WebProNews

Tag: CRM

  • Oracle Turns to AI to Automate Digital Marketing With Fusion Marketing

    Oracle Turns to AI to Automate Digital Marketing With Fusion Marketing

    In an industry first, Oracle is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help automate digital marketing.

    AI is revolutionizing a wide range of industries, but Oracle is applying it to digital marketing campaigns, with its newly announced Fusion Marketing platform. Unlike many lead generation systems, that merely raise brand awareness, Fusion Marketing is specifically designed to generate leads.

    Fusion Marketing uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically score leads at the account level, predict when consumers are ready to talk to a salesperson, and generate a qualified sales opportunity in any CRM system.

    Oracle hopes Fusion Marketing will address the disconnect many salespeople feel when using a CRM system, where siloed data often works against making a sale. Oracle’s new system is designed to address that and accelerate marketing campaigns by automating the lead generation process from end-to-end.

    “It is time for our industry to think differently about marketing and sales automation so that we can transform CRM into a system that actually works for both the marketer and the salesperson,” said Rob Tarkoff, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience. “This is not about forecasts and rollups or a reporting tool to see how the sales force is performing, but instead about turning CRM into a system that helps sellers sell. A huge part of that change is bringing marketing and sales teams together and eliminating the low-value, time consuming tasks that distract from building customer relationships and closing deals. That’s why we have invested so much time engineering a system that will help marketers fully automate lead generation and qualification and get highly qualified leads to the sales team faster.”

    Oracle’s Fusion Marketing is just the beginning, as experts say AI will continue to transform digital marketing.

    “Machine learning algorithms are integral to digital marketing and that will only increase over time. The best digital marketers have embraced this fact, and have already shifted their focus towards more human-first activities. Machines are better at crunching numbers and making data-driven decisions. But they still need humans to decide what data to feed into those systems. This comes from understanding human behavior, a deep sense of empathy, and expert-level storytelling that are hard to replicate through AI.” – Dennis Consorte, Digital Marketing Expert and Expert at Digital.com, told WebProNews.

  • Salesforce Adds AI-Driven Improvements to Service Cloud

    Salesforce Adds AI-Driven Improvements to Service Cloud

    Salesforce has announced AI-driven improvements to Service Cloud, aimed at helping service agents and their customers.

    Salesforce is the leading customer relationship management (CRM) vendor and a powerhouse in the SaaS industry. The company recently acquired Slack, and is a major proponent of a digital-first workflow moving forward. Salesforce is positioning itself as the provider of a “digital HQ,” bringing together the services and products companies need to thrive in the new hybrid workplace.

    As part of that, the company is improving its Service Now platform, recognizing that top-notch service is one of the defining features of companies that have survived the pandemic.

    “The businesses that have thrived over the last 18 months are those that embraced digital tools to deliver excellent customer and employee service experiences with trust and transparency,” said Clara Shih, CEO of Service Cloud, Salesforce. “With new AI and process automation for Service Cloud, as well as Slack to provide a digital hub to quickly resolve issues across teams and departments, we’re giving agents more time to focus on providing human-centric service and giving customers fast, proactive service to build trust and loyalty.” 

    To help companies better meet the needs of customers, Salesforce is introducing a number of new AI-driven workflows, including Customer Service Incident Management, Omni-Channel Flow and Robotic process automation capabilities (RPA) for Service Cloud.

    The company is also introducing new and improved digital contact center capabilities. These include Einstein Conversation Mining, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) system to help prioritize customer interactions; persistent in-app and web messaging; virtual remote assistant; Workforce Engagement Intraday Management; and Service Cloud Voice for phone, digital channels and CRM data.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • 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 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.

  • Microsoft and SAP Partner to Integrate Microsoft Teams

    Microsoft and SAP Partner to Integrate Microsoft Teams

    Microsoft and SAP are partnering to integrate Teams across SAP’s suite of solutions, with the goal of streamlining customers’ cloud transitions.

    Microsoft Teams and Slack are the two dominant corporate messaging platforms on the market. Salesforce recently inked a deal to acquire Slack in a move that was seen largely as a way to fend off threats and remain competitive. It’s not surprising that Saleforce’s rivals would want to offer similar levels of integration. This is especially true for SAP and Microsoft, both among Salesforce’s biggest competitors.

