Salesforce Archives - gettectonic.com - Page 42
Changes in Advertising Changing CRMs
22Jun

Changes in Advertising Changing CRMs

Oracle announced last week that it is exiting the advertising business and will sunset its adtech by September 30. While the announcement is not surprising given the massive layoffs in 2022 affecting Oracle Advertising teams, the rapidity of Oracle Advertising’s decline is a clear indicator of how swiftly the digital advertising landscape can evolve. This move is likely just the first of many significant Changes in Advertising Changing CRMs. What happened? Oracle Advertising faced challenges beginning in 2018 and never managed to recover. Several forces related to data deprecation adversely impacted the business: Changes in Advertising Changing CRMs Retooling its acquisitions to function in a consent-driven and regulated environment would have required significant investment from Oracle. Given its track record with privacy law compliance, this would have been a daunting task, necessitating both rapid innovation and market trust in its solutions. What does this mean for the advertising ecosystem? Oracle’s exit from adtech marks a significant shift in the advertising ecosystem. The sharp decline in advertising revenue from $2 billion in 2022 to $300 million in 2024 suggests a major miscalculation by Oracle. Without demand- or supply-side platforms (unlike Google, Microsoft, and Amazon) and lacking a large audience base (unlike Meta, Disney, and Netflix), Oracle’s benefits as an adtech partner or acquirer were unclear. The key question now is whether Oracle’s intellectual property will find new ownership and continue in some form. What does this mean for the marketing ecosystem? The broader marketing ecosystem is likely to see more shifts as major players adapt to the new landscape. Leading martech vendors like Adobe and Salesforce have already transitioned from DMPs to CDPs. Adobe Real-Time CDP and Salesforce Data Cloud for Marketing are gaining market share, while Oracle has struggled in the B2C martech space. Oracle’s decision to cut investments in martech and adtech has significantly impaired its B2C market efforts, with products like Responsys failing to gain the traction that Eloqua has in the B2B space. Oracle also announced it will sunset related B2C marketing products like Oracle Maxymiser in the coming months. These changes are just the beginning of a broader transformation in digital advertising, driven by evolving privacy standards, consumer expectations, and technological advancements. This marks the dawn of a new era in which agility and compliance will be key to success in the digital advertising and marketing landscapes. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 22, 2024in Salesforce Data Cloud
Salesforce Focuses on Data Cloud
22Jun

Salesforce Focuses on Data Cloud

Salesforce’s Focus on Data Cloud Amid Challenging Macro Environment Salesforce is concentrating on its Data Cloud solutions while navigating a challenging macroeconomic landscape after reporting a weaker-than-expected first quarter. Salesforce Focuses on Data Cloud In a recent note, Baird analysts Rob Oliver and Patrick Schulz highlighted Salesforce’s emphasis on its Data Cloud solution: “Salesforce is keenly focused on its Data Cloud solution. The company has cited strength, but overall checks have been mixed. While not material from a revenue perspective, we believe this will remain a top focus area.” Baird’s insights followed a dinner meeting with Salesforce’s investor relations team, where much of the discussion centered on the macroeconomic challenges affecting the company. Salesforce shares fell sharply late last month after the enterprise software giant reported fiscal first-quarter results and guidance that missed estimates. Although the stock has partially recovered, it was down about 2% during late market trading on Wednesday and was removed from BofA’s U.S. 1 List the same day. Salesforce Focuses on Data Cloud Despite the revenue miss in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Salesforce reiterated its full-year guidance, citing confidence driven by several tailwinds, including Data Cloud, pricing/packaging, MuleSoft, regional strengths, and industry-specific offerings. These factors are helping to offset ongoing macroeconomic pressures, according to Oliver and Schulz. “Salesforce has not been alone in calling out a more challenging macro environment,” the analysts noted, referencing similar trends cited by companies like Couchbase (BASE), MongoDB (MDB), and Workday (WDAY). “We believe the company will need to report a solid quarter before investor confidence builds.” Baird maintains its Outperform rating on Salesforce with a price target of $295. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 22, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud
Requirements Engineering
21Jun

