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Databricks Tools

Databricks Tools

Databricks recently introduced Databricks Apps, a toolkit designed to simplify AI and data application development. By integrating native development platforms and offering automatic provisioning of serverless compute, the toolkit enables customers to more easily develop and deploy applications. Databricks Apps builds on the existing capabilities of Mosaic AI, which allows users to integrate large language models (LLMs) with their enterprise’s proprietary data. However, the ability to develop interactive AI applications, such as generative AI chatbots, was previously missing. Databricks Apps addresses this gap, allowing developers to build and deploy custom applications entirely within the secure Databricks environment. According to Donald Farmer, founder and principal of TreeHive Strategy, Databricks Apps removes obstacles like the need to set up separate infrastructure for development and deployment, making the process easier and more efficient. The new features allow companies to go beyond implementing AI/ML models and create differentiated applications that leverage their unique data sets. Kevin Petrie, an analyst at BARC U.S., highlighted the significance of Databricks Apps in helping companies develop custom AI applications, which are essential for maintaining a competitive edge. Databricks, founded in 2013, was one of the pioneers of the data lakehouse storage format, and over the last two years, it has expanded its platform to focus on AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities. The company’s $1.3 billion acquisition of MosaicML in June 2023 was a key milestone in building its AI environment. Databricks has since launched DBRX, its own large language model, and introduced further functionalities through product development. Databricks Apps, now available in public preview on AWS and Azure, advances these AI development capabilities, simplifying the process of building applications within a single platform. Developers can use frameworks like Dash, Flask, Gradio, Shiny, and Streamlit, or opt for integrated development environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio Code or PyCharm. The toolkit also provides prebuilt Python templates to accelerate development. Additionally, applications can be deployed and managed directly in Databricks, eliminating the need for external infrastructures. Databricks Apps includes security features such as access control and data lineage through the Unity Catalog. Farmer noted that the support for popular developer frameworks and the automatic provisioning of serverless compute could significantly impact the AI development landscape by reducing the complexity of deploying data architectures. While competitors like AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Snowflake have also made AI a key focus, Farmer pointed out that Databricks’ integration of AI tools into a unified platform sets it apart. Databricks Apps further enhances this competitive advantage. Despite the added capabilities of Databricks Apps, Petrie cautioned that developing generative AI applications still requires a level of expertise in data, AI, and the business domain. While Databricks aims to make AI more accessible, users will still need substantial knowledge to effectively leverage these tools. Databricks’ vice president of product management, Shanku Niyogi, explained that the new features in Databricks Apps were driven by customer feedback. As enterprise interest in AI grows, customers sought easier ways to develop and deploy internal data applications in a secure environment. Looking ahead, Databricks plans to continue investing in simplifying AI application development, with a focus on enhancing Mosaic AI and expanding its collaborative AI partner ecosystem. Farmer suggested that the company should focus on supporting nontechnical users and emerging AI technologies like multimodal models, which will become increasingly important in the coming years. The introduction of Databricks Apps marks a significant step forward in Databricks’ AI and machine learning strategy, offering users a more streamlined approach to building and deploying AI applications. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Salesforce Data Cloud and Zero Copy

Salesforce Data Cloud and Zero Copy

As organizations across industries gather increasing amounts of data from diverse sources, they face the challenge of making that data actionable and deriving real-time insights. With Salesforce Data Cloud and zero copy architecture, organizations can streamline access to data and build dynamic, real-time dashboards that drive value while embedding contextual insights into everyday workflows. A session during Dreamforce 2024 with Joanna McNurlen, Principal Solution Engineer for Data Cloud at Salesforce, discussed how zero copy architecture facilitates the creation of dashboards and workflows that provide near-instant insights, enabling quick decision-making to enhance operational efficiency and competitive advantage. What is zero copy architecture?Traditionally, organizations had to replicate data from one system to another, such as copying CRM data into a data warehouse for analysis. This approach introduces latency, increases storage costs, and often results in inconsistencies between systems. Zero copy architecture eliminates the need for replication and provides a single source of truth for your data. It allows different systems to access data in its original location without duplication across platforms. Instead of using traditional extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes, systems like Salesforce Data Cloud can connect directly with external databases, such as Google Cloud BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks, or Amazon Redshift, for real-time data access. Zero copy can also facilitate data sharing from within Salesforce to other systems. As Salesforce expands its zero copy partner network, opportunities to easily connect data from various sources will continue to grow. How does zero copy work?Zero copy employs virtual tables that act as blueprints for the data structure, enabling queries to be executed as if the data were local. Changes made in the data warehouse are instantly visible across all connected systems, ensuring users always work with the latest information. While developing dashboards, users can connect directly to the zero copy objects within Data Cloud to create visualizations and reports on top of them. Why is zero copy beneficial?Zero copy allows organizations to analyze data as it is generated, enabling faster responses, smarter decision-making, and enhanced customer experiences. This architecture reduces reliance on data transformation workflows and synchronizations within both Tableau and CRM Analytics, where organizations have historically encountered bottlenecks due to runtimes and platform limits. Various teams can benefit from the following capabilities: Unlocking real-time insights in Salesforce using zero copy architectureZero copy architecture and real-time data are transforming how organizations operate. By eliminating data duplication and providing real-time insights, the use of zero copy in Salesforce Data Cloud empowers organizations to work more efficiently, make informed decisions, and enhance customer experiences. Now is the perfect time to explore how Salesforce Data Cloud and zero copy can elevate your operations. Tectonic, a trusted Salesforce partner, can help you unlock the potential of your data and create new opportunities with the Salesforce platform. Connect with us today to get started. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Agentforce - AI's New Role in Sales and Service