    The partnerships builds on a joint commitment by the two companies, and will see Teams integrated with SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Customer Experience.

    “New ways of working, collaborating and interacting completely transform how we operate,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE and member of the Executive Board. “By integrating Microsoft Teams across our solution portfolio, we will bring collaboration to the next level, jointly determining the future of work and enabling the frictionless enterprise. Our trusted partnership with Microsoft is focused on continuously advancing customer success. That’s why we are also expanding interoperability with Azure.”

    “The case for digital transformation has never been more urgent,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “By bringing together the power of Azure and Teams with SAP’s solutions, we will help more organizations harness the power of the cloud so they can more quickly adapt and innovate going forward.”

    The new integrations are expected to be available in mid-2021.

  • Slack CEO: No Intention To Make Slack Free

    Slack CEO: No Intention To Make Slack Free

    “There is definitely no intention to make Slack free,” says Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. “What we’ve seen in the last little while is the biggest telco in North America is wall-to-wall on Slack. The operator of the largest integrated health care system in the United States is on Slack. The single largest government contractor in the United States is wall-to-wall on Slack.”

    Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, says that both Slack and Salesforce have no intention of making Slack free for enterprises:

    Slack Connect Key To Value Unlock Of Salesforce Deal

    The simple version of the back story is this is a really unique combination. We believe we can accomplish in the next five years what might have taken us 20 years to do otherwise. That’s the heart of it and it’s a pretty big milestone for us. We’re excited. It wasn’t expected by the outside world but we have a lot of momentum now. We came out of this quarter and we announced our results and Salesforce announced their results. Then we announced the acquisition all at the same time.

    A little bit of this got lost but we added 12,000 new paying customers in that quarter. It’s up 140 percent from a year ago. It matches the crazy surge that we saw during the early days of the pandemic. That momentum is coming from product improvements and it’s coming from Slack Connect which allows two organizations to communicate across organizational boundaries. That’s actually going to be key to the value unlock over the next few years. Salesforce is all about CRM. It’s all about customers and Slack Connect is 95 percent customer-vendor relationships.

    Engagement Layer: Everyone Will See It Later

    This (acquisition) is 100% offense. There are some really unique aspects of this particular combination. We weren’t looking to sell the company. I have a great relationship with Brett Taylor, President, and COO of Salesforce. We’ve known each other for a couple of decades at this point. There’s a way in which we see the world that i think very few people see it today but everyone will see it later. One way to say that is to look at the engagement layer. That’s kind of a weird term but it is the place where the conversations are happening, the places where the decisions are being made, as the perfect place to bring together workflows across organizational boundaries.

    Salesforce has a really broad suite. But of course, we have 2,400 apps in the app directory for Slack. We have 700 000 custom integrations that were developed by customers. These are like unique little integrations, some of them very small, just sending notifications into Slack, and some of them are sophisticated workflows that run entire businesses. That’s something that we will see an increasing degree of sophistication in the messaging environment and an increasing degree of work getting done directly where the decisions are made.

    No Intention To Make Slack Free

    When Brett and I were talking we talked about the opportunity for something that’s one plus one equals seven. If you think back to the 90s and Cisco acquiring small hardware startups and then plugging it into their network of 20,000 salespeople and just selling a lot more of that thing. That’s not it. We will do that as well. We obviously have incredible distribution and incredible reach and incredible relationships across all industries and across all geographies. So we’ll sell more Slack.

    Salesforce recently announced their plan to get to $50 billion in revenue and we’ll play an important part in that. We’ll also be an accelerant for the adoption of Salesforce’s core products. There is definitely no intention to make Slack free. What we’ve seen in the last little while is the biggest telco in North America is wall-to-wall on Slack. The operator of the largest integrated health care system in the United States is on Slack. The single largest government contractor in the United States is wall-to-wall on Slack.

    We win in media and technology, kind of famously, but we also win in retail and apparel and industries that people don’t imagine seeing us. We have 142,000 customers right now. There’s going to be a lot of overlap with Salesforce but there’s also going to be 100,000 plus of those customers which are SMBs and kind of outside of Salesforce’s purview so far. We think there’s the opportunity to bring them into the fold and to connect them all together with Slack Connect.

    Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield: No Intention To Make Slack Free
  • Facebook Buying CRM Startup Kustomer

    Facebook Buying CRM Startup Kustomer

    Facebook has reached a deal to acquire Kustomer, the maker of a “customer service CRM platform built for today.”

    The deal, rumored to be worth at least $1 billion, would be a departure from Facebook’s traditional acquisitions. The company usually buys companies aligned with its consumer-oriented focus, whereas Kustomer’s software is aimed at businesses.

    The move demonstrates Facebook’s interest in monetizing some of its existing businesses, specifically WhatsApp. The company looked at integrating ads in the platform before abandoning the idea due to backlash. Instead, the company has focused on providing businesses with a way to communicate and support their customers via the platform.

    Executives Dan Levy, Facebook VP of Ads and Business Products, and Matt Idema, COO, WhatsApp, made it clear Kustomer is integral to those goals:

    As businesses adjust to an evolving digital environment, they’re seeking solutions that place people at the center, especially when it comes to communication. Any business knows that when the phone rings, they need to answer it. Increasingly, texts and messages have become just as important as that phone call — and businesses need to adapt.

    Kustomer’s platform will help businesses better support and engage with their customers:

    Kustomer is an omnichannel CRM platform that brings customer conversations from various channels together into a single-screen view. It helps businesses automate repetitive tasks so their agents can maximize the time and quality of interactions with customers. Facebook plans to support Kustomer’s operations by providing the resources it needs to scale its business, improve and innovate its product offering, and delight its customers. That way, more people will benefit from customer service that is faster, richer and available whenever and however they need it, whether it’s phone, email, web chat or messaging.

    Facebook is already under scrutiny over antitrust concerns. It remains to be seen if there will be any obstacles to Facebook’s latest acquisition, especially with the incoming Biden/Harris administration.

  • Salesforce/Slack Deal Expected Tuesday

    Salesforce/Slack Deal Expected Tuesday

    Salesforce and Slack are expected to announce a sales agreement Tuesday, in what would be Salesforce’s biggest acquisition to date.

    The two companies made headlines Wednesday with news that Salesforce was looking to purchase the iconic corporate messaging app. At the time, talks were thought to still be in the preliminary stages, with no indication a deal was in sight. Within hours, however, outlets starting reporting the talks were in the advanced stages.

    Things have progressed quickly, as a new report from the Wall Street Journal says a deal could be announced as early as Tuesday after market close. CNBC’s David Faber reports the deal will be roughly half cash and half stock, although it may be slightly weighted toward the cash side.

    Similarly, while initial reports valued Slack at $17 billion, it appears Salesforce will be paying a significant premium. Faber said the deal is not expected to reach $30 billion, but may come close.

    Experts believe the acquisition will help Slack, as well as Salesforce, fend off Microsoft. Slack has been hurt by a number of factors, most significantly Microsoft’s bundling of Teams with Office. Microsoft’s tactics prompted Slack to file an antitrust claim with the EU, a claim Jim Cramer calls “strong.”

    At the same time, Microsoft continues to go after Salesforce’s core CRM market. Its most recent inroad was a partnership with C3.ai and Adobe to create AI-driven CRM.

    The combination of the two companies may ultimately help both compete with Microsoft more effectively.

  • Salesforce May Buy Slack

    Salesforce May Buy Slack

    Salesforce may be looking to make its largest acquisition to date, possibly snapping up Slack, the popular corporate message platform.

    Slack helped define the corporate messaging market and is used by organizations of all sizes. Recently, the company has faced increasing competition from Microsoft Teams, which has eclipsed Slack’s user base.

    Nonetheless, Slack is still wildly popular and continues to strike deals with major companies. In February, IBM announced it was deploying Slack to all 350,000 of its employees. Similarly, in June AWS announced it was deploying Slack to all of its employees. In return, Slack migrated its voice and video calling services to Amazon’s Chime platform.

    The AWS deal also spurred talk that Amazon might be interested in acquiring Slack. Despite Microsoft Teams’ larger market share, Slack is seen as the safe choice for companies that compete with Microsoft and don’t want to rely on a rival for their corporate communication. Given that AWS and Microsoft are the first and second-largest cloud providers, Slack seemed like a natural choice for AWS.

