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Tag: Salesforce

  • Your Next Streaming Service: Salesforce

    Your Next Streaming Service: Salesforce

    Salesforce is preparing to enter the video streaming market, a major departure from its current CRM and enterprise offerings.

    Salesforce is the leading customer relationship management (CRM) provider, and offers a host of complimentary applications and services. According to an exclusive provided to Axios, the company is preparing to add a video streaming service to its list of services.

    Salesforce+ will be a free video streaming service dedicated to business professionals, featuring original content from Salesforce and, eventually, SalesForce clients. The company has hired 50 editorial personnel to help launch the service, and has built its own studio in-house.

    “It’s going to help you learn things that help you do great at your job, whether you’re a salesperson, a marketing professional, a CEO, etc.,” said Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Franklin.

    The company hopes Salesforce+ will help customers establish an emotional connection to the company as well, making users “want to use our products and want to engage more with us.”

    Salesforce’s foray into streaming, on the heels of its Slack acquisition, highlights the growing convergence occurring in the industry, and the importance of companies embracing new ways of connecting with new and existing customers. It’s a safe bet Salesforce won’t be the last company to adopt this approach.

  • Salesforce Acquiring RPA Company Servicetrace

    Salesforce Acquiring RPA Company Servicetrace

    Salesforce has entered an agreement to purchase Servicetrace, a robotic process automation (RPA) provider.

    The RPA industry is currently exploding, as companies large and small look to automation as a way to cut costs and improve efficiency. The transition to remote work has made it more difficult to manage the data, however, making it difficult to integrate the data and properly manage it.

    Salesforce clearly sees RPA as an important step in helping customers adapt to the work-from-anywhere reality. The company plans to integrate Servicetrace with its own MuleSoft subsidiary.

    MuleSoft CEO Brent Hayward highlighted the potential benefits:

    With the addition of Servicetrace, MuleSoft will be able to deliver a leading unified integration, API management, and RPA platform, which will further enrich the Salesforce Customer 360 — empowering organizations to deliver connected experiences from anywhere. The new RPA capabilities will enhance Salesforce’s Einstein Automate solution, enabling end-to-end workflow automation across any system for Service, Sales, Industries, and more. 

    The company expects the deal to close in Q3 of its fiscal year 2022, which ends October 31, 2021.

  • Cloud Infrastructure Spending Hit $42 Billion in Q2

    Cloud Infrastructure Spending Hit $42 Billion in Q2

    The cloud infrastructure market continued its impressive gains, with spending hitting $42 billion in Q2, according to Synergy Research Group.

    Synergy’s latest data is good news for the industry, and provides a number of important revelations. According to the company, the top three cloud companies continue to be AWS, Microsoft and Google, with 33%, 20% and 10% of the market respectively. Alibaba, IBM, Salesforce, Tencent, Oracle and “Others” round out the industry.

    Interestingly, that means the top three companies account for 63% of money spent on cloud infrastructure.

    “This market continues to be a runaway success story for Amazon, Microsoft, Google and some other cloud providers. You would not normally expect to see growth rates actually increasing in such a huge and rapidly developing market, yet once again that is what our research has shown,” said John Dinsdale, a Chief Analyst at Synergy Research Group. “It must be said that this success is hard earned. Amazon, Microsoft and Google in aggregate are typically investing over $25 billion in capex per quarter, much of which is going towards building and equipping their fleet of over 340 hyperscale data centers. There remains a wealth of opportunity for smaller, more focused cloud providers, but it can be hard to look away from the eye-popping numbers coming out of the big three.”

    Synergy’s report is further evidence that, despite the accelerated cloud transition as a result of the pandemic, there appears to be plenty of room for further growth.

  • The Deal Is Done: Slack Is Officially Part of Salesforce

    The Deal Is Done: Slack Is Officially Part of Salesforce

    Salesforce has completed its $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack, combining the leading CRM platform with one of the leading messaging platforms.

    The two companies announced in December they had reached a deal for Salesforce to acquire Slack. The deal was seen as a way for both companies to better compete with Microsoft. Microsoft Teams had eclipsed Slack, in terms of user count, thanks in large part to being part of Microsoft 365. Similarly, Microsoft has made it a goal to topple Salesforce as the leading CRM provider.

