Oracle acquires cloud-based software firm BigMachines

Technology giant Oracle has acquired BigMachines, a cloud-based software firm that helps companies with complex sales transactions.

Oracle, led by CEO Larry Ellison, did not reveal the financial terms of the deal, but some US media reports suggested that it paid between $400 million - $500 million.

Founded in 2000, is a leading cloud-based configure, price & quote (CPQ) solution provider. The company's software helps sales professionals to configure and price complex products for executing sales contracts.

Companies that use sales automation technology rely on manual, cumbersome and disconnected processes, but CPQ cloud software extends sales automation to include the creation of an optimal quote, which enables sales personnel to easily configure and price complex products, select the best options, promotions and deal terms, and include up sell and renewals, all using automated workflows.

Analusts say though Oracle has  customer relationship management offering, the BigMachines acquisition gives it a fuller-featured offering.

Illinois-based BigMachines is backed by investors, including Vista Equity Partners, JMI Equity and Salesforce.com.

Oracle said the BigMachines acquisition will result in an end-to-end 'smarter selling' cloud solution.

''In combination with Oracle's enterprise-grade cloud solutions, including marketing, sales, social, commerce and service clouds, Oracle and BigMachines will create an end-to-end smarter selling cloud solution so sales personnel are more productive, customers are more satisfied, and companies grow revenue faster,'' Oracle said in a statement.

''The fundamental goals of smarter selling are to provide sales teams with the information, access, and insights they need to maximize revenue opportunities and execute on all phases of the sales cycle,'' said Thomas Kurian, executive vice president at Oracle Development.

''By adding BigMachines' CPQ Cloud to the Oracle Cloud, companies will be able to drive more revenue and increase customer satisfaction with a seamlessly integrated process across marketing and sales, pricing and quoting, and fulfillment and service,'' he added.

''BigMachines has developed leading CPQ solutions that serve companies of all sizes across multiple industries,'' said David Bonnette, BigMachines' CEO. ''Together with Oracle, we expect to provide a complete cloud solution to manage sales processes and deliver exceptional customer experiences.''