    It appears Salesforce may be interested in purchasing the message platform, however, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The talks appear to be preliminary, and therefore may ultimately come to nothing. Should the a deal be struck, however, it would be the largest in Salesforce history, since Slack is currently valued at $17 billion.

    Salesforce and Slack already integrate with each other. Given that both companies are locked in heated competition with Microsoft, joining forces may make sense. Salesforce, in particular, has been under increased pressure lately, with some analysts believing Microsoft’s open approach to data gives it a significant advantage over Salesforce. Microsoft has also partnered with C3.ai and Adobe to target Salesforce’s core CRM business.

    It remains to be seen if the talks will bear fruit, but it is also possible Saleforce’s interest could spark renewed interest from other parties, such as AWS. Larger companies content to partner with an independent Slack may not want to see it come under the control of a possible competitor. This, in turn, may motivate them to make a move of their own.

  • Salesforce Beware: Microsoft, Adobe and C3.ai Reinvent CRM

    Salesforce Beware: Microsoft, Adobe and C3.ai Reinvent CRM

    Microsoft, Adobe and C3.ai have joined forces to use artificial intelligence (AI) to reinvent customer relationship management (CRM).

    The new product, C3 AI CRM, is powered by Microsoft Dynamics and fully integrates with Adobe Experience Cloud. The goal is to deliver “the first enterprise-class, AI-first customer relationship management solution is purpose-built for industries.”

    Salesforce, in particular, should be worried by this development. Microsoft has been trying for years to dethrone Salesforce as the CRM king, with little success. While Dynamics 365 has certainly carved out a corner of the market, Salesforce is still the undisputed leader.

    The combination of Dynamics’ foundation, C3.ai’s artificial intelligence and Adobe’s “AI-driven solutions for marketing, analytics, advertising, and commerce” may be just the winning combination Microsoft has been looking for.

    “This year has made clear that businesses fortified by digital technology are more resilient and more capable of transforming when faced with sweeping changes like those we are experiencing,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Together with C3.ai and Adobe, we are bringing to market a new class of industry-specific AI solutions, powered by Dynamics 365, to help organizations digitize their operations and unlock real-time insights across their business.”

    The companies made a point of highlighting how the digital transformation had changed the requirements for a CRM solution, with general-purpose software no longer meeting customers’ needs.

    “Microsoft, Adobe, and C3.ai are reinventing a market that Siebel Systems invented more than 25 years ago,” said Thomas M. Siebel, CEO of C3.ai. “The dynamics of the market and the mandates of digital transformation have dramatically changed CRM market requirements. A general-purpose CRM system of record is no longer sufficient. Customers today demand industry-specific, fully AI-enabled solutions that provide AI-enabled revenue forecasting, product forecasting, customer churn, next-best product, next-best offer, and predisposition to buy.”

    Microsoft’s open approach to data and integration have already been labeled a big advantage over Salesforce’s approach. Should this new partnership deliver on its promise, Salesforce may soon find itself scrambling to catch up.

  • Every Digital Transformation Begins and Ends With the Customer, Says Salesforce CEO

    Every Digital Transformation Begins and Ends With the Customer, Says Salesforce CEO

    “Every company is going through a massive digital customer transformation,” says Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “When you see this transformation happening it’s just incredible to watch. I mean this is as big as Y2K was for the tech industry. Every company is going through it. Every one of these major transformations is exactly that, it begins and ends with the customer.”

    Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, discusses their blowout earnings quarter and how the massive digital customer transformation is driving their growth in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC:

    Massive Digital Customer Transformation

    Every customer is going through a massive digital customer transformation. When you see this transformation happening it’s just incredible to watch. I mean this is as big as Y2K was for the tech industry. Every company is going through it. Every one of these major transformations is exactly that, it begins and ends with the customer.

    The federal government was one of the most exciting things that happened in the quarter. It wasn’t just the USDA. It was also the Department of Education and the Department of Interior. It was many departments actually. They’re going through a huge digital transformation in the U.S. federal government and Salesforce has been able to offer many of those agencies is the rapid successful digital transformation that they need. We even had a 10,000 person event in Washington, D.C. during the quarter. That continues to be a fantastic growth area for us.

    We’re number one in CRM which is the fastest growing part of enterprise software. Every company in every industry and every government is recreating themselves with their customer. This is what’s driving our growth. It’s pure and simple.