    The deal underwent additional scrutiny by the DOJ before receiving regulatory approval, paving the way for the deal to close.

    Executives from both companies highlighted their intent to create a “digital HQ,” to serve as a way for companies to reinvent their productivity.

    “We couldn’t be more excited to have Slack as part of the Salesforce family, combining the #1 CRM and the trailblazing digital platform for the work anywhere world,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce. “Together we’ll define the future of enterprise software, creating the digital HQ that enables every organization to deliver customer and employee success from anywhere.”

    “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and reshape how and where we work,” said Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder. “Salesforce and Slack are uniquely positioned to lead this historic shift to a digital-first world. I could not be more excited for what’s to come.”

    The deal was welcomed by other companies as well.

    “We are obsessed with continually delighting our clients, and offering them the best experience and value across every interaction,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. “Salesforce and Slack coming together will help us become more connected, more productive, and more innovative so we can better serve our clients.”

  • Salesforce Reworking Operations to be Slack-First

    Salesforce Reworking Operations to be Slack-First

    Salesforce is doubling down on its Slack acquisition, reworking its entire operations to be Slack-first.

    Salesforce rocked the market when it announced it was purchasing Slack late last year. The move was seen as a way for both companies to better compete and fend off the pressure they were experiencing from Microsoft. In many ways, the Slack acquisition fits in with Salesforce’s overall approach, as it has been one of the biggest proponents of a permanent, flexible workflow post-pandemic.

    CEO Mac Benioff emphasized Slack’s role in that future in an interview on Yahoo! Finance Live:

    “We’re going to rebuild all of our technology, once again, to become Slack-first to help our customers have a harness to work in this new world — where you’re working at home; you’re working in the office; you’re working at events; you’re working anywhere.”

    As the Motley Fool notes, the acquisition is not yet complete, but expected to close sometime in Q2. Similarly, Benioff doesn’t talk about how much the reworking of Salesforce operations will cost, but the company has done well in its latest quarterly reports, clearly benefiting from the overall transition to the cloud.

  • Salesforce and Sean Combs Team Up on Marketplace for Black-Owned Businesses

    Salesforce and Sean Combs Team Up on Marketplace for Black-Owned Businesses

    Salesforce and Sean Combs are working together on SHOP CIRCULATE, a digital marketplace for Black-owned businesses.

    The collaboration comes just after the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The initiative is designed to bring attention to Black-owned businesses and help them reach a wider audience and, at the same time, build wealth within the Black community

    “Building Black wealth starts with investing in Black-owned businesses and giving entrepreneurs access to the consumers needed to build sustainable companies that can thrive,” says Sean Combs, Chairman of Combs Enterprises. “I’m excited to partner with Salesforce to create a platform that will advance our collective pursuit of economic justice.”

    “Salesforce is honored to collaborate with Sean Combs and Combs Enterprises to help close the unjust wealth gap that prevents too many Black Americans from achieving economic equality,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce. “SHOP CIRCULATE will empower us all — as individuals, communities and companies — to support Black-owned businesses, amplify the talent of Black entrepreneurs and move us closer to true equality.”

    The new platform will be built by Deloitte Digital, a leading Salesforce partner, and powered by Marketplacer’s technology.

    “Deloitte’s purpose is to make an impact that matters. As the largest professional services organization in the world, we have a responsibility to help level the playing field and advance opportunities for the Black community in business,” says Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. “This is one of the most effective ways for organizations like ours to do our part in ending systemic bias, racial injustice, and unequal treatment in all its forms.”

    “Marketplaces are a great leveler in bringing together businesses of all sizes into a single venue to drive opportunity and growth. It’s our goal that our partnership with SHOP CIRCULATE will bring our powerful marketplace platform to Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs as a vehicle to drive change, growth and success,” said Jason Wyatt, Executive Chairman, Marketplacer.

  • Outreach CEO: The Rise Of The Revenue Innovator

    Outreach CEO: The Rise Of The Revenue Innovator

    “We’re seeing the rise of what we call the “revenue innovator, says Outreach CEO Manny Medina. “The revenue innovator is a different job description that has changed since the pandemic. The new job description is the revenue innovators, the digital-first, and the digital native. Those revenue innovators are the new revenue leaders.”

