The MarTech Minute: Apple offers rare apology, Cisco’s eyes a new acquisition and SAP’s new content hub

MarTech Minute briefs always appear first in our daily newsletter throughout the week. Click here to subscribe. The following is our compilation of the past week’s briefs from those newsletters.

Apple issues formal public apology for its privacy practices. According to a statement from Apple, the company is apologizing for its privacy practices of secretly having human contractors listen to recordings of customers talking to Siri to improve the service. Apple was just one of several major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, that was caught using paid human contractors to review recordings from its digital assistant without making it clear to their customers. The new privacy policy indicates that Siri recordings will no longer be obtained and users will be able to opt-out of the practice at any time. 

DiscoverOrg and CaliberMind partner up. The strategic partnership between the two organizations is expected to help customers eliminate data silos, improve data quality, tie together known and unknown users activities, and provide a more comprehensive overview of their customers’ journeys. DiscoverOrg customers will be able to tap into CaliberMind’s chain-based attribution to measure marketing efforts across full customer journeys.

ThoughtSpot raises $248 million, reaches $1.95 billion valuation. The oversubscribed round brings the company’s total funding to $554 million. The AI and analytics company plans to invest in its go-to-market teams in North America, EMEA and APAC, expand research and development efforts, hire additional engineers and invest in customer and thought leadership events.

Cisco eyes CloudCherry to strengthen its contact center portfolio. Cisco announced its plans to purchase privately-held customer experience management firm CloudCherry. CloudCherry provides journey mapping, integrations and predictive analytics that allow call center professionals to make real-time journey modifications. Combined with Cisco, the new collaborative contact center will use machine learning to provide more personalized experiences for customers and allow organizations to make the most out of their data.

WhoToo bought up by NetWise Data LLC. The data-as-a-service company, which was previously owned by Demandbase, will be acquired by marketing data and information services firm NetWise. Through the acquisition, NetWise is expected to upgrade the core B2B and B2C data assets currently sourced and distributed by WhoToo with more accurate, complete customer data sets. “We’ve been the core data engine behind the products from dozens of companies since our inception more than eight years ago,” said Dwight Gorall, CEO of NetWise.  “This acquisition is part of a larger strategy to expand our reach, directly interface with our clients, and ensure we’re known as the B2B data pioneers and display advertising experts behind the best programmatic marketing,” he added.  

SocketLabs now available on SAP App Center. The email delivery platform, which offers both cloud and on-premise deployment models, will now be available in the digital marketplace for SAP partner offerings. The arrangement allows both firms to expand their product offerings. SocketLabs will now be able to provide its technology on a “truly global scale,” states Keith Hontz, who recently joined SocketLabs as chief revenue officer after serving as global vice president at SAP America.

Web hosting service targeted in email attack. After being informed of a breach last week, web hosting service Hostinger has reset client passwords. The attackers gained access to a server holding data on 14 million customers. Emails, hashed passwords, first names, IP addresses and other non-financial data was exposed during the breach.

Airship acquires A/B testing startup. The mobile marketing startup has acquired A/B testing firm Apptimize with the intention of improving customer experience testing. “Today’s most impactful companies are constantly reinventing customer experience, and a culture of experimentation is a critical part of driving that innovation,” Brett Caine, Airship CEO and president, said in a statement, “By combining Apptimize mobile app and web testing with Airship’s deep insight into customer engagement across channels, marketers and developers can focus innovation on the most critical areas while creating the seamless end-to-end experiences customers really want.”

Report indicates brands’ online and offline conversations should be measured holistically. The report, produced by Engagement Labs, analyzed week-to-week trends for online and offline conversation trends for 500 brands across multiple industries. When it comes to key metrics that drive business outcomes, including conversation volume, sentiment, brand sharing and influence, researchers found that online furor doesn’t necessarily correlate with real-world conversations. “At a time when social media channels are spreading controversial opinions and outrage, it’s vital for marketers to realize that they do not always reflect consumer sentiment in the real world,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. “Overreacting to the latest social media blow-up poses major risks for brands. It is vital to have a holistic measurement system that incorporates both online and offline conversations,” added Keller.

Email service provider WiseStamp bought by startup. vCita, a business management startup, has announced that it will acquire Israel-based startup WiseStamp. The email service provider (ESP) was started as an email marketing tool a decade ago and currently has over 50,000 customers. vCita made this announcement just months after disclosing a $15 million round of funding.

Leadspace shares details on Summer 2019 release. The B2B customer data platform (CDP) shared details of its summer product release, including its Leadspace On-Demand user application. This release includes a wide range of enhancements to its data management capabilities including AI modeling and scoring and integrations with technologies like Salesforce and Pardot.

Splunk to acquire SignalFX for $1.05 billion. Data and analytics firm Splunk will acquire SignalFX, a provider of real-time monitoring and metrics for cloud infrastructure. According to Gartner, the combination of the two companies will give IT professionals and developers a data platform that allows them to monitor and observe data in real-time to help cut costs and improve customer experiences.

SAP launches SAP Product Content Hub. The cloud-based product information management solution allows business users to create and manage high-quality product data across 1,000 digital marketplaces, marketing and social channels – including Amazon, eBay and Google. “SAP Product Content Hub helps businesses drastically reduce the time users spend on routine tasks in creating, managing and syndicating quality product information,” said Chris Hauca, general manager of SAP Commerce Cloud. “It leaves them with more opportunity to focus on pulling insights using real-time analytics and best-practice recommendations to create or optimize product content that engages buyers and drives purchase decisions.”

IBM develops new cloud services, technology to secure data. With last week’s news, IBM will be launching quantum-safe cryptography services on the IBM public cloud in 2020. “IBM Cloud is taking the critical steps needed to help enterprises ensure their data stays secure in a quantum future,” said Harish Grama, general manager, IBM Cloud. “Starting in 2020, IBM Cloud will roll out new services that will help keep data secured and private from the emerging cybersecurity challenges presented by future quantum computers.”