Requirements Engineering

Every project needs clear requirements. No exceptions. Without them, a project turns into a group of people standing around, unsure of what to do, essentially making things up as they go. This scenario may sound familiar to anyone who has been involved in disorganized projects. What are requirements? According to the Association for Project Management (APM), “Requirements are the wants and needs of stakeholders clearly defined with acceptance criteria.” Requirements engineering is the process for managing the entire lifecycle of these needs and involves five key stages: Let’s dive deeper into these stages: 1. Requirements Elicitation Sometimes, the term “requirements capture” is used, as if stakeholders’ needs are floating around, waiting to be caught. However, requirements are not passively waiting; they must be actively elicited. Elicitation Methods: Eliciting requirements involves interpreting genuine needs, not just compiling a wish list of requested features. 2. Requirements Analysis Once you’ve gathered a set of requirements, it’s time for analysis to ensure they are comprehensive, feasible, and aligned with the project’s objectives. This phase is crucial because 80% of project errors occur during the requirements phase, yet it often receives less than 20% of a project’s time. Key steps include: 3. Requirements Documentation After analyzing requirements, document them clearly to communicate with stakeholders and developers. A good requirements document typically includes: One popular method for documenting requirements is through user stories, which frame requirements from the user’s perspective: User stories focus on meeting user needs rather than prescribing technical specifications. 4. Requirements Validation The next step is validating your documented requirements. This ensures they accurately represent what users and stakeholders need. Validation methods include: Validation is essential to ensure requirements are complete, realistic, and verifiable. 5. Requirements Management The final phase involves tracking and managing changes to requirements throughout the project. Key Concepts: Agile frameworks often rely on iterative approaches, where product owners manage changes during sprint reviews and retrospectives. Summary Requirements engineering consists of five interdependent stages: elicitation, analysis, documentation, validation, and management. While these concepts may seem detailed, they offer a structured framework that’s essential for delivering high-quality solutions. By following this approach, even smaller, lower-risk digital projects can benefit from clear and actionable requirements. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 21, 2024in Salesforce
Salesforce's Bold Predictions for Holiday 2024 Sales
21Jun

Salesforce’s Bold Predictions for Holiday 2024 Sales

Salesforce’s Predictions for the 2024 Holiday Shopping Season Salesforce’s Bold Predictions for Holiday 2024 Sales include that trade routes, artificial intelligence, pricing, and Chinese shopping applications will significantly influence the 2024 holiday shopping season. Here’s a breakdown of their insights: Changes in Holiday Shopping Experiences Salesforce, the software giant known for its e-commerce platform and cloud services, predicts a “challenging season” for both retailers and consumers. The company notes that shoppers have been delaying major purchases in hopes of finding discounts. As a result, retailers will need to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and economic pressures. Consumer Behavior and Economic Pressures Salesforce observes that consumers, resilient through four years of economic uncertainty, are finally feeling the impact of persistent inflation and supply chain issues. A significant 32% of global consumers have increasingly turned to alternative credit options like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) this year. Holiday Shopping Timeline Salesforce defines the holiday shopping season as running from November 1 to December 31. In 2022, 76 of the top 2000 online merchants in North America, using Salesforce as their e-commerce platform, generated over 6.97 billion in combined online sales. Salesforce’s Bold Predictions for Holiday 2024 Sales 1. Dominance of Chinese Shopping Applications Salesforce predicts that Chinese shopping apps will dominate the holiday season. According to their research, 63% of Western consumers plan to shop from Chinese apps such as Cider, Shein, Temu, TikTok, and Aliexpress. The primary driver for this trend is competitive pricing. Salesforce expects these apps to account for 21% of sales outside China during the holiday season. 2. Impact of Middle-Mile Shipping Costs Middle- and last-mile shipping costs are projected to increase by $197 billion in 2024, a 97% rise from the previous year. Factors contributing to this include rising crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions affecting global shipping routes. Despite these challenges, Salesforce advises retailers not to pass shipping costs onto consumers, as free delivery significantly influences online purchasing decisions. 3. AI Adoption in Gift Searches Salesforce reports that AI influenced 17% of online purchases during the 2023 holiday season, generating 9 million in sales. In 2024, more consumers are expected to use AI for gift discovery. With Google’s integration of generative AI into its search tools, retailers can shift from keyword searches to natural language prompts, potentially tripling conversion rates compared to non-engaged site traffic. Conclusion Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s array of features, including automation, personalization, analytics, and collaboration, empower B2B marketers to streamline their efforts and achieve superior results. By leveraging these capabilities, businesses can elevate their marketing initiatives and drive significant outcomes during the 2024 holiday season. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 21, 2024in Generative AI, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
21Jun