    Manny Medina, CEO of Outreach, discusses the “rise of the revenue innovator” in an interview today on CNBC:

    The Rise of the Revenue Innovator

    We’re seeing the rise of what we call the “revenue innovator.” The revenue innovator is a different job description that has changed since the pandemic. It’s a data-driven digital-first predictable long-building trusting relationship kind of seller. What we are seeing is this influx and this growth in the type of seller that knows how to drive a digital conversation but is complemented with a hybrid approach of visiting your customer. It’s a very predictable, very data-driven kind of job description.

    The growth happening across our customer base is the growth of that kind of seller. This is a seller and a customer-facing rep who is going to be very data-driven and very innovator-led. If we are going to think of the Salesforce numbers that just came out these are incredible signs of growth for the cloud platform. That’s an incredible sign of growth for us as well because what we are seeing is the system of action is taking place on top of the system of record that Salesforce is providing.

    Second Wave of Digital Transformation

    All of the companies that used to be in the mainstream economy are accelerating into the second wave of digital transformation. The first wave of digital transformation is to move all of the data into the cloud and that is happening but it’s not what companies are talking about. Companies are talking about how do you make me smarter? How do you make my teams more efficient? How do you make my teams digital-first?

    How do I live and thrive in this new hybrid environment post-Covid in which the buyer is not ready to see sellers until post transaction until you are expanding not selling? All of these “before-laggers” are becoming early innovators and early adopters with new technology such as Outreach which is AI-driven and digital-first.

    The new job description is the revenue innovators, the digital-first, and the digital native. They may not have them yet but they are coming online, they are getting these jobs. Those revenue innovators are the new revenue leaders. They are also hiring people of the same ilk that are looking to drive this innovation within their companies. That’s what you are seeing in this transformation. Transformations are always people first.

    It’s this new wave of people that are coming into traditional companies that are driving this second digital transformation. They are forward thinkers and they are data-driven.

    Outreach Doubling Headcount Again

    Outreach is doubling its headcount again. We almost doubled from the beginning of the pandemic all the way to now and we expect to hit another double in terms of hiring. We expect another 600 to 700 people to come on board. Most importantly, what we are seeing is that our customers are growing as well. We sell seats ahead of sales demand and we are seeing sales seats being bought very quickly.

    We are expecting our customers to be driving double-digit growth across the board. This is a great sign for the economy.

    Outreach CEO Manny Medina: The Rise Of The Revenue Innovator
  • Apple Wants Employees In-Office Part-Time in September

    Apple Wants Employees In-Office Part-Time in September

    Apple CEO Tim Cook has emailed employees, telling them to expect a return to the office in early September.

    Like most companies, Apple sent employees home to work remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many, the company’s work culture has been permanently changed by a year of remote work. As a result, Apple appears to be embracing a flexible work future, with Cook wanting employees in the office three days a week, while allowing them to continue working from home the remaining two.

    “For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other,” he said in the email, seen by The Verge. “Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”

    Employees will be asked to work from the office Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and be able to continue working remotely Wednesdays and Fridays. Teams that require more in-person collaboration may be required to work in the office four or five days a week.

    In addition, employees will also have the option, with manager approval, of working remotely up to two weeks a year, “to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own,” according to the email.

    Apple joins a long list of companies, including Salesforce, Ford and GM, who are embracing flexible and remote work options, providing further evidence of a permanent shift in the nature of the post-pandemic workforce.

  • Salesforce Announces First Global Dreamforce 2021

    Salesforce Announces First Global Dreamforce 2021

    Salesforce has announced Dreamforce 2021, the first such global event, with both virtual and in-person elements.

    Dreamforce is the premier event for Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners and customers. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, like most companies, Salesforce took its event digital. Doing so helped it reach an unprecedented audience, some 140 million worldwide.

    Salesforce is eager to build on that success by taking Dreamforce 2021 global with in-person events. The conference will be held September 21-23, 2021, in San Francisco, New York City, London and Paris, as well as digitally.

