Dive into some of the highlights from Salesforce’s recent product updates and significant advances in its Data Cloud. Learn about key features and Boston SoftDesign’s recommendations on AI, data integration, and data privacy.
Salesforce is an innovator in generative AI and data integration, constantly iterating its ecosystem with new features that advance customer experience. Recently, Salesforce released a new series of tools built on its Einstein 1 generative AI platform that backs the company’s commitment to transforming businesses into AI-powered enterprises.
Let’s dive into some of the highlights from Salesforce’s recent product updates and significant advances in the Salesforce Data Cloud. We’ll discuss key features (as we see them) and share our recommendations on AI, data integration, and data privacy.
How Salesforce is Connecting CRM, Customer Data, and Generative AI
At the New York stop on Salesforce’s World Tour in April, CTO Parker Harris emphasized the importance of customer data and generative AI for the future of business. Harris expressed that AI isn’t going anywhere; it’s here to stay, and it can benefit every industry and business if they take advantage of it.
For the last year, AI has been the talk of the town, and customer data continues to be the gold mine of the digital era. Companies can combine their CRM and customer data with AI-powered tools to become a truly AI-driven ecosystem, leveraging the power of customer data without compromising on trust. Indeed, Harris suggests that leaders who are ahead of the curve in AI adoption have a better chance of building successful customer relationships.
Harris explained that, while LLMs (Large Language Models) are critical, the true power of AI in the business world lies in data. He stressed that AI use cases must be relevant to specific business domains and ideally integrated with particular business data and needs. By augmenting LLM with real company data, AI can provide actionable output specific to the particular company and organization. This guidance ensures that AI solutions are not just intelligent but also practical and impactful—more on this below.
The significance of data integration across business applications was underscored by the Mulesoft Connectivity Benchmark Report 2024, which revealed that 72% of company applications are disconnected, resulting in silos of trapped data.
Systems fragmentation bars business leaders from cohesively collecting, managing, and analyzing the data at their disposal—and achieving seamless operations. This is a challenge 25 years in the making, and Salesforce has evolved its mission over the last quarter-century to address fragmentation at scale with Customer 360 and Einstein 1, striving to help companies transition to an AI Enterprise state.
How to Become an AI Enterprise
Salesforce introduced a five-step approach to guide businesses on their journey to becoming AI Enterprises:
- Build Customer 360 (Einstein 1)
- Unify and Harmonize Data (Data Platform)
- Collaborate with AI (Slack)
- Deliver AI Analytics (Tableau)
- Deploy Trusted AI & Copilot (Einstein)
Salesforce’s approach is structured for integration by design, seamlessly blending AI into business operations and using data and analytics capabilities to drive decision-making.
Build Customer 360 (Einstein 1)
Einstein 1 is the latest innovation from Salesforce, building on their core platforms and applications such as Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, and Tableau. This is a hyper-scale data engine designed to bring all data together and make it actionable through generative AI.
By integrating closely with Salesforce metadata, Data Cloud ensures that data can be used instantly across all applications and connect the islands of data that have been previously trapped and siloed.
Unify and Harmonize Data (Data Platform)
The Integrated Metadata Framework
Einstein 1’s foundation, which makes the Data Cloud possible, is the Integrated Metadata Framework, which defines and serves as a descriptive layer for data. This framework unifies the context and format of all data—structured, semi-structured, and unstructured—making it easier to understand, manage, and use across all Salesforce applications.
This unified approach empowers AI by providing context-specific information, enhancing the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated responses through techniques like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), which is simply explained as adding some context to the prompt so the data can be understood.
Zero Copy Partner Network
A significant highlight also mentioned at the Salesforce World Tour was the announcement of the Zero Copy Partner Network, which enables data integration from various sources such as AWS, Databricks, Snowflake, Google Cloud, and Azure.
This network allows businesses to “virtually mount” data tables within the Data Cloud, maintaining data in its source systems while providing actionable insights—without creating another data silo. Connecting these separate data sources will allow businesses to become AI-driven enterprises more easily, removing the obstacle of data silos in different platforms.
Collaborate with AI
Slack as the Key Collaboration Platform
In his presentation at the Salesforce World Tour event in April, Parker Harris explained the strategic shift towards Slack as the primary platform for AI collaboration. Einstein Copilot is now integrated across all Salesforce applications, including Slack, and will enable natural language interactions with AI.
Once this feature becomes generally available this summer, users will be able to utilize AI across the entire Salesforce ecosystem and external applications. This is just one of a slew of AI innovations within Slack that businesses can use to increase productivity and collaboration.
Deliver AI Analytics
Enriching Customer Data
80% of customers surveyed believed that companies should be able to improve customer experience due to all the data they collect, yet few have proven that they can deliver in this area. In fact, 75% of IT organizations have trouble transforming data into user experiences. Einstein Copilot works to improve those numbers.
Data Cloud’s new capabilities allow businesses to enrich customer data from multiple sources, offering insights into product usage, customer satisfaction, and more. This real-time, company-specific data can generate personalized notifications, such as suggesting new experiences and products to customers that they’re likely to be interested in and take advantage of. Salesforce’s focus on actionable data ensures that insights lead to tangible outcomes, including increased success and repeat customers.
AI Templates and Einstein Copilot
Clara Shih, CEO of Salesforce AI, announced the June and October releases planned for Einstein Copilot in 2024. With the help of Einstein’s new capabilities, Salesforce is developing ready-to-use AI templates for various products, including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Tableau. These templates automate tasks such as sales emails, call summaries, case summaries, and data analysis, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
Deploy Trusted AI & Copilot
Ensuring Data Security with Einstein Trust Layer
Salesforce is also addressing data security concerns with the Einstein Trust Layer. This security framework ensures secure data retrieval, data masking, secure generation, audit trails, along with more protection features. It’s a flexible solution that enables companies to use their preferred LLMs while ensuring that sensitive data remains protected and minimizing the risk of hallucinations and other data issues.
Deploying Automation with Flow
Up to 62% of lost time in the workplace falls to repetitive tasks, and Salesforce is tapping AI to decrease that number. Einstein Copilot can be used to create plans specific to each business, but it can also take action and execute the plan, which is unique to this generative AI platform. Automation Flow can be integrated with other data platforms and LLMs, ensuring that all data is available for automation, always.
Why Salesforce and its AI Platform Matter
Salesforce’s vision for the future, where AI and data integration can play pivotal roles in business transformation, is coming to life.
With innovations like Einstein 1, Data Cloud, and the Zero Copy Partner Network, Salesforce is empowering businesses to harness the full potential of their data and drive intelligent, actionable insights.
As companies navigate AI implementation and pressure to increase productivity at scale, Salesforce’s comprehensive solutions and commitment to data security offer a trusted and secure path to success.
To maximize Salesforce integrations and CRM solutions, talk to your IT team or work with an IT services provider like Boston SoftDesign.
