ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott told CTech about the role of Sweep, the Israeli startup the company bought in September, in its new strategy. According to him, Sweep helps ServiceNow move customers from one CRM system to another within weeks rather than years.
Why it matters
Switching customer relationship management (CRM) systems is one of the scariest projects in any organization: it takes time, costs a lot and puts data at risk. It is also why customers stay with their existing vendor, usually Salesforce, even when unhappy. ServiceNow, which is trying to compete with Salesforce in CRM, needs exactly this capability to persuade customers to switch.
"A tuck-in"
McDermott called Sweep a "tuck-in", a small acquisition that fits into the existing product, and stressed that it adds expertise in deploying AI agents. According to Calcalist, the deal was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. It is one of several ServiceNow acquisitions in Israel, and this week the company also expanded its partnership with OpenAI.
The Israeli angle
Sweep is another example of software giants buying young Israeli AI startups to accelerate their products. For Israeli tech, every such deal is also recognition that the capabilities built here are at the heart of the big companies' strategy.