    Mark Benioff added these comments during the earnings call:

    Every Digital Transformation Begins and Ends With the Customer

    Just last month, IDC Worldwide Software Tracker ranked Salesforce the number one CRM for the sixth year in a row. And I’ll tell you that is more important than ever, especially so many of our customers are going through these tremendous digital transformations. We all know every digital transformation begins and ends with the customer. And when I’m with these CEOs all over the world, this is really front and center in their mind. It’s probably as exciting to them and it’s important to them as it was to CIOs, who are buying for Y2K, which is almost 20 years ago. I think the digital transformation remains just a huge growth opportunity for our entire industry.

    Still In the Early Days of the Digital Transformation

    Well, there are many, many companies in the very early days. In fact, if you talk to one of our largest consulting partners, they’ll tell you less than 20% of their strategic customers have been engaged in the digital transformation, but there’s a lot of room for them in the marketplace.

    So, we have an opportunity here again around this digital transformation and one of the beauties of a product like Trailhead and My Trailhead is helping these companies through their transformation and scale them up with modern technology because the modern worker has to have modern skills. And that’s what Trailhead and My Trailhead really provide the customers. So we really are coming out with an amazing innovation at the right time to satisfy the needs of these customers

    Every Digital Transformation Begins and Ends With the Customer, Says Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff


  • Google Acquires AppSheet, Leading No-Code Development Platform

    Google Acquires AppSheet, Leading No-Code Development Platform

    Google has announced its acquisition of “AppSheet, a leading no-code application development platform used by a number of enterprises across a variety of industries.”

    Custom applications are an excellent way for businesses to meet their needs and adapt to an ever-evolving landscape. As Google points out in their post, however, not all businesses have the resources to have a large, in-house development team. No-code or low-code solutions are an excellent way to address that shortcoming and AppSheet is one of the best available.

    The platform uses a database, spreadsheet or form to build a mobile app. According to the company site, “AppSheet will automatically generate an app by using the data in your column header (i.e. the first row of your spreadsheet) as fields. These fields determine how the app captures or displays data.” Once the data is pulled in, the platform’s tools provide a way to alter how the app looks and behaves.

    “AppSheet complements Google Cloud’s strategy to reimagine the application development space with a platform that helps enterprises innovate with no-code development, workflow automation, application integration and API management as they modernize their business processes in the cloud,” wrote Amit Zavery, Google Cloud VP of Business Application Platform. “AppSheet’s ability to power a range of applications—from CRM to field inspections and personalized reporting—combined with Google Cloud’s deep expertise in key verticals, will further enable digital transformation across industries like financial services, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, communication and media & entertainment.”

    AppSheet currently works with AWS, Box, Dropbox, Office 365, Salesforce and other cloud hosted databases. Both Google’s announcement and an announcement on AppSheet’s site reassures users AppSheet will remain cross-platform.

  • Aviso Launches Version 2.0 of Its AI Guided Selling Platform

    Aviso Launches Version 2.0 of Its AI Guided Selling Platform

    Sales tech company Aviso announced version 2.0 of its AI-powered guided selling platform during Dreamforce event.

    The company’s CEO is Trevor Templar, the former VP of enterprise sales at Salesforce. Templar is taking a page from Salesforce’s playbook, trying to disrupt an industry and end its dependence on legacy CRM systems.

    “Twenty years ago, Salesforce launched their famous ‘No Software’ campaign as a rallying cry for innovative sales technology. Twenty years later, the #NoCRM campaign urges companies to reimagine the sales experience once again with a focus on performance. #NoCRM makes good on what was promised by ‘No Software’ two decades ago through leveraging predictive artificial intelligence to bring sales teams more cost-effective, modern, and insightful software.”

    Aviso uses a ‘less is more’ approach to help companies analyze data, prioritize opportunities and close more deals by providing AI-powered guidance, rather than relying on—and being bogged down by—traditional CRM.

    “CRM is 25% of all enterprise software, but less than half of sales reps meet their quotas, and teams spend more time fluffing and wrangling data than closing deals,” says Templar. “Our customers are excited about our 2.0 platform to shift focus away from CRM databases to using AI guidance for the core business of selling and serving customers.”

