The company was founded in 1997 by
Greg Gianforte in
Bozeman, Montana as RightNow Technologies. Additional offices were opened in
California,
New York,
New Jersey,
Massachusetts,
Texas,
Illinois,
Washington, DC,
Colorado,
Canada,
Europe,
Australia and
Asia. The company employed over 1000 people in 2011. RightNow's business model was
software as a service using
cloud computing. Gianforte started the company in 1997 without external capital and created a software product that was initially focused on
customer service with an integrated
knowledge base. As the company grew, it added marketing and sales functionality, voice automation, customer feedback management, analytics and a social platform to its product, creating a full
customer experience suite. In 2006, RightNow Technologies acquired SFA company Salesnet. In 2009, RightNow Technologies acquired social networking company HiveLive. In 2011, the company acquired
Q-go for $34 million. Q-go was founded in 1999. It specialized in
semantic search service, based on
natural language processing technology, providing relevant answers to queries on a company’s Internet website or corporate intranet, formulated in natural sentences or keyword input alike. It integrated automatic statistical reporting of user query behavior for businesses that want to monitor what kinds of questions their customers are asking so they can adjust content to provide the appropriate information for customers and to reduce the load on traditional customer service ports of call, such as call centers and answers by email. The technology has been implemented and deployed in a range of industries, including banking, insurance, pension, telecommunications and logistics, as well as several government agencies. == Oracle acquisition ==