AI and Consumer Goods Cloud

Salesforce’s latest “rolling thunder” of AI enhancements brings significant innovations to Consumer Goods Cloud, leveraging the power of the Einstein AI platform already integrated into Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. These enhancements are designed to optimize planning and execution for consumer goods companies. Salesforce Consumer Goods Cloud is an industry-specific solution that helps consumer goods companies streamline their route-to-market processes. By unifying trade promotion management and retail execution capabilities on a single platform, it enables seamless collaboration between headquarters and field teams. Utilizing Salesforce’s core CRM functionality and the Einstein AI platform, Consumer Goods Cloud empowers companies with data-driven insights and intelligent automation to drive profitable growth. “Consumer goods companies are laser-focused on profitable growth. With the latest Salesforce innovations for Consumer Goods Cloud, they can unify consumer and customer data to plan promotions precisely, equip every field rep with tools to increase sales and reduce downtime, and integrate trusted AI into every service agent’s workflow to solve problems and upsell more frequently,” explained Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail and Consumer Goods at Salesforce. “In short, every consumer goods company can now transform into an AI Enterprise.” What’s New in Consumer Goods Cloud The latest updates in Consumer Goods Cloud focus on integrating Salesforce’s Data Cloud with Einstein generative AI capabilities, enhancing three key areas: Data Cloud for Consumer Goods: Account managers can now unify account and industry data to build rich customer profiles, segment accounts to the individual store level, and design hyper-localized assortment and promotion plans. For instance, a soft drink distributor can identify which citrus-flavored sodas are most popular in specific Mexican convenience stores and optimize replenishment accordingly. Einstein Copilot Account Summarization: Within the service console, agents can access AI-generated account summaries, eliminating the need to switch between screens and knowledge articles. Summaries include last interactions, order history, satisfaction scores, and promotion details, enabling agents to resolve inquiries quickly and upsell intelligently. Consumer Goods Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales: This AI-powered enhancement package provides sales managers, field reps, merchandisers, and delivery drivers with productivity and revenue-boosting insights. Real-time notifications and recommendations on stock levels, replenishment, special handling needs, and payment collection keep field teams responsive and effective. The Salesforce Embedded AI Difference Salesforce’s strategy of embedding AI via a unified Einstein platform offers several advantages: Consistency: With Einstein already integrated into Sales and Service Clouds, Salesforce can efficiently extend proven AI tools to industry-specific use cases, benefiting users with familiar interfaces and interaction paradigms. Completeness: Embedding AI at the platform level allows Salesforce to enhance the entire workflow from planning to execution. Consumer goods companies can apply intelligent insights to both back-office processes like promotion management and field activities like stock checks and payment collection. Continuous Innovation: The Einstein platform enables rapid deployment of Salesforce’s latest generative AI advancements across all clouds, ensuring customers always have access to state-of-the-art capabilities. Mars Snacking, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, is already benefiting from Salesforce’s AI-powered industry cloud. “At Mars Snacking, we are on an ambitious journey to rewire and almost double the size of our business by 2030,” said Bartek Kononiuk, Global Head of Product – Trade Promotion Management. “Consumer Goods Cloud and Trade Promotion Management will enable us to improve our business processes, data availability, and user experience in critical growth-enabling areas.” AI Innovation Comes at a Cost As the consumer goods industry strives to meet rapidly evolving buyer expectations, Salesforce’s embedded AI solutions for Consumer Goods Cloud offer timely advantages. By democratizing access to generative AI and data management capabilities, Salesforce enables companies of all sizes to optimize decision-making, boost field productivity, and drive profitable growth. However, these advanced functionalities come with significant costs. Salesforce’s Einstein AI enhancements often have substantial per-user surcharges, sometimes exceeding $100 per month. For large deployments involving thousands of employees, these expenses can quickly escalate. Consumer goods companies must carefully evaluate the productivity and revenue gains against the added licensing costs. Additionally, while Salesforce is leading the way in enterprise generative AI, the technology is still maturing. Early adopters may encounter instances where the AI delivers suboptimal results. Salesforce’s Trust Layer aims to mitigate these risks, but companies should approach generative AI with a clear understanding of its current limitations. The ongoing enhancements in Salesforce’s Einstein portfolio present a promising yet costly opportunity for customers to evolve into full-fledged AI Enterprises. As the costs and benefits become clearer, consumer goods companies will need to strategically decide where and how aggressively to deploy these advanced capabilities. Those that find the right balance could gain a significant competitive edge in the rapidly changing digital landscape. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 21, 2024in Einstein 1 Platform, Generative AI, Salesforce
DPD Salesforce AI Enhancements
20Jun