    “We’re thrilled to bring Dreamforce back as an in-person experience, and we can’t wait to bring all our Trailblazers together for a completely new brand experience,” said Sarah Franklin, President and Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce. “Whether you join us in person or online, it will be the most innovative and immersive Dreamforce ever — another example of how, in this new all-digital world, we can achieve success from anywhere.”

    Salesforce has been one of the biggest companies to permanently embrace remote work and flexible office policies, so it’s nice to see the company committed to ongoing digital events.

  • Salesforce Posts Record First Quarter

    Salesforce Posts Record First Quarter

    Salesforce has delivered its first quarter results, posting a record quarter on strong Customer 360 results.

    Salesforce posted $5.96 billion in revenue, a 23% increase year-over-year. Subscription and support revenue accounted for $5.54 billion of that, an increase of 21%, with the professional services and other revenue sources making up $0.43 billion, an increase of 47%.

    “We had the best first quarter in our company’s history,” said Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO, Salesforce. “We believe our Customer 360 platform is proving to be the most relevant technology for companies accelerating out of the pandemic. With incredible momentum throughout our core business, we’re raising our revenue guidance for this fiscal year by $250 million to approximately $26 billion and non-GAAP operating margin to 18 percent. We’re on our path to reach $50 billion in revenue in FY26.”

    “Our performance in the first quarter was strong across all financial metrics,” said Amy Weaver, President and Chief Financial Officer, Salesforce. “We saw record levels of new business and strength across all products, regions, and customer sizes. Our impressive start to this year helps fuel our momentum for the rest of the year as we keep pace toward our goal of $50 billion in revenue in FY26.”

    In addition to beating earnings estimates, Salesforce issued stronger guidance than analysts were expecting, predicting $0.91 to $0.92 per share for the second quarter, on $6.22 billion to $6.23 billion. In contrast, according to CNBC, analysts had been expecting $0.86 on $6.15 billion.

  • Employees Would Forgo $30,000 Raise to Work From Home

    Employees Would Forgo $30,000 Raise to Work From Home

    A new survey has qualified just how much employees want to continue working from home (WFM), to the tune of $30,000.

    As restrictions lift and companies begin opening their doors, many employees are faced with the prospect of going back into the office for the first time in more than a year. While many companies are working on permanent remote or hybrid options, some are insisting on a complete return to in-office normality.

    According to a new survey by Blind, an anonymous network of professionals, a Goldman Sachs professional posed the question: “Would you rather make $30k more switching to a new job that requires you to work in the office, or would you rather keep your current salary but WFH anywhere after covid?”

    An average of 64% of professionals indicated they would prefer WFM, although the number for some specific companies was much higher. For example, 100% of Zillow, 70% of T-Mobile, 89% of Twitter, 71% of Walmart, 69% of Apple, 76% of Salesforce and 73% of Oracle employees would all choose WFM. In fact, Cisco, JPMorgan Chase and Qualcomm were the only companies that fell below the 50% mark.

    The survey is just the latest, and most striking, indication of just how popular WFH really is.

  • IBM Acquiring Waeg, Leading European Salesforce Consulting Partner

    IBM Acquiring Waeg, Leading European Salesforce Consulting Partner

    IBM is acquiring Waeg, the leading European Salesforce Consulting Partner as it continues its transition to hybrid cloud services.

    IBM is in the process of transitioning from its legacy business to hybrid cloud and AI. The company has been snapping up startups and complimentary companies left and right. Meanwhile, Europe is in the midst of its own transition, with some of the world’s fastest-growing software and services companies based on the continent.

    Waeg is currently the leading Salesforce consultancy in Europe, a significant part of the $30 billion worldwide CRM services market. IBM’s acquisition of Waeg will build on its acquisition of 7Summits in January, the leading US Salesforce consultancy, making IBM a powerhouse in the Salesforce community.

    “Our partner ecosystem is an important growth channel for Salesforce, and IBM continues to expand their capabilities across the world, most recently with the addition of Waeg,” said Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Alliances and Channels, Salesforce. “The combination of IBM and Waeg’s Salesforce consulting capabilities and assets will help give customers across Europe the capabilities to create streamlined, automated experiences on the Salesforce platform.”