    Version 2.0 of Aviso’s uses a next generation core predictive framework, resulting in greater simplicity, flexibility and data generation up to 400% faster. The new platform is in beta with select customers, with a general release expected later this year.

  • Salesforce Launches Sustainability Cloud Ahead of Climate Week 2019

    Salesforce Launches Sustainability Cloud Ahead of Climate Week 2019

    Climate change has been in the news, with people on both sides of the issue debating what should or shouldn’t be done. In the meantime, companies large and small are taking steps to minimize their own carbon footprint, with global sustainable investing (PDF) reaching $30 trillion in 2018, a 34 percent increase over the previous two years.

    To aid in that endeavor, SalesForce has unveiled Sustainability Cloud ahead of Climate Week 2019. Sustainability Cloud is a product that helps businesses make informed decisions about their business operations, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

    The product is designed to give businesses a 360-degree view of their current environmental impact, as well as data-driven insights into the changes they can make. The platform—along with Salesforce Einstein Analytics—provides an easy way for businesses to track, analyze and report environmental data. This will enable companies to track KPIs over time, including renewable energy use, overall energy consumption and carbon emissions. This information can then be used for engagement with executives, investors and customers, as well as for regulatory and audit purposes.

    In the company’s press release, Suzanne DiBianca, chief impact officer and EVP of corporate relations said: “At Salesforce, we’ve always believed business is the greatest platform for change. Addressing climate change with speed and at scale is critical to see a turning point by 2020. Businesses must work together to be the greatest force for climate transformation the world has ever seen.”

  • The Agreement Cloud Is Going To Be The Next Big Cloud, Says DocuSign CEO

    The Agreement Cloud Is Going To Be The Next Big Cloud, Says DocuSign CEO

    “The new cloud opportunity that we see is in the Agreement Cloud,” says DocuSign CEO Dan Springer. “It is going to be the next big cloud because we think this is about bringing multiple clouds together. We work strongly with ERP and strongly with CRM. We’re actually finding opportunities increasingly every day to make the other cloud investments that people are making have more value before them by bringing them together. What connects them is the agreements those companies do.”

    Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign, discusses their launch of the Agreement Cloud and how it will transform companies to more easily work together and “be more agreeable.” Springer was interviewed on CNBC:

    DocuSign Helping Companies Be “More Agreeable”

    We’re super excited about the DocuSign Agreement Cloud. We realize that our customers have said e-signature is a fantastic foundation for their business. But they have a broader set of needs around the way they not only sign agreements but the way they prepare them and the way they manage them after they’ve been signed. So we’ve built out a broader suite of products and that’s what we’re bringing to market today. 

    I think it’s key, the connectedness that Slack is seeing and pushing for is very similar to what we see as well. Companies want to be, in our terminology, more agreeable. Those are the communications they want to have within their companies or their back-office functions that they’ve tried to digitally transform, but also for the front office. They really want to have a customer experience that is what the customers expect so they will be easy to do business with. We see that the Slack moves are very similar to what we’re seeing in the Agreement Cloud.

    The DocuSign Agreement Cloud Explained

    We Like To Talk About How DocuSign Is Unusual

    We’re super excited about the core e-signature business. While we talk about the Agreement Cloud, we think that’s the broader opportunity to really make this one of the most significant cloud opportunities. We don’t in any way want to move away from the excitement we have over the course e-signature business. It’s sort of what brought us to the dance. If you think about the roughly billion dollars of revenue that we will deliver this year the bulk of it will still come from e-signature. The growth opportunities are very broad. 

    We like to talk about the fact that DocuSign is unusual. We serve from the smallest business to the largest enterprise and across all verticals. We are excited to talk about federal. We had our first million-dollar ACVD deal that we just announced in the quarter. So it’s not just that segment, it really is very broad. We think financial services will continue to be a driver for us and as I mentioned federal will be exciting. You’re going to see us continue to expand internationally and domestically. It really is a broad-based opportunity.

    The Agreement Cloud Is Going To Be The Next Big Cloud

    If you think about the overall TAM, e-signature is a $25 billion dollar market. With the broader Agreement Cloud that gets into a magnitude of many billions more, maybe doubling the overall opportunity. When you think about the competitive set it’s so early. We’re only about four or five percent penetrated in the core signature business and less on the broader ones. When we actually talk about competition, we talk about paper and manual processes. This business is so early days. We’re in the early innings. We believe that our biggest competition really is paper and manual processes. We like to say it’s a great competitive set to have because they don’t fight back very hard. It’s just a matter of time before we really are going to be able to replace and modernize those systems.

