*By Chloe Aiello* Ryan Smith was planning to celebrate the public debut this week of Qualtrics, a company he founded, built, and now leads along with his brother and father. Instead, one day before Qualtrics' scheduled IPO, he stood beside SAP CEO Bill McDermott to celebrate something entirely different. Both Smith and McDermott are still riding high on German software giant SAP's ($SAP) [last-minute, $8 billion buyout](https://cheddar.com/videos/sap-to-acquire-qualtrics-in-deal-compares-facebook-buying-instagram) of Qualtrics ー a deal Smith called "literally a match made in heaven." And they've got plans to shake up the enterprise technology world. "This was the biggest move possible because it re-architects every enterprise in the world," McDermott told Cheddar on Wednesday right before he and Smith rang the NYSE closing bell in honor of their deal. Qualtrics, which calls itself an "experience management" company, offers cloud-based subscription software that assists in collecting and analyzing data a company can use for market research, product development, and customer engagement. SAP, on the other hand, deals in operational data and is especially known for its work in enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and human capital management. SAP counts Salesforce among its rivals. Both CEOs have been singing praises about the deal's synergies. "Experience management is going to be the biggest category in the business software industry, probably in the last 25 years," McDermott said. "We have a chance to take all that operational data, combine it with the experience data and fundamentally reshape the information technology industry." "They go end-to-end, we go end-to-end. If you look at it, it's one single system," Smith said. "There's no other company, there's no other culture." And the deal doesn't mean the end of Smith at Qualtrics. He'll continue to run things there, and he expects to see continued growth. "We just got off the phone with the governor of Utah, and Bill's comment was, 'You better pull out the diggers and the bulldozers, because we are going to be building some buildings,'" Smith said. "We are literally going to be expanding as fast as we possibly can." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ceos-of-sap-qualtrics-discuss-expansion-plans-after-acquisition).

Share:
More In Business
Boeing defense workers on strike in the Midwest turn down latest offer
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
FBI’s NBA probe puts sports betting businesses in the spotlight
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla’s profit fell in third quarter even as sales rose
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Load More