Agentforce – AI’s New Role in Sales and Service

From Science Fiction to Reality: AI’s Game-Changing Role in Service and Sales AI for service and sales has reached a critical tipping point, driving rapid innovation. At Dreamforce in San Francisco, hosted by Salesforce we explored how Salesforce clients are leveraging CRM, Data Cloud, and AI to extract real business value from their Salesforce investments. In previous years, AI features branded under “Einstein” had been met with skepticism. These features, such as lead scoring, next-best-action suggestions for service agents, and cross-sell/upsell recommendations, often required substantial quality data in the CRM and knowledge base to be effective. However, customer data was frequently unreliable, with duplicate records and missing information, and the Salesforce knowledge base was underused. Building self-service capabilities with chatbots was also challenging, requiring accurate predictions of customer queries and well-structured decision trees. This year’s Dreamforce revealed a transformative shift. The advancements in AI, especially for customer service and sales, have become exceptionally powerful. Companies now need to take notice of Salesforce’s capabilities, which have expanded significantly. Agentforce – AI’s New Role in Sales and Service Some standout Salesforce features include: At Dreamforce, we participated in a workshop where they built an AI agent capable of responding to customer cases using product sheets and company knowledge within 90 minutes. This experience demonstrated how accessible AI solutions have become, no longer requiring developers or LLM experts to set up. The key challenge lies in mapping external data sources to a unified data model in Data Cloud, but once achieved, the potential for customer service and sales is immense. How AI and Data Integrate to Transform Service and Sales Businesses can harness the following integrated components to build a comprehensive solution: Real-World Success and AI Implementation OpenTable shared a successful example of building an AI agent for its app in just two months, using a small team of four. This was a marked improvement from the company’s previous chatbot projects, highlighting the efficiency of the latest AI tools. Most CEOs of large enterprises are exploring AI strategies, whether by developing their own LLMs or using pre-existing models. However, many of these efforts are siloed, and engineering costs are high, leading to clunky transitions between AI and human agents. Tectonic is well-positioned to help our clients quickly deploy AI-powered solutions that integrate seamlessly with their existing CRM and ERP systems. By leveraging AI agents to streamline customer interactions, enhance sales opportunities, and provide smooth handoffs to human agents, businesses can significantly improve customer experiences and drive growth. Tectonic is ready to help businesses achieve similar success with AI-driven innovation. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Is Agentforce Different?

Is Agentforce Different?