DPD Salesforce AI Enhancements

DPD’s AI Integration: Enhancing Customer and Employee Experience DPD has ambitious plans to integrate AI throughout its Salesforce platform, aiming to automate tasks and significantly enhance the experiences of both customers and employees. DPD Salesforce AI Enhancements. Adam Hooper, Head of Central Platforms at DPD, explains that with over 400 million parcels delivered annually, maintaining robust customer relationships is crucial. To this end, DPD leverages a range of Salesforce technologies, including Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Mulesoft. AI-Powered Customer Service In Salesforce’s latest update on DPD: Financial and Operational Efficiency Targeted Marketing Spreadsheets to Salesforce At the Salesforce World Tour event in London, Ben Pyne, Salesforce Platform Manager at DPD, elaborated on their current usage and future AI plans. Pyne’s team acts as internal consultants to optimize organizational workflows. As he explains: “My role is essentially to get people off spreadsheets and onto Salesforce!” He noted that about 40 departments and teams within DPD use Salesforce, far beyond the typical Sales and CRM applications. Custom applications within Salesforce personalize and enhance user experiences by focusing on relevant information. Using tools like Prompt Builder, Pyne’s team recently developed a project management app within Salesforce, streamlining tasks like writing acceptance criteria and user stories. Pyne emphasized: “I want our guys to focus on designing and building, less on the admin.” AI Use Cases When considering AI and generative AI, DPD sees significant potential to reduce operational tasks. Pyne highlighted case summarization as an obvious application, given the millions of customer service cases created each year. Rolling Out Generative AI DPD adopts a cautious approach to rolling out new technologies like generative AI. Pyne explained: “It’s starting small, finding the right teams to be able to do it. But fundamentally, starting somewhere and making slow progressions into it to ensure we don’t scare everybody away.” Ensuring Security and Trust Security and trust are paramount for DPD. Pyne noted their robust IT security team scrutinizes every implementation. Fortunately, Salesforce’s security measures, such as data anonymization and preventing LLMs (Large Language Models) from learning from their data, provide peace of mind. Pyne concluded: “We can focus on what we’re good at and not worry about the rest because Salesforce has thought of everything for us.” Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 20, 2024in Generative AI, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein
Agentic AI is Here
20Jun

Agentic AI is Here

Embracing the Era of Agentic AI: Redefining Autonomous Systems A new paradigm in artificial intelligence, known as “Agentic Artificial Intelligence,” is poised to revolutionize the capabilities of the known autonomous universe. This cutting-edge technology represents a significant leap forward in AI-driven decision-making and action, promising transformative impacts across various industries including healthcare, manufacturing, IT, finance, marketing, and HR. Agents are the way to go! There is no two ways about this. Looking into the progression of the Large Language Model based applications since last year, its not hard to see that the Agentic Process (agents as reusable, specific and dedicated single unit of work) — would be the way to build Gen AI applications. What is Agentic AI? Agentic Artificial Intelligence marks a departure from traditional AI models that primarily focus on passive observation and analysis. Unlike its predecessors, which often require human intervention to execute tasks, Agentic AI systems possess the autonomy to initiate actions independently based on their assessments. This allows them to navigate much more complex environments and undertake tasks with a level of initiative and adaptability previously unseen. At least outside of sci-fy movies. Real-World Applications of Agentic Artificial Intelligence Healthcare In healthcare, Agentic AI systems are transforming patient care. These systems autonomously monitor vital signs, administer medication, and assist in surgical procedures with unparalleled precision. By augmenting healthcare professionals’ capabilities, these AI-driven agents enhance patient outcomes and streamline care processes. Augmenting is the key word, here. Manufacturing and Logistics In manufacturing and logistics, Agentic AI optimizes operations and boosts efficiency. Intelligent agents handle predictive maintenance of machinery, autonomous inventory management, and robotic assembly. Leveraging advanced algorithms and sensor technologies, these systems anticipate issues, coordinate complex workflows, and adapt to real-time production demands, driving a shift towards fully autonomous production environments. Customer Service Within enterprises, AI agents are revolutionizing business operations across various departments. In customer service, AI-powered chatbots with Agentic Artificial Intelligence capabilities engage with customers in natural language, providing personalized assistance and resolving queries efficiently. This enhances customer satisfaction and allows human agents to focus on more complex tasks. Marketing and Sales Agentic Artificial Intelligence empowers marketing and sales teams to analyze vast datasets, identify trends, and personalize campaigns with unprecedented precision. By understanding customer behavior and preferences at a granular level, AI agents optimize advertising strategies, maximize conversion rates, and drive revenue growth. Finance and Accounting In finance and accounting, Agentic AI streamlines processes like invoice processing, fraud detection, and risk management. These AI-driven agents analyze financial data in real time, flag anomalies, and provide insights that enable faster, more informed decision-making, thereby improving operational efficiency. Ethical Considerations of Agentic Artificial Intelligence The rise of Agentic AI also brings significant ethical and societal challenges. Concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and job displacement necessitate robust regulation and ethical frameworks to ensure responsible and equitable deployment of AI technologies. Navigating the Future with Agentic AI The advent of Agentic AI ushers in a new era of autonomy and innovation in artificial intelligence. As these intelligent agents permeate various facets of our lives and enterprises, they present both challenges and opportunities. To navigate this new world, we must approach it with foresight, responsibility, and a commitment to harnessing technology for the betterment of humanity. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 20, 2024in Artificial Intelligence, Data, Enterprise, Marketing Automation, Salesforce, Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Public Sector Solutions, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Technology
AI Center New Era of Cross Industry Collaboration
20Jun