    “Waeg’s growth was built on the simple notion of helping our clients successfully navigate constantly changing customer demands,” said Chris Timmerman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Waeg. “Now, as we join forces with IBM, we are excited to leverage our collective Salesforce capabilities to accelerate that growth across Europe.”

    The deal is expected to close this quarter, subject to standard closing conditions.

  • Salesforce Extends Remote Work, Opening HQ in May

    Salesforce Extends Remote Work, Opening HQ in May

    Salesforce has updated its work strategy, extending work-from-home (WFM) till the end of the year.

    Salesforce made headlines in February when it announced it was embracing remote work permanently, giving employees the option to have a hybrid work schedule. Under the company’s new plans, there would be three categories of workers: flex, fully remote and in-office.

    The company expects the majority of its employees to be flex workers, only coming to the office 1-3 days per week. In-office will comprise the smallest percentage, and be in the office 4-5 days. Fully remote workers would be those that live outside a reasonable commute distance, or those with roles that don’t require an office.

    Salesforce is working on reopening its offices, with some 22 locations around the world now open. The company’s first US office and HQ, Salesforce Tower San Francisco, will be open in May. In the meantime, the company is extending its WFM till at least December 31, making any return to the office optional until then.

    The company also shared several insights gleaned from its WFM efforts.

    Thursday has emerged as the most popular day for employees to come to the office, with many employees preferring to start their week at home.

    Productivity has also been impacted, as “employees are 16% more likely to agree they are more productive at home, and 13% more likely to agree that their teams are more productive at home than in the office.” In addition, 20% of WFM employees are more likely to take wellbeing breaks than their office-bound counterparts.

    At the same time, the office is still seen as a superior place for collaboration. In the company’s Sydney location, “64% of collaboration spaces like lounges and conference rooms were utilized; whereas only 24% of desk space was used. And employees working in the office were 19% more likely to have connected socially with a colleague compared to those working from home.”

    As a company that has embraced WFM, Salesforce offers important insights and a roadmap for companies wanting to make a similar transition.

  • Slack Joins Chorus of Companies Wanting to Challenge Clubhouse

    Slack Joins Chorus of Companies Wanting to Challenge Clubhouse

    Slack is the latest company looking to cash in on Clubhouse’s popularity, with plans to include similar features in its own app.

    Clubhouse is an audio-chat social media platform that is currently invite-only. The app has experienced a significant surge in popularity, with some of the biggest tech news debuting in Clubhouse chats.

    Not surprisingly, major tech companies are wanting to capitalize on Clubhouse’s success by rolling out their own competing apps, or adding its functionality to their existing ones.

    Slack appears to be headed for the latter option, according to CEO Stewart Butterfield, who broke the news in a Clubhouse chat, one that included Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison.

    “I’ve always believed the ‘good artists copy, great artists steal’ thing, so we’re just building Clubhouse into Slack, essentially,” said Butterfield.

    Needless to say, Butterfield being willing to challenge Clubhouse — while in a Clubhouse chat with the Clubhouse CEO — caught people’s attention.

    The news also caught the attention of Bret Taylor, Salesforce CEO and Butterfield’s future boss once their merge goes through.

  • Salesforce and JPMorgan Unloading Office Space in Remote Work Transition

    Salesforce and JPMorgan Unloading Office Space in Remote Work Transition

    Salesforce and JPMorgan are the latest big-name companies looking to downsize their office space as remote work becomes the norm.

    The global pandemic has fueled a major transition, making remote work and telecommuting the new normal for a large portion of the workforce. Many companies are embracing this permanently, making remote work or hybrid work their default method moving forward.

    One market that has suffered as a result is commercial real estate, with many companies no longer needing the vast amount of office space as before. Dropbox recently made headlines when it sold its San Francisco headquarters for $1.08 billion.

    Salesforce and JPMorgan are the latest to join the trend, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that JPMorgan is marketing its 700,000 square feet of Manhattan office space. Meanwhile, Salesforce is listing space in one of its San Francisco buildings for rent.

    It remains to be seen how much the market will rebound but, at the current rate, it seems as though commercial real estate will forever be changed by the pandemic.

  • Amazon Lookout for Metrics Now Available

    Amazon Lookout for Metrics Now Available

    Amazon has made Lookout for Metrics available to all its customers, providing a way to monitor and diagnose business anomalies.