The Salesforce hype machine is in full swing, with product announcements like Chatter, Einstein GPT, and Data Cloud, all positioned as revolutionary tools that promise to transform how we work. Is Agentforce Different? However, it’s often difficult to separate fact from fiction in the world of Salesforce. The cloud giant thrives on staying ahead of technological advancements, which means reinventing itself every year with new releases and updates. You could even say three times per year with the major releases. Why Enterprises Need Multiple Salesforce Orgs Over the past decade, Salesforce product launches have been hit or miss—primarily miss. Offerings like IoT Cloud, Work.com, and NFT Cloud have faded into obscurity. This contrasts sharply with Salesforce’s earlier successes, such as Service Cloud, the AppExchange, Force.com, Salesforce Lightning, and Chatter, which defined its first decade in business. One notable exception is Data Cloud. This product has seen significant success and now serves as the cornerstone of Salesforce’s future AI and data strategy. With Salesforce’s growth slowing quarter over quarter, the company must find new avenues to generate substantial revenue. Artificial Intelligence seems to be their best shot at reclaiming a leadership position in the next technological wave. Is Agentforce Different? While Salesforce has been an AI leader for over a decade, the hype surrounding last year’s Dreamforce announcements didn’t deliver the growth the company was hoping for. The Einstein Copilot Studio—comprising Copilot, Prompt Builder, and Model Builder—hasn’t fully lived up to expectations. This can be attributed to a lack of AI readiness among enterprises, the relatively basic capabilities of large language models (LLMs), and the absence of fully developed use cases. In Salesforce’s keynote, it was revealed that over 82 billion flows are launched weekly, compared to just 122,000 prompts executed. While Flow has been around for years, this stat highlights that the use of AI-powered prompts is still far from mainstream—less than one prompt per Salesforce customer per week, on average. When ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022, many predicted the dawn of a new AI era, expecting a swift and dramatic transformation of the workplace. Two years later, it’s clear that AI’s impact has yet to fully materialize, especially when it comes to influencing global productivity and GDP. However, Salesforce’s latest release feels different. While AI Agents may seem new to many, this concept has been discussed in AI circles for decades. Marc Benioff’s recent statements during Dreamforce reflect a shift in strategy, including a direct critique of Microsoft’s Copilot product, signaling the intensifying AI competition. This year’s marketing strategy around Agentforce feels like it could be the transformative shift we’ve been waiting for. While tools like Salesforce Copilot will continue to evolve, agents capable of handling service cases, answering customer questions, and booking sales meetings instantly promise immediate ROI for organizations. Is the Future of Salesforce in the Hands of Agents? Despite the excitement, many questions remain. Are Salesforce customers ready for agents? Can organizations implement this technology effectively? Is Agentforce a real breakthrough or just another overhyped concept? Agentforce may not be vaporware. Reports suggest that its development was influenced by Salesforce’s acquisition of Airkit.AI, a platform that claims to resolve 90% of customer queries. Salesforce has even set up dedicated launchpads at Dreamforce to help customers start building their own agents. Yet concerns remain, especially regarding Salesforce’s complexity, technical debt, and platform sprawl. These issues, highlighted in this year’s Salesforce developer report, cannot be overlooked. Still, it’s hard to ignore Salesforce’s strategic genius. The platform has matured to the point where it offers nearly every functionality an organization could need, though at times the components feel a bit disconnected. For instance: Salesforce is even hinting at usage-based pricing, with a potential $2 charge per conversation—an innovation that could reshape their pricing model. Will Agents Be Salesforce’s Key to Future Growth? With so many unknowns, only time will tell if agents will be the breakthrough Salesforce needs to regain the momentum of its first two decades. Regardless, agents appear to be central to the future of AI. Leading organizations like Copado are also launching their own agents, signaling that this trend will define the next phase of AI innovation. In today’s macroeconomic environment, where companies are overstretched and workforce demands are high, AI’s ability to streamline operations and improve customer service has never been more critical. Whoever cracks customer service AI first could lead the charge in the inevitable AI spending boom. We’re all waiting to see if Salesforce has truly cracked the AI code. But one thing is certain: the race to dominate AI in customer service has begun. And Salsesforce may be at the forefront. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Winter 25 Salesforce Release

Get Ready for Winter 25 Salesforce Release

Salesforce Winter 25 Release notes are here. Salesforce Overall Learn about new features and enhancements that affect your Salesforce experience overall. August 8: Get early access by signing up for a Pre-Release org Admins can sign up for a pre-release Developer Edition environment, which is full of all the Winter ’25 features to explore to your heart’s content. Developer environments are stand-alone environments where you can learn, build, and get comfortable with features and functionality. If you already had a pre-release org for Summer ’24, you can log back into that one. August 14: Review the Release Notes Search the products you use for release updates in the Release Notes section of Salesforce Help. The notes will go live August 14 and we will share the link here. Get help from the community! With each release, there are a number of blogs by community members who break it down. Check out the Release Readiness Trailblazer Community Group where you can continue to get updates, share your favorite features, and ask questions about the upcoming release. August 19: Be Release Ready with Winter ’25 features for Admins Starting on August 19th, we’ll begin publishing blog posts on the Admin Blog to help you Be Release Ready with Winter ’25 features. Get ready to dive into blog posts featuring Winter ’25 user access highlights and more! As blog posts and more release resources become available, we’ll be updating the Be Release Ready page with all the resources and information you need to get started with Winter ’25. August 29 before 5 p.m. PT: Be sure to refresh your Sandbox Once you’ve explored the pre-release org and reviewed the Release Notes for features that are important to you, it’s time to try out features related to your customizations in your sandbox. This is a great time to evaluate how specific features may be useful or impact the way your organization uses Salesforce. During each release, there is a group of sandboxes slated to remain on the non-preview instance (i.e. the current release) while there is another group of sandboxes that will upgrade to the preview instance. Use the Salesforce Sandbox Preview Guide to determine the plan for your sandbox instance(s). Use the tool where you can search by sandbox instance and then specify what you want to do with your sandbox — stay on the non-preview or move to preview. It will then instruct you to refresh your sandbox to get to the desired instance or inform you that there is no action needed because your sandbox is slated for the desired instance. Contact Tectonic today if you need assistance getting Salesforce release ready. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Winter 25 Release Notes