AI Center New Era of Cross Industry Collaboration

On Tuesday, Salesforce celebrated the launch of its new AI center in London with a complimentary training event that was attended by over a hundred software developers and administrators. This event was part of the center’s “AI Now Tour,” aimed at equipping developers from various industries with the skills to build the next generation of AI applications. AI Center New Era of Cross Industry Collaboration is an exciting new stage of artificial intelligence. A lot of “artificial intelligence” captures human creativity that is original. Regulators need to insist on training data transparency. No doubt the center will stand up plenty of conversations around regulations. This initiative underscores Salesforce’s commitment to training 100,000 developers worldwide. Attendees represented diverse sectors including automotive, financial services, retail, consumer goods, travel, hospitality, health and life sciences, and insurance. Needless to say, everyone has an appetite for AI. Reasons People Have Appetite for AI and Reasons They Do Not According to some polls, people are more concerned than excited about artificial intelligence (AI): Paul O’Sullivan, the new head of the Salesforce AI center and the UK&I CTO, discussed the center’s event and content strategy with publication TechInformed. He emphasized a plan to host “deep industry events” with a sector-specific focus, as well as cross-industry events to explore new business models. “Cross-industry opportunities are crucial in the AI landscape,” O’Sullivan noted. “For example, the future of self-driving cars impacts not just the automotive and OEM sectors but also insurance—who will be insured in the future? The driver, the car manufacturer, or the algorithm engineer?” He added that the center will foster thought leadership and cross-industry collaboration, offering new business models for customers. Despite the developer training courses being fully booked until the end of September, O’Sullivan highlighted that the 14,000 sq. ft. center, located in the Blue Fin building near Waterloo, is open to all businesses interested in exploring AI, not just Salesforce customers. In partnership with business growth agencies like London & Partners, O’Sullivan aims to extend training opportunities to local universities and apprenticeship program supporters. “We want to leverage our relationships to support the next generation, including students in art, design, and creative fields,” he said. AI Center New Era of Cross Industry Collaboration The new AI center, part of Salesforce’s $4 billion investment in the UK over the next five years, is located near iconic London landmarks such as the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The opening event was attended by notable UK business and industry figures, including Howard Dawber, the Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, and Janet Coyle CBE, Managing Director of Grow London at London & Partners. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 20, 2024in Salesforce
SFR-Embedding v2 from Salesforce
19Jun