    When you think about the infrastructure side, it’s a huge part of where the cloud is going. We’ve been much more focused on the application and thinking about that end-user value. But on the infrastructure side, I think it’s a hugely competitive space. It used to be looking like a two-horse race with Microsoft and Amazon. Now looking at some of the other players, such as what Google’s doing, I think you’re going to see more and more competition in that space. I don’t think it’s going to be necessarily bad for those players because it’s a really large expanding market. 

    On the application side, the new cloud opportunity that we see is in the Agreement Cloud. It is going to be the next big cloud because we think this is about bringing multiple clouds together. We work strongly with ERP and strongly with CRM. We’re actually finding opportunities increasingly every day to make the other cloud investments that people are making have more value before them by bringing them together. What connects them is the agreements those companies do.

    The Agreement Cloud Is Going To Be The Next Big Cloud, Says DocuSign CEO Dan Springer
  • If You Don’t Provide a Great Customer Experience You Won’t Survive, Says Zendesk CEO

    If You Don’t Provide a Great Customer Experience You Won’t Survive, Says Zendesk CEO

    “We definitely help companies provide great customer experiences,” says Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane. “That is the new currency of today. You can have the greatest product in the world and you can have the greatest service in the world, but if you don’t provide a great customer experience you’re not going to survive. I think we are in a magical place really being part of this revolution that is empowering customers and empowering businesses to provide a much better customer experience.”

    Mikkel Svane, CEO of Zendesk, discusses how the company has helped change the world of customer expectations in an interview on CNBC:

    Setting a New Bar For Customer Expectations

    We are a software company. We build software solutions for better customer engagement, better customer service, and better customer experiences. We have more than 100,000 brands using our software. We are 3,000 people headquartered here in San Francisco. My broken English is because of my background from Denmark, but we’ve been in San Francisco for ten years and it’s been amazing. What we’ve seen over the last 10 years is that customer expectations have changed like crazy.

    We’ve had the opportunity to work and have had the privilege to work with a lot of the companies here in San Francisco and Silicon Valley that have changed the world and changed the world of customer expectations. Companies like Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest, all these companies completely changed how we use services. We have worked with all of these guys and it has helped shape us as a company. It has set a new bar for how people are expecting the customer service and the customer engagements from the products and the services they’re using today.

    If You Don’t Provide a Great Customer Experience You Won’t Survive

    We definitely help companies provide great customer experiences. That is the new currency of today. You can have the greatest product in the world and you can have the greatest service in the world, but if you don’t provide a great customer experience you’re not going to survive. We started very much in the world of traditional inbound customer service. But in the world of CRM (customer relationship management) all the disciplines within that touches the customer whether that be on the sales side, the shopping side, the service side, the marketing side, all of these things seamlessly flow together.

    From the customer perspective, it’s just one big experience. You don’t want to know if you are talking to sales or marketing or support, you just want to have one experience. That’s why it’s important for us to help power all of these experiences and bring them together.

    Competition is great. Customers go with Zendesk and customers come to us because they want to keep up with customer expectations. That’s not just about digital transformation. It’s really about staying agile, staying quick, and keeping up with the constant change of customer expectations. That’s the world we are in today. What is working today, what is fantastic today, is going to be mundane tomorrow. It’s a generational thing too. Different generations have different expectations. My kids are going to be ruthless.

    Empowering Businesses To Provide a Much Better Customer Experience

    What we have done most recently is that we’ve launched a new platform concept that is built on AWS called Zendesk Sunshine. It’s open, it’s super scalable. and it’s very developer friendly. It allows you as a business to tie all the different things together. Amazon Web Services is a huge free platform. Every business is moving more and more of the infrastructure to AWS. It’s because it’s an architectural change. It’s a new way of being able to tie everything together without necessarily having to rely on formal partnerships between these businesses. That’s very much what we believe in.

    Our customers are serving about a billion consumers and customers every single year. It’s really like helping our customers in keeping up with the massive demand and the massive expectations of businesses today. I think we are in a magical place really being part of this revolution that is empowering customers and empowering businesses to provide a much better customer experience. We really enjoy it.