Winter 25 Release Notes

The Winter ’25 release is available through the pre-release program. On August 30, 2024, Sandboxes will be upgraded, providing your organization with the Winter ’25 release experience. Set Up Your Pay Now Store Quickly and Easily Use the streamlined automated setup to get your Pay Now store up and running effortlessly. The guided process walks you through each step needed to configure your store. This feature is available in Salesforce Payments for Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer editions. How to Set Up: Gain Insight into How User Permissions Are Granted Simplify user management with visibility into the profiles, permission sets, and permission set groups that grant permissions to a user. The User Access Summary now provides detailed information about a user’s assigned object, field, user, and custom permissions. Previously, identifying the source of a user’s permissions required multiple steps, but now you can access this information with just a few clicks. This change applies to Lightning Experience in all editions. How to Use: See How Object Access Is Granted in Object Manager Quickly view the permission sets, permission set groups, and profiles that grant access to an object, along with the level of access provided. The read-only Object Access Summary in Object Manager allows for quick checks during troubleshooting, reviews, or when deciding how to grant user access. This update is available in Lightning Experience across all editions. How to Access: Improve Performance for List Views on Custom and Standard Objects To enhance performance and meet the latest accessibility standards, list views for both custom and standard objects now render using Lightning Web Components (LWC) instead of Aura. LWC, Salesforce’s latest framework, delivers data faster and enables new features for list views. Previously, only custom object list views in sandboxes used LWC. This update applies to Lightning Experience in all editions. How to Use: Configure Record Highlights in Lightning App Builder Enhance your Lightning pages with the new Dynamic Highlights Panel, which lets you configure important fields directly within the Lightning App Builder. Previously, this was only possible through compact layouts in Setup. The Dynamic Highlights Panel can hold up to 12 fields and adjusts responsively to browser size. This feature is available in Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions. How to Implement: Make Record Fields Stand Out with Conditional Formatting Highlight key information on record pages using conditional formatting in Lightning App Builder. On Dynamic Forms-enabled pages, you can assign custom icons and colors to fields based on defined criteria, such as field values or other conditions on the page. This feature is available on a rolling basis starting in early September 2024 for Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions. How to Use: Save Time with New Messaging Components for Enhanced Bots (Generally Available) Empower customers and save service agents’ time with the new messaging components for enhanced bots. These include authentication, custom, form, and payment messaging components, which can handle more complex use cases on enhanced Apple Messages for Business channels. The form component is also available for Messaging for In-App and Web. These updates apply to Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic in Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions, with bot setup available only in Lightning Experience. How to Implement: Enhance Your LWR Site Experience by Curating Data Providers on a Page (Beta) Enhance LWR site pages by adding and configuring data providers in Experience Builder. This feature allows you to access data from different sources, such as Apex or Record data providers, directly within your site page and its components. This change is available in Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer editions for LWR sites accessed through Lightning Experience. A community license is required to use this feature. How to Use: To configure data providers on an LWR Site page in Experience Builder: Enabling or Disabling Modernized Record Experience in Aura Sites You can now use upgraded record components based on Lightning web component technology to see stylistic changes in your Aura sites. These updates, previously limited to sandbox environments, are now available in production environments for the Create Record Form, Record Banner, and Record Detail components. This update is applicable to Aura sites accessed through Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic in Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions. When you enable the Use Lightning web components on your record pages in Aura sites setting, the Create Record Form, Record Banner, and Record Detail components display minor style changes. Some key updates include: Daily Summary of Service Appointments Requiring Immediate Attention Boost dispatcher productivity by using Einstein Copilot Field Service actions to get a daily summary of service appointments needing immediate attention, such as those with rule violations, overlaps, SLA risks, or emergencies. Each category in the summary is converted into a filter in the appointment list for quick resolution. Customize the summary to include additional categories. This feature is available in Lightning Experience in the Einstein 1 Field Service Edition with the Field Service Managed Package installed. To use this feature: Assigning Opportunity Splits to Territories Sales teams can now assign opportunity splits and opportunity product splits to territories, enabling them to report on how territories contribute to overall sales. Previously, splits could only be associated with the parent opportunity’s territory. Now, teams can also forecast based on split amounts across territories. This update applies to Lightning Experience in Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions. To enable this feature: Strategic Planning with Account Plan Enhance your strategic planning with Account Plans by nurturing existing relationships and growing key accounts. Use Account Plans to research and analyze accounts, set objectives with actionable metrics, and monitor growth and development from a single repository within Salesforce. This feature applies to Lightning Experience in Enterprise, Performance, and Unlimited editions and in Einstein 1 Sales Edition. This feature will be rolled out to production environments after the Winter ’25 release and will be available to all customers by October 29, 2024. It is accessible in sandboxes only after its production release. To use Account Plans: Forecast Submissions Forecast submissions