SFR-Embedding v2 from Salesforce

The release of Salesforce Embedding Model version 2 (SFR-embedding-v2) marks a notable milestone in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), underscoring Salesforce’s commitment to advancing AI technologies. SFR-Embedding v2 from Salesforce. Key Highlights of the SFR-embedding-v2 Model Release: Achievement on MTEB Benchmark: SFR-embedding-v2 has achieved a top-1 position on the HuggingFace MTEB benchmark, surpassing a performance score of 70+. This accomplishment reflects its advanced capabilities and the rigorous development undertaken by Salesforce’s research team. Enhanced Multitasking Capabilities: The model introduces a new multi-stage training recipe aimed at enhancing multitasking abilities. This innovative approach enables simultaneous performance across multiple tasks, significantly improving versatility and efficiency. Advancements in Classification and Clustering: Significant strides have been made in classification and clustering tasks, enhancing the model’s ability to understand and categorize data accurately. These improvements make SFR-embedding-v2 highly effective across diverse applications, from data sorting to pattern identification. Strong Retrieval Performance: Beyond classification and clustering, the model excels in retrieval tasks, efficiently locating and retrieving relevant information from extensive datasets. This capability is crucial for AI applications requiring rapid access to data insights. Technical Specifications: SFR-embedding-v2 boasts a substantial size with 7.11 billion parameters and utilizes the BF16 tensor type. These technical specifications contribute to its robust performance and capacity to handle complex tasks, showcasing Salesforce’s innovative AI model architecture. Community and Collaboration: Developed collaboratively by a dedicated team of Salesforce researchers including Rui Meng, Ye Liu, Tong Niu, Shafiq Rayhan Joty, Caiming Xiong, Yingbo Zhou, and Semih Yavuz, the model integrates diverse expertise and innovative approaches, pivotal to its success. Future Directions: Salesforce continues to explore new avenues and enhancements for the model. Future updates aim to push the boundaries of AI capabilities, addressing current limitations and expanding its utility across various sectors. Practical Applications: The versatility of SFR-embedding-v2 extends to text generation, feature extraction, and natural language understanding, making it invaluable across industries such as healthcare and finance where accurate and efficient data processing is critical. In summary, the release of Salesforce Embedding Model version 2 represents a significant advancement in AI technology. Its top performance on benchmarks, enhanced multitasking capabilities, and improvements in critical tasks like classification and clustering underscore its potential to revolutionize AI applications. Supported by robust technical specifications and ongoing research efforts, SFR-embedding-v2 is poised to lead the AI community forward with its innovative capabilities. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 19, 2024in Salesforce
Salesforce Summer 24 CMS Release
19Jun

Salesforce Summer 24 CMS Release

Salesforce CMS Salesforce Summer 24 CMS Release. Clone any content type and its variants, add an API name when you create an enhanced CMS workspace and content, and work with CMS content previews. Salesforce Summer 24 CMS Release Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 19, 2024in Salesforce
Recurring Donations in NPSP
19Jun

Recurring Donations in NPSP

This insight will resonate with those familiar with Salesforce, the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), its various iterations, and other related Salesforce automation features. Recurring Donations in NPSP create a special challenge, Tectonic has found. For those less engaged in these topics, there are still valuable ideas to discuss. For over a decade, there has been an ongoing challenge with handling donations processed through multiple transactions. These Multi-Installment Donation Scenarios (MIDS) include: Tracking donations where the commitment and transaction occur simultaneously is straightforward. For example, credit card donations through online forms require creating a donor record (if it doesn’t already exist) and a gift record. However, when there is a time lag between commitment and transaction, similar processes can be used. The challenge arises when commitments result in multiple checks or credit card transactions over time, breaking standard rules. This has puzzled fundraisers, operations personnel, accountants, and database admins for years, leading to various approaches. Each role may prefer different methods, adding complexity. Even Salesforce has changed its approach to MIDS, resulting in multiple models/modules in circulation. If you feel overwhelmed by MIDS, you’re not alone. MIDS are one of many complex scenarios to record in a donor database. However, other scenarios are not covered in this insight, such as: There are several options for modeling MIDS in Salesforce: Donation With Payments: Commonly used for grants, NPSP automates payment scheduling according to interval rules. This is recommended for organizations using accrual accounting. Legacy Recurring Donations: Allows setting donation schedule rules, with Salesforce automatically creating donations accordingly. Suitable for projection reports and updating each donation when the transaction occurs. Enhanced Recurring Donations: Introduced by Salesforce in 2020, this module solves issues like skipping months or changing future payment amounts by creating one installment ahead. When the installment is paid, the next one is created according to the schedule/rules. Custom “Pledge” Object: Useful for grouping donations according to pledges, without needing automation for scheduling installments. Ideal for tracking multiple data points about each pledge. Our Opinion: Tectonic has a strong preference for Legacy Recurring Donations over Enhanced Recurring Donations, although it’s not a significant issue to use either. Donations with Payments are problematic and should be avoided. Here’s why: Problems with Donations with Payments: The official documentation suggests this model for accrual accounting, but this recommendation is questionable. Many readers lack a foundational understanding of accounting models. Furthermore, dividing a donation into parts (payments) complicates reporting and rollup fields. Recurring Donations Benefits: The Recurring Donations (RD) model is smart and elegant. NPSP’s automations for both Legacy and Enhanced RD modules are strategic and reliable. Using the RD model for more than just traditional recurring donations (like monthly donations) can be beneficial. Rebranding “Recurring Donation” to “Pledge Fulfillment Schedule” can naturally incorporate various MIDS types, such as grants and pledges. Top Tips for Configuring Legacy Recurring Donations: One Odd Thing: In moves management, if a donor switches from a lump sum to installment gifts, create an RD and auto-create installment donations. Delete the first donation in the series and connect the Moves Management donation to the Recurring Donation record. Legacy Recurring Donations are a preferred option for modeling MIDS. This data model is suitable for all scenarios. With proper setup, it can become a powerful tool for a data-driven fundraising department or a streamlined option for tricky use cases. Two principles of good design—“like goes with like” and “measure twice, cut once”—explain why transaction-oriented information should stay on the Donation record, and pledge-oriented information on the Recurring Donation record. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 19, 2024in Salesforce Development Services, Salesforce for Nonprofits, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Salesforce Public Sector Solutions
Mamba-2
19Jun

