SAP brings identity management to Hybris with Gigya acquisition

SAP is set to flesh out its Hybris suite through the acquisition of identity management firm Gigya, in a deal widely reported to be worth $350 million.

The exact terms of the deal have yet to be revealed, but it is thought that the identity access and management platform that US-based Gigya specialises in will be merged with SAP's customer profile suite, allowing Europe's largest software company to expand its e-commerce services.

"Gigya brings a wealth of skills and expertise that will significantly enhance the SAP Hybris Profile solution and allow us to take leadership of the emerging customer identity and access management market,"saidSAP Hybris president and cofounder Carsten Thoma.

"Consumer trust is the main currency to succeed for customer-driven organisations. This is what Gigya is known and recognised for."

Gigya, which has been a Hybris partner since 2013, serves 1.3 billion customers across sites that use its software to help manage customer identities and profiles.

Starting life in 2006 as a means for sites to manage customer profiles linked to Facebook accounts, Gigya has since expanded its services into the e-commerce industry, allowing companies to manage people's marketing preferences and providing a means for customers to give opt-in consent - something required under the EU's forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.

The deal will ultimately mean that SAP will be able to track where and how customers shop, whether it be online, in-store or through mobile apps, according to the company.

"Customers opt in and register via Gigya's registration-as-a-service, which addresses changing geographical privacy issues and manages compliance requirements such as the upcoming GDPR," the company said in a statement yesterday.

TechMarketView research director, Angela Eager,said: "Acting to boost identify management can only be a good thing, especially in the e-commerce area where the threat landscape is increasing and customer trust is vital for brands, of which Gigya has around 700 on its books.

"This tuck-in acquisition will increase SAP Hybris' credentials and send the message that investment in protection is ongoing."

Gigya currently has 300 employees, all of whom are thought to be making the move over to SAP once the deal closes later this year, pending regulatory approval.

"Combining the data matching and enrichment capabilities of SAP Hybris Profile with Gigya's consent-based identity data and access management platform will allow us to identify consumers across channels and offer a robust single consumer profile," said Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya.

"This is a vital step for digitalising businesses because companies need to be able to draw accurate conclusions seamlessly across all channels, including web, mobile, in-store or connected devices, and the Internet of Things, as well as collect data about consumer preferences."