behaviors. For example, customers will be able to gain better insights and understanding on employee belonging, which will help them more confidently and consistently adjust plans to foster an inclusive workplace culture, according to the statement.
Workday and Peakon: Executive Commentary
Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and co-CEO, Workday
Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and co-CEO, Workday commented on the news:
“Peakon is on the cutting edge of helping organizations turn employee insights into more connected teams and stronger organizations. Bringing Peakon into the Workday family will be very compelling to our customers - especially following an extraordinary past year that has magnified the importance of having a constant pulse on employee sentiment in order to keep people engaged and productive.”
Phil Chambers, co-founder and CEO, Peakon, said:
“By joining forces with Workday, we’re able to accelerate our mission to help every employee drive the change they want to see. We share Workday’s passion for putting people at the center of technology, and together, we’ll be able to provide customers with the employee insights they need to support rapid change and growth.”
Sharon manages day-to-day content on ChannelE2E and serves as Editorial Director for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands. She also covers enterprise-class technology companies, strategic alliances and channel partner strategies. Sharon is a veteran tech journalist and editor with more than 25 years experience in the industry, and has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at Techstrong Group, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise and CRN.