    A preview version of Lookout for Metrics was first launched at re:Invent 2020. The service uses machine learning to analyze a business’ operations and automatically detect and diagnose anomalies. It could be a potential business opportunity, a technical issue or any one of the myriad challenges a data-driven business faces.

    “We’re excited to announce the general availability of Amazon Lookout for Metrics, a new service that uses machine learning (ML) to automatically monitor the metrics that are most important to businesses with greater speed and accuracy,” write Ankita Verma and Chris King for AWS. “The service also makes it easier to diagnose the root cause of anomalies like unexpected dips in revenue, high rates of abandoned shopping carts, spikes in payment transaction failures, increases in new user sign-ups, and many more. Lookout for Metrics goes beyond simple anomaly detection. It allows developers to set up autonomous monitoring for important metrics to detect anomalies and identify their root cause in a matter of few clicks, using the same technology used by Amazon internally to detect anomalies in its metrics—all with no ML experience required.”

    Lookout for Metrics connects to 19 of the most popular data sources, including Amazon Simple Storage Solution (Amazon S3), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), Amazon Redshift, Amazon CloudWatch, Salesforce, Marketo and Zendesk.

  • Slack Rolls Out Direct Messages to Anyone

    Slack Rolls Out Direct Messages to Anyone

    Starting today, Slack is enabling Connect DM, allowing users to send direct messages to anyone, not just those in their channels.

    Connect DMs are an evolution of Connect, Slack’s feature to allow companies to set up cross-organization channels. Connect allows employees from different companies to easily communicate with one another. Connect DM builds on that feature by allowing Slack users to communicate with any other Slack users.

    In many ways, the feature is designed to help Slack better compete with Microsoft Teams. Despite being an early leader and pioneer in the field, Slack has been eclipsed by Teams, especially during the pandemic. Late last year, Salesforce announced it was acquiring Slack, in a move widely seen as helping the two companies better compete with Microsoft.

    In addition to better competing with Teams, Slack’s Connect DM helps make the service more integral to a company’s communication. Rather than relying on outside services, such as text, iMessage, WhatsApp or others, Connect DM allows users to communicate easily, while still maintaining a record of the communication.

    “You could put a link on your Twitter profile or a QR code on your business card that people could use to connect with you,” Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield told The Verge in an interview last October when the feature was first announced.

    “It works essentially like BlackBerry messaging, so that link is the equivalent of me giving you my BlackBerry PIN but when you message me I still have to approve you,” says Butterfield.

    The new feature should help Slack in its rivalry with Teams, and eliminate a major pain point for its users.

  • Salesforce Announces Record Quarter, Slack Impacts Guidance

    Salesforce Announces Record Quarter, Slack Impacts Guidance

    Salesforce has announced its fourth quarter results, turning in a record-breaking quarter and raising its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance.

    Marc Benioff has long had the goal of Salesforce surpassing $20 billion in a year. Salesforce managed to do that, and then some, in fiscal 2021. Total revenue was $21.25 billion, up 24% year-over-year.

    Fourth quarter revenue was up 20%, year-over-year, coming in at $5.82 billion.

    “We never could have predicted a year ago what was in store, which makes me incredibly proud of how well we pivoted our company to adapt to this pandemic world,” said Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO of Salesforce. “We had a record quarter and year by innovating more and faster than ever, enabling our customers to be successful from anywhere, and becoming more relevant and strategic than ever. And we continued to serve all of our stakeholders in a time when they needed it most.”

    The company also raised its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance to between $25.65 billion and $25.75 billion, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.42 billion. However, Salesforce is projecting lower-than-expected profit, between $3.39 and $3.41 per share, as opposed to the $3.49 analysts were expecting. The stock was down 3.9% as a result of the guidance.

    Much of the hit to the projected profit is as a result of the Slack acquisition, valued at $27.7 billion. Even though Salesforce expects Slack to contribute $600 million to its revenue in the fiscal year, that’s still a far cry from the purchase price, and it will take some time before the acquisition pays for itself.

  • DOJ Wants More Info on Salesforce/Slack Deal

    DOJ Wants More Info on Salesforce/Slack Deal

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked for a second round of information on Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack.