Mamba-2

Introducing Mamba-2: A New Era in State Space Model Architecture Researchers Tri Dao and Albert Gu have unveiled Mamba-2, the next iteration of their widely popular Mamba-1 model on GitHub. This new model promises significant improvements and innovations in the realm of state space models, particularly for information-dense data like language models. What is Mamba-2? M2 is a state space model architecture designed to outperform older models, including the widely used transformers. It shows remarkable promise in handling data-intensive tasks with greater efficiency and speed. Key Features of Mamba-2 Core Innovation: Structured State Space Duality (SSD) Performance Improvements Architectural Changes Performance Metrics In rigorous testing, M2 demonstrated superior scaling and faster training times compared to M1. Pretrained models, with sizes ranging from 130 million to 2.8 billion parameters, have been trained on extensive datasets like Pile and SlimPajama. Performance remains consistent across various tasks, with only minor variations due to evaluation noise. Specifications Getting Started with Mamba-2 To start using M2, install it via the command !pip install mamba-ssm and integrate it with PyTorch. Pretrained models are available on Hugging Face, facilitating easy deployment for various tasks. Conclusion Mamba-2 marks a significant advancement in state space model architecture, offering enhanced performance and efficiency over its predecessor and other models like transformers. Whether you’re engaged in language modeling or other data-intensive projects, M2 provides a powerful and efficient solution. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 19, 2024in Salesforce
Cyber Group Targets SaaS Platforms
18Jun

Cyber Group Targets SaaS Platforms

Cyber Group UNC3944 Targets SaaS Platforms like Azure, Salesforce, vSphere, AWS, and Google Cloud UNC3944, also known as “0ktapus” and “Scattered Spider,” has shifted its focus to attacking Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, as reported by Google Cloud’s Mandiant threat intelligence team. This hacking group, previously linked to incidents involving companies such as Snowflake and MGM Entertainment, has evolved its strategies to concentrate on data theft and extortion. Cyber Group Targets SaaS Platforms Attack Techniques UNC3944 exploits legitimate third-party tools for remote access and leverages Okta permissions to expand their intrusion capabilities. One notable aspect of their attacks involves creating new virtual machines in VMware vSphere and Microsoft Azure, using administrative permissions linked through SSO applications for further activities. The group uses commonly available utilities to reconfigure virtual machines (VMs), disable security protocols, and download tools such as Mimikatz and ADRecon, which extract and combine various artifacts from Active Directory (AD) and Microsoft Entra ID environments. Evolving Methods Initially, UNC3944 employed a variety of techniques, but over time, their methods have expanded to include ransomware and data theft extortion. Active since at least May 2022, the group has developed resilience mechanisms against virtualization platforms and improved their ability to move laterally by abusing SaaS permissions. The group also uses SMS phishing to reset passwords and bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA). Once inside, they conduct thorough reconnaissance of Microsoft applications like SharePoint to understand remote connection needs. According to Google Cloud’s Mandiant team, UNC3944’s primary activity is now data theft without using ransomware. They employ expert social engineering tactics, using detailed personal information to bypass identity checks and target employees with high-level access. Social Engineering and Threats Attackers often pose as employees, contacting help desks to request MFA resets for setting up new phones. If help desk staff comply, attackers can easily bypass MFA and reset passwords. If social engineering fails, UNC3944 resorts to threats, including doxxing, physical threats, or releasing compromising material to coerce credentials from victims. Once access is gained, they gather information on tools like VPNs, virtual desktops, and remote work utilities to maintain consistent access. Targeting SaaS and Cloud Platforms UNC3944 targets Okta’s single sign-on (SSO) tools, allowing them to create accounts that facilitate access to multiple systems. Their attacks extend to VMware’s vSphere hybrid cloud management tool and Microsoft Azure, where they create virtual machines for malicious purposes. By operating within a trusted IP address range, they complicate detection. Additional targets include SaaS applications like VMware’s vCenter, CyberArk, Salesforce, CrowdStrike, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. Office 365 is another focus, with attackers using Microsoft’s Delve tool to identify valuable information. To exfiltrate data, they use synchronization utilities such as Airbyte and Fivetran to transfer information to their own cloud storage. The group also targets Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) to extract certificates and employ Golden SAML attacks for continued access to cloud applications. They leverage Microsoft 365 capabilities like Office Delve for quick reconnaissance and data mining. Recommendations – Cyber Group Targets SaaS Platforms Mandiant advises deploying host-based certificates with MFA for VPN access, implementing stricter conditional access policies, and enhancing monitoring for SaaS applications. Consolidating logs from crucial SaaS applications and monitoring virtual machine setups can help identify potential breaches. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 18, 2024in Salesforce, Salesforce Managed Services, Snowflake
Salesforce Education Cloud
18Jun