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Salesforce Data Snowflake and You

Salesforce Data Snowflake and You

Unlock the Full Potential of Your Salesforce Data with Snowflake At Tectonic, we’ve dedicated years to helping businesses maximize their Salesforce investment, driving growth and enhancing customer experiences. Now, we’re expanding those capabilities by integrating with Snowflake.Imagine the power of merging Salesforce data with other sources, gaining deeper insights, and making smarter decisions—without the hassle of complex infrastructure. Snowflake brings this to life with a flexible, scalable solution for unifying your data ecosystem.In this insight, we’ll cover why Snowflake is essential for Salesforce users, how seamlessly it integrates, and why Tectonic is the ideal partner to help you leverage its full potential. Why Snowflake Matters for Salesforce Users Salesforce excels at managing customer relationships, but businesses today need data from multiple sources—e-commerce, marketing platforms, ERP systems, and more. That’s where Snowflake shines. With Snowflake, you can unify these data sources, enrich your Salesforce data, and turn it into actionable insights. Say goodbye to silos and blind spots. Snowflake is easy to set up, scales effortlessly, and integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, making it ideal for enhancing CRM data across various business functions.The Power of Snowflake for Salesforce Users Enterprise-Grade Security & GovernanceSnowflake ensures that your data is secure and compliant. With top-tier security and data governance tools, your customer data remains protected and meets regulatory requirements across platforms, seamlessly integrating with Salesforce. Cross-Cloud Data SharingSnowflake’s Snowgrid feature makes it easy for Salesforce users to share and collaborate on data across clouds. Teams across marketing, sales, and operations can access the same up-to-date information, leading to better collaboration and faster, more informed decisions. Real-Time Data ActivationCombine Snowflake’s data platform with Salesforce Data Cloud to activate insights in real-time, enabling enriched customer experiences through dynamic insights from web interactions, purchase history, and service touchpoints. Tectonic + Snowflake: Elevating Your Salesforce Experience Snowflake offers powerful data capabilities, but effective integration is key to realizing its full potential—and that’s where Tectonic excels. Our expertise in Salesforce, now combined with Snowflake, ensures that businesses can maximize their data strategies. How Tectonic Helps: Strategic Integration Planning: We assess your current data ecosystem and design a seamless integration between Salesforce and Snowflake to unify data without disrupting operations. Custom Data Solutions: From real-time dashboards to data enrichment workflows, we create solutions tailored to your business needs. Ongoing Support and Optimization: Tectonic provides continuous support, adapting your Snowflake integration to meet evolving data needs and business strategies. Real-World Applications Retail: Integrate in-store and e-commerce sales data with Salesforce for real-time customer insights. Healthcare: Unify patient data from wearables, EMRs, and support interactions for a holistic customer care experience. Financial Services: Enhance Salesforce data with third-party risk assessments, enabling quicker, more accurate underwriting. Looking Ahead: The Tectonic Advantage Snowflake opens up new possibilities for Salesforce-powered businesses. Effective integration, however, requires strategic planning and hands-on expertise. Tectonic has a long-standing track record of helping clients get the most out of Salesforce, and now, Snowflake adds an extra dimension to our toolkit. Whether you want to better manage data, unlock insights, or enhance AI initiatives, Tectonic’s combined Salesforce and Snowflake expertise ensures you’ll harness the best of both worlds. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into Snowflake’s features, such as Interoperable Storage, Elastic Compute, and Cortex AI with Arctic, and explore how Tectonic is helping businesses unlock the future of data and AI. Ready to talk about how Snowflake and Salesforce can transform your business? Contact Tectonic today! 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Snowpark Container Services