    Salesforce announced in December that it was purchasing Slack for $27.7 billion. The move was seen as a way for both companies to better compete with Microsoft. Salesforce has come under increasing pressure as Microsoft has gone after Salesforce’s core CRM business. Likewise, Slack has gone from the market leader in corporate messaging to falling far behind Microsoft Teams.

    One of the biggest factors in Teams surpassing Slack is its being bundled with Microsoft Office. In fact, Slack filed a complaintwith the EU over Microsoft’s actions.

    The last hurdle before the sale can be finalized is regulatory approval. According to CNBC, the DOJ has asked for additional information from the two companies. Salesforce does not anticipate any delays as a result of the additional inquiry, with the company still expecting to close the deal in the quarter ending in July.

    Nonetheless, the second inquiry could be another indication of additional scrutiny of tech mergers. Facebook and Google are both facing antitrust cases. In Facebook’s case, in particular, the company’s acquisitions of smaller competitors, such as WhatsApp, has been cited as a concern.

    The US may be preparing to take a tougher stance on tech consolidation, especially if it places too much power or control in the hands of one company.

  • Spotify the Latest Company to Embrace Permanent Remote Work

    Spotify the Latest Company to Embrace Permanent Remote Work

    Spotify has announced it will allow employees to work from home permanently, joining a growing list of companies that have made the switch.

    Dubbed its “Work From Anywhere” program, Spotify is allowing employees to choose how and where they want to work. That includes working full-time at home, the office or a hybrid of the two.

    The company is also becoming more flexible with the geographic location of its employees, allowing them to live and work from the city or country of their choice. There may be some limitations, due to regulatory or timezone challenges, but the company is clearly working to provide as much flexibility as possible. For employees that want some office time, but may not live near a Spotify office, the company will help them with a co-working space membership.

    In the wake of the pandemic, companies are adapting to the changing circumstances by offering employees a greater degree of flexibility. Salesforce, Dropbox, Reddit, Twitter, Microsoft and Google have all committed to varying degrees of permanent remote work or flexible work options.

    Employees, meanwhile, have grown accustomed to remote work, and want it to continue after the pandemic. In fact, half of workers would be willing to give up vacation days in exchange for remote work, while 29% would quit their job before returning to the office.

    It’s a safe bet Spotify won’t be the last company to adopt more flexible work options moving forward.

  • Salesforce Embraces Remote Work, Flexible Office Policy

    Salesforce Embraces Remote Work, Flexible Office Policy

    Salesforce is the latest company to embrace remote work and flexible office policies in the wake of a pandemic that has upended the workplace.

    Brent Hyder, President & Chief People Officer, outlined the company’s strategy, as well as the research that led to it.

    Early in the pandemic, Salesforce started using employee wellbeing surveys to get the pulse of how employees were doing and how they were adapting to the changing circumstances. Those surveys led to immediate changes, including office setup stipends, childcare benefits and extended parental leave.

    The surveys also showed that nearly half of employees only want to go into the office a few times a month, but 80% of employees still want to keep a connection to the office. As a result, the company says employees will fall into three categories once it’s safe to return to the office.

    The first category is Flex. The majority of the company’s staff will continue to work from home, only coming into the office 1-3 days per week.

    The second category is Fully Remote. These employees will work remotely 100% of the time, either because they don’t live near an office or their work does not require office visits.

    Office-based employees will make up the smallest percentage of the company’s workforce, and will be in the office 4-5 days a week if their jobs require it.

    Salesforce also sees the potential to use remote work as a way to unlock access to new fresh talent and help create more equal opportunities.

    This work-from-anywhere model will unlock new growth opportunities that will help us drive greater equality. Our talent strategy is no longer bound by barriers like location, so we can broaden our search beyond traditional city centers and welcome untapped talent from new communities and geographies.

    The company is also redesigning its workspaces to emphasize community and collaboration, as opposed to traditional office cubicles.

    Salesforce’s announcement makes it the latest major company to embrace the workplace transformation currently in progress. Dropbox, Reddit, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, and now Salesforce, are just a few of the companies acknowledging there’s no going back to the status quo post-pandemic.