Get to Know Salesforce Education Cloud

Introducing the next-generation CRM for education: Education Cloud, your institution’s digital foundation for the future. In an ever-changing digital world of education, Education Cloud’s configurable and secure platform equips your institution to stay ahead, ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Let’s get to know Salesforce Education Cloud. Harnessing the full power of Salesforce, Education Cloud integrates insights across recruitment, admissions, and student success, providing a unified view of every learner’s complete and varied journey. With a single source of truth, your institution can create personalized experiences that foster lifelong learning — from prospective students to engaged alumni. With Salesforce at the heart of your institution’s IT solution, tasks are streamlined, scalable, and foster collaboration across departments. Education Cloud empowers your institution with cutting-edge technologies, including: Join the Trailblazer Community to connect with user groups, share best practices, and get support as you explore Education Cloud. Log in with your Salesforce credentials and engage with the Education Hub and Education Release Readiness groups. Get to Know Salesforce Education Cloud Education Cloud offers a learner-first, organization-wide platform that enhances stakeholder engagement and collaboration. Dive into what Education Cloud provides, experience it firsthand with a trial org, and discover recommended setups to prepare for your implementation. Explore What’s Included with Education Cloud Education Cloud provides an education-centric data model within Salesforce, enabling you to build applications that support the entire learning experience and meet user needs. Recruitment and Admissions Education Cloud modernizes recruitment and admissions by providing an online portal and powerful collaboration tools. Today’s prospective students expect a connected, online experience, and Education Cloud ensures your institution is ready to meet those expectations. The heart of this process is an online portal where learners can: The portal collects essential information, which is seamlessly integrated into Salesforce. To manage the complexities of recruitment and admissions, use the Recruiting and Admissions Consoles, which offer: Academic Operations Centralize and manage your institution’s academic offerings with Education Cloud’s Academic Operations. This feature allows staff to: The data you manage here becomes the foundation for tools in Recruitment & Admissions and Student Success apps, ensuring a seamless flow of information across your institution. Student Success Education Cloud equips your institution with powerful tools to support learner success, from career counseling to large-scale orientation programs. Use it to: Example: Empowering Success At Valley School District, counselor Devi Gill uses Education Cloud’s Student Success app to manage remote learning challenges, like coordinating book deliveries and assisting seniors with college applications. At Callaras University, academic advisor Adrian Morges utilizes the same app to help students like Stephanie and Stuart navigate their educational paths. Mentoring Programs Mentoring is vital for student success, providing academic guidance, career development, and personal support. Education Cloud helps you manage mentoring programs by allowing you to: Alumni Relations Sustained alumni engagement is essential for institutional growth. Education Cloud offers tools to manage alumni relationships effectively, providing a 360-degree view of each alumnus. Use it to: Developer Resources for Education Cloud Access developer resources like entity relationship diagrams (ERD), object references, and apex references to customize and extend Education Cloud to meet your institution’s needs. Explore these features and more with Education Cloud to elevate your institution’s ability to deliver personalized, scalable, and impactful educational experiences. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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June 18, 2024in Salesforce Education Cloud

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