Snowpark Container Services

Snowflake announced on Thursday the general availability of Snowpark Container Services, enabling customers to securely deploy and manage models and applications, including generative AI, within Snowflake’s environment. Initially launched in preview in June 2023, Snowpark Container Services is now a fully managed service available in all AWS commercial regions and in public preview in all Azure commercial regions. Containers are a software method used to isolate applications for secure deployment. Snowflake’s new feature allows customers to use containers to manage and deploy any type of model, optimally for generative AI applications, by securely integrating large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI tools with their data, explained Jeff Hollan, Snowflake’s head of applications and developer platform. Mike Leone, an analyst at TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group, noted that Snowpark Container Services’ launch builds on Snowflake’s recent efforts to provide customers with an environment for developing generative AI models and applications. Sridhar Ramaswamy became Snowflake’s CEO in February, succeeding Frank Slootman, who led the company through a record-setting IPO. Under Ramaswamy, Snowflake has aggressively added generative AI capabilities, including launching its own LLM, integrating with Mistral AI, and providing tools for creating AI chatbots. “There has definitely been a concerted effort to enhance Snowflake’s capabilities and presence in the AI and GenAI markets,” Leone said. “Offerings like Snowpark help AI stakeholders like data scientists and developers use the languages they prefer.” As a result, Snowpark Container Services is a significant new feature for Snowflake customers. “It’s a big deal for the Snowflake ecosystem,” Leone said. “By enabling easy deployment and management of containers within the Snowflake platform, it helps customers handle complex workloads and maintain consistency across development and production stages.” Despite the secure environment provided by Snowflake Container Services, it was revealed in May that the login credentials of potentially 160 customers had been stolen and used to access their data. However, Snowflake has stated there is no evidence that the breach resulted from a vulnerability or misconfiguration of the Snowflake platform. Prominent customers affected include AT&T and Ticketmaster, and Snowflake’s investigation is ongoing. New Capabilities Generative AI can transform business by enabling employees to easily work with data to inform decisions and making trained experts more efficient. Generative AI, combined with an enterprise’s proprietary data, allows users to interact with data using natural language, reducing the need for coding and data literacy training. Non-technical workers can query and analyze data, freeing data engineers and scientists from routine tasks. Many data management and analytics vendors are focusing on developing generative AI-powered features. Enterprises are building models and applications trained on their proprietary data to inform business decisions. Among data platform vendors, AWS, Databricks, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are providing environments for generative AI tool development. Snowflake, under Slootman, was less aggressive in this area but is now committed to generative AI development, though it still has ground to cover compared to its competitors. “Snowflake has gone as far as creating their own LLM,” Leone said. “But they still have a way to go to catch up to some of their top competitors.” Matt Aslett, an analyst at ISG’s Ventana Research, echoed that Snowflake is catching up to its rivals. The vendor initially focused on traditional data warehouse capabilities but made a significant step forward with the late 2023 launch of Cortex, a platform for developing AI models and applications. Cortex includes access to various LLMs and vector search capabilities, marking substantial progress. The general availability of Snowpark Container Services furthers Snowflake’s effort to foster generative AI development. The feature provides users with on-demand GPUs and CPUs to run any code next to their data. This enables the deployment and management of any type of model or application without moving data out of Snowflake’s platform. “It’s optimized for next-generation data and AI applications by pushing that logic to the data,” Hollan said. “This means customers can now easily and securely deploy everything from source code to homegrown models in Snowflake.” Beyond security, Snowpark Container Services simplifies model management and deployment while reducing associated costs. Snowflake provides a fully integrated managed service, eliminating the need for piecing together various services from different vendors. The service includes a budget control feature to reduce operational costs and provide cost certainty. Snowpark Container Services includes diverse storage options, observability tools like Snowflake Trail, and streamlined DevOps capabilities. It supports deploying LLMs with local volumes, memory, Snowflake stages, and configurable block storage. Integrations with observability specialists like Datadog, Grafana, and Monte Carlo are also included. Aslett noted that the 2020 launch of the Snowpark development environment enabled users to use their preferred coding languages with their data. Snowpark Container Services takes this further by allowing the use of third-party software, including generative AI models and data science libraries. “This potentially reduces complexity and infrastructure resource requirements,” Aslett said. Snowflake spent over a year moving Snowpark Container Services from private preview to general availability, focusing on governance, networking, usability, storage, observability, development operations, scalability, and performance. One customer, Landing AI, used Snowpark Container Services during its preview phases to develop LandingLens, an application for training and deploying computer vision models. “[With Snowflake], we are increasing access to AI for more companies and use cases, especially given the rapid growth of unstructured data in our increasingly digital world,” Landing AI COO Dan Maloney said in a statement Thursday. Future Plans With Snowpark Container Services now available on AWS, Snowflake plans to extend the feature to all cloud platforms. The vendor’s roadmap includes further improvements to Snowpark Container Services with more enterprise-grade tools. “Our team is investing in making it easy for companies ranging from startups to enterprises to build, deliver, distribute, and monetize next-generation AI products across their ecosystems,” Hollan said. Aslett said that making Snowpark Container Services available on Azure and Google Cloud is the logical next step. He noted that the managed service’s release is significant but needs broader availability beyond AWS regions. “The next step will be to bring Snowpark Container Services to general