    If You Don’t Provide a Great Customer Experience You Won’t Survive, Says Zendesk CEO
  • Salesforce co-CEO: Who’s Not Going Through a Customer Transformation?

    Salesforce co-CEO: Who’s Not Going Through a Customer Transformation?

    Salesforce is booming and the reason is that virtually every company in the world is going through a huge digital transformation, according to Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. “The reason why is every company that we’re dealing with is going through a huge digital transformation and every digital transformation begins and ends with the customer,” says Benioff.

    Marc Benioff, co-Founder, Chairman, and co-CEO of Salesforce, recently discussed the companies latest financial results and explained how the digital transformation is powering their continued massive growth in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC:

    Fastest Growing Enterprise Software Company of All Time

    We see hitting our big goal which is $22 to $23 billion in revenue within two fiscal years. By fiscal year 2022. Now here we are we’re giving fiscal year 2020 guidance for the first time at $16 billion. Salesforce remains the fastest growing enterprise software company of all time and that’s incredible. I don’t think the company has ever been stronger or been in a better position.

    These revenue numbers are incredible and way beyond our expectations for the quarter It’s awesome. We had a great quarter, the third quarter was phenomenal. We’re giving phenomenal guidance for the fourth quarter and certainly, we’re all praying and hoping to improve on that by the way and now we can see a strong fiscal year ahead in fiscal year 2020 as well.

    Every Digital Transformation Begins and Ends with the Customer

    I don’t think the company has ever been stronger or been in a better position. The reason why is every company that we’re dealing with is going through a huge digital transformation and every digital transformation begins and ends with the customer.

    Just look at one of the largest deals we did this quarter, it’s a nine-figure deal with one of the largest banks in the world and they’re just rebuilding how they deal with their customers. That’s an amazing story for us just to see everybody go through this transformation. It’s everything that is customer facing for one of the top five financial institutions in the world.

    Another one that I can give you the actual name for that is doing something just as exciting is Citibank. Michael Corbat has done a fantastic job as CEO of Citibank. We’ve been working on the retail transformation there and this quarter they opened the door for us and now we’re doing the wealth transformation as well. We couldn’t be more excited about everything that Citibank is doing.

    Every Company is Transforming Their Customer Relationship

    Every company is transforming their relationship with their customer. We’re going from a world where if you don’t have a digital one-on-one relationship with your customer you’re just not going to be that successful. You can look at some of the huge successes that we’ve had in the quarter. One of the stories that I love is Uber. Uber has a tremendous need to have a relationship not only with you the consumer but also with the driver and their own internal operations. As we’ve been able to improve our relationship with Dara Khosrowshahi and other executives in the company, we’ve seen them really transform their relationships with their customers.

    Apple has been a great opportunity for us, we’ve worked on that for so long. Of course, we all use our Apple products all the time at Salesforce. Now we have a strategic alliance with Apple and we’re encouraging our customers to do what we do which is take their information on the road. All of our products work natively now on iOS. We have the ability to automate every enterprise around that incredible platform and we see customers doing that.

    ServiceMaster Building a 360-Degree View of the Customer

    Another great story during the quarter was ServiceMaster. This is a company that has a lot of brands such as Terminix and many others. This is a huge field service operation but it’s also the integration of their call center, their contact center. They’re trying to build a 360-degree view of the customer, so of course, you’re working with their technicians in the field and they need to have a strong institutional memory of you back in headquarters. That’s a digital transformation that is so exciting for so many companies where they protect their homes.

    Who’s Not Going Through a Customer Transformation?

    We’re the largest and most important CRM company in the world. We’re number one in CRM by market share and revenue and by revenue growth. It’s a big industry and all the players are doing well because every company is going through this customer transformation. Who’s not going through a customer transformation? Everywhere I go in the world this is happening and it’s been going on and it’s not going to stop anytime soon.

    It’s about sales, it’s about service, it’s about marketing, it’s about commerce, it’s about analytics, it’s about applications, it’s about good building community, or in the case of one of the great customers that we have, DuPont, it’s about integration. We had this fantastic acquisition this year, MuleSoft, the ability to integrate everything together. This is so important for us and so many of our customers.