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Cyber Group Targets SaaS Platforms

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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Zero ETL

Zero ETL

What is Zero-ETL? Zero-ETL represents a transformative approach to data integration and analytics by bypassing the traditional ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipeline. Unlike conventional ETL processes, which involve extracting data from various sources, transforming it to fit specific formats, and then loading it into a data repository, Zero-ETL eliminates these steps. Instead, it enables direct querying and analysis of data from its original source, facilitating real-time insights without the need for intermediate data storage or extensive preprocessing. This innovative method simplifies data management, reducing latency and operational costs while enhancing the efficiency of data pipelines. As the demand for real-time analytics and the volume of data continue to grow, ZETL offers a more agile and effective solution for modern data needs. Challenges Addressed by Zero-ETL Benefits of ZETL Use Cases for ZETL In Summary ZETL transforms data management by directly querying and leveraging data in its original format, addressing many limitations of traditional ETL processes. It enhances data quality, streamlines analytics, and boosts productivity, making it a compelling choice for modern organizations facing increasing data complexity and volume. Embracing Zero-ETL can lead to more efficient data processes and faster, more actionable insights, positioning businesses for success in a data-driven world. Components of Zero-ETL ZETL involves various components and services tailored to specific analytics needs and resources: Advantages and Disadvantages of ZETL Comparison: Z-ETL vs. Traditional ETL Feature Zero-ETL Traditional ETL Data Virtualization Seamless data duplication through virtualization May face challenges with data virtualization due to discrete stages Data Quality Monitoring Automated approach may lead to quality issues Better monitoring due to discrete ETL stages Data Type Diversity Supports diverse data types with cloud-based data lakes Requires additional engineering for diverse data types Real-Time Deployment Near real-time analysis with minimal latency Batch processing limits real-time capabilities Cost and Maintenance More cost-effective with fewer components More expensive due to higher computational and engineering needs Scale Scales faster and more economically Scaling can be slow and costly Data Movement Minimal or no data movement required Requires data movement to the loading stage Comparison: Zero-ETL vs. Other Data Integration Techniques Top Zero-ETL Tools Conclusion Transitioning to Zero-ETL represents a significant advancement in data engineering. While it offers increased speed, enhanced security, and scalability, it also introduces new challenges, such as the need for updated skills and cloud dependency. Zero-ETL addresses the limitations of traditional ETL and provides a more agile, cost-effective, and efficient solution for modern data needs, reshaping the landscape of data management and analytics. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Snowflake With AWS Salesforce and Microsoft

Snowflake With AWS Salesforce and Microsoft

In anticipation of its sixth annual user conference, Snowflake Summit 2024, Snowflake has unveiled the Polaris Catalog, a vendor-neutral, open catalog implementation for Apache Iceberg. This open standard is widely used for implementing data lakehouses, data lakes, and other data architectures. Snowflake With AWS Salesforce and Microsoft. The Polaris Catalog will be open-sourced for the next 90 days, offering enterprises like Goldman Sachs and the Iceberg community increased choice, flexibility, and control over their data. It also promises comprehensive enterprise security and compatibility with Apache Iceberg, enabling interoperability with AWS, Confluent, Dremio, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, and more. “We are collaborating with numerous industry partners to provide our mutual customers the ability to mix and match various query engines and coordinate read and write operations without vendor lock-in, and most importantly, to do so in an open manner.” Christian Kleinerman, Snowflake’s EVP of Product Kleinerman further highlighted that this initiative can “simplify how organizations access their data across diverse systems, enhancing flexibility and control.” Apache Iceberg, which became a top-level Apache Software Foundation project in May 2020 after emerging from incubation, has quickly become a leading open-source data table format. Building on this success, Polaris Catalog offers users a centralized location for any engine to discover and access an organization’s Iceberg tables with open interoperability. To ensure Polaris Catalog meets the evolving needs of the community, Snowflake is collaborating with the Iceberg ecosystem to advance the project. Chris Grusz, MD of technology partnerships at AWS, noted AWS’s commitment to working with partners on open-source solutions that enhance customer choice: “We’re pleased to work with Snowflake to continue to make Apache Iceberg interoperable across our engines.” Similarly, Raveendrnathan Loganathan, EVP of software engineering at Salesforce, mentioned that Apache Iceberg’s popularity has established an open storage standard simplifying zero-copy data access for organizations. “We’re thrilled to have Snowflake as a member of our Zero Copy Partner Network, and we’re excited about how this new open catalog standard will further zero-copy access in the enterprise,” he said. This development follows the recent expansion of the partnership between Snowflake and Microsoft, supporting leading open standards for storage formats, including Apache Iceberg and Apache Parquet. With Polaris Catalog, they aim to continue their mission of enabling users to leverage their enterprise data, regardless of its location, to develop AI-powered applications at scale. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Einstein Personalization and Copilots

Einstein Personalization and Copilots

Salesforce launched a suite of new generative AI products at Connections in Chicago, including new Einstein Copilots for marketers and merchants, and Einstein Personalization. Einstein Personalization and Copilots To gain insights into these products and Salesforce’s evolving architecture, Bobby Jania, CMO of Marketing Cloud was interviewed. Salesforce’s Evolving Architecture Salesforce has a knack for introducing new names for its platforms and products, sometimes causing confusion about whether something is entirely new or simply rebranded. Reporters sought clarification on the Einstein 1 platform and its relationship to Salesforce Data Cloud. “Data Cloud is built on the Einstein 1 platform,” Jania explained. “Einstein 1 encompasses the entire Salesforce platform, including products like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, continuing the original multi-tenant cloud concept.” Data Cloud, developed natively on Einstein 1, was the first product built on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s new cloud infrastructure. “From the start, Data Cloud has been able to connect to and read anything within Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, etc. Additionally, it can now handle both structured and unstructured data.” This marks significant progress from a few years ago when Salesforce’s platform comprised various acquisitions (like ExactTarget) that didn’t seamlessly integrate. Previously, data had to be moved between products, often resulting in duplicates. Now, Data Cloud serves as the central repository, with applications like Tableau, Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud all accessing the same operational customer profile without duplicating data. Salesforce customers can also import their own datasets into Data Cloud. “We wanted a federated data model,” Jania said. “If you’re using Snowflake, for example, we virtually sit on your data lake, providing value by forming comprehensive operational customer profiles.” Understanding Einstein Copilot “Copilot means having an assistant within the tool you’re using, contextually aware of your tasks and assisting you at every step,” Jania said. For marketers, this could start with a campaign brief created with Copilot’s help, identifying an audience, and developing content. “Einstein Studio is exciting because customers can create actions for Copilot that we hadn’t even envisioned.” Contrary to previous reports, there is only one Copilot, Einstein Copilot, with various use cases like marketing, merchants, and shoppers. “We use these names for clarity, but there’s just one Copilot. You can build your own use cases in addition to the ones we provide.” Marketers will need time to adapt to Copilot. “Adoption takes time,” Jania acknowledged. “This Connections event offers extensive hands-on training to help people use Data Cloud and these tools, beyond just demonstrations.” What’s New with Einstein Personalization Einstein Personalization is a real-time decision engine designed to choose the next best action or offer for customers. “What’s new is that it now runs natively on Data Cloud,” Jania explained. While many decision engines require a separate dataset, Einstein Personalization evaluates a customer holistically and recommends actions directly within Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, or Marketing Cloud. Ensuring Trust Connections presentations emphasized that while public LLMs like ChatGPT can be applied to customer data, none of this data is retained by the LLMs. This isn’t just a matter of agreements; it involves the Einstein Trust Layer. “All data passing through an LLM runs through our gateway. Personally identifiable information, such as credit card numbers or email addresses, is stripped out. The LLMs do not store the output; Salesforce retains it for auditing. Any output that returns through our gateway is logged, checked for toxicity, and only then is PII reinserted into the response. These measures ensure data safety beyond mere handshakes,” Jania said. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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