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Data Cloud - Facts and Fiction

Data Cloud – Facts and Fiction

Salesforce Data Cloud: Debunking Myths and Unveiling Facts If you’ve been active on LinkedIn, attending recent Salesforce events, or even watching a myriad of sporting events, you’ve likely noticed that Salesforce has evolved beyond just CRM. It’s now CRM + DATA + AI. Although Salesforce has always incorporated these elements, with Einstein AI and data being integral to CRM, the latest innovation lies in the Data Cloud. Data Cloud – Facts and Fiction Data Cloud, formerly known as Salesforce Genie, represents Salesforce’s latest evolution, focusing on enabling organizations to scale and grow in an era where data is the new currency. It is the fastest-growing product in Salesforce’s history, pushing new boundaries of innovation by providing better access to data and actionable insights. As Data Cloud rapidly develops, potential clients often have questions about its function and how it can address their challenges. Here are some common myths about Data Cloud and the facts that debunk them. Myth: Data Cloud Requires MuleSoft Fact: While MuleSoft Anypoint Platform can accelerate connecting commonly used data sources, it is not required for Data Cloud. Data Cloud can ingest data from multiple systems and platforms using several out-of-the-box (OOTB) connectors, including SFTPs, Snowflake, AWS, and more. Salesforce designs its solutions to work seamlessly together, but Data Cloud also offers connector options for non-Salesforce products, ensuring flexibility and integration capabilities beyond the Salesforce ecosystem. Myth: Data Cloud Will De-Duplicate Your Data Fact: Harmonizing data in Data Cloud means standardizing your data model rather than de-duplicating it. Data Cloud maps fields to a common data model and performs “Identity Resolution,” using rules to match individuals based on attributes like email, address, device ID, or phone number. This process creates a Unified Individual ID without automatically de-duplicating Salesforce records. Salesforce intentionally does not function as a Master Data Management (MDM) system. Myth: Data Cloud Will Create a Golden Record Fact: Data Cloud does not create a single, updated record synchronized across all systems (a “golden record”). Instead, it retains original source information, identifies matches across systems, and uses this data to facilitate engagements, known as the Data Cloud Key Ring. For instance, it can recognize an individual across different systems and provide personalized experiences without overwriting original data. Myth: You Can’t Ingest Custom Objects from Salesforce Fact: During the data ingestion process, you can select which objects to ingest from your Salesforce CRM Org, including custom objects. The system identifies the API names of the objects and fields from the data source. Ensuring the Data Cloud integration user has access to the necessary information (similar to assigning Permission Sets) allows you to ingest and map custom objects accordingly. Myth: Data Cloud Requires a Data Scientist and Takes a Long Time to Implement Fact: While implementing Data Cloud involves ingesting, mapping data, running identity resolution, and generating insights, it does not necessarily require a data scientist. Skilled Salesforce Admins can often manage data integration from third-party applications. Effective Data Cloud implementation requires thorough planning and preparation, akin to prepping a room before painting. Identifying use cases and understanding data sources in advance can streamline the implementation process. Myth: Data Cloud is Expensive Fact: Data Cloud operates on a consumption-based pricing model. Engaging in strategic conversations with Salesforce Account Executives can help understand the financial implications. Emphasizing the value of a comprehensive data strategy and considering the five V’s of Big Data—Volume, Variety, Veracity, Value, and Velocity—ensures that your data supports meaningful business outcomes and KPIs. In Summary Salesforce Data Cloud represents a significant evolution in managing and leveraging data within your organization. It helps break down data silos, providing actionable insights to drive organizational goals. Despite initial misconceptions, implementing Data Cloud does not require extensive coding skills or a data scientist. Instead, thorough planning and preparation can streamline the process and maximize efficiency. Understanding the value of a comprehensive data strategy is crucial, as data becomes the new currency. Addressing the five V’s of Big Data ensures that your data supports meaningful business outcomes and KPIs. At Tectonic, our team of certified professionals is ready to assist you on this journey. We offer a Salesforce Implementation Solution package to help you get hands-on with the tool and explore its capabilities. Whether you need help understanding your data sources or defining use cases, our data practice can provide the expertise you need. Talk to Tectonic about Data Cloud and discover how our tailored solutions can help you harness the full potential of your data. 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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Summer 24 Release Updates

Summer 24 Release Updates

Salesforce’s Summer 24 release updates are designed to help teams work more efficiently with innovations in data, AI, CRM, and trust. These updates aim to save businesses time and enhance the end-user experience with improved search results, personalized experiences, and more. Highlights of Salesforce’s Summer 2024 Updates Activate and Publish a Store Without a Custom Domain Previously, B2B Commerce Lightning Web Runtime (LWR) required purchasing and configuring a custom CDN domain to log in to the storefront, even for demo purposes. Now, users can activate and view the storefront before setting up a custom domain, saving both time and costs. The custom domain and CDN can be configured when ready to go live. Include Attachments When Importing Products Adding attachments to products during import was a manual and time-consuming process. Now, users can include document URLs in the CSV file during product data import, consolidating vital product information and reducing the potential for human error. Implement Einstein Semantic Search Highlighted again from the Spring 2024 release, Einstein Semantic Search is crucial for commerce. It improves search relevance, reduces bounce rates, and increases conversion rates by recognizing synonyms, alternate spellings, abbreviations, typos, and more. Integrate Data Cloud with Enhanced LWR Sites In the context of walled gardens and cookie deprecation, using owned data is critical for future readiness and better customer experiences. Integrating Data Cloud with enhanced LWR sites allows for the collection of user data, such as profile information and site engagement. This data builds user profiles, creates analytics, suggests personalized recommendations, and enhances site personalization. See a Summary of a User’s Permissions and Access Previously, viewing a user’s permissions required multiple clicks and accessing various locations. The new User Access Summary feature displays all permissions directly on the user‘s detail page, streamlining the troubleshooting and access management process. These enhancements in Salesforce’s Summer 2024 release are aimed at improving efficiency, personalization, and user experience, helping businesses to operate smarter and more effectively. Summer 24 Release Updates summarized for you. 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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Flow Tricks for Salesforce

Flow Tricks for Salesforce

Flow enthusiasts everywhere appreciate its capabilities, which continue to evolve as a cornerstone of Salesforce declarative automation. Here are five essential Flow Tricks for Salesforce: In conclusion, embracing Flow not only optimizes business processes but also fosters continuous learning and improvement. By sharing insights and best practices, the Flow community collectively enhances user experiences and drives innovation. Whether you’re new to Flow or a seasoned user, these tips aim to enhance your journey and empower you to explore further possibilities. Share your own tips and experiences below to continue the Flow journey together! 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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Salesforce Envision

Salesforce Envision

Salesforce: Enabling Customer Experiences Through Integrated Solutions Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform offering software, services, and applications designed to create valuable customer experiences. It integrates various organizational departments such as marketing, sales, and services, providing a unified view of the customer. Salesforce Envision is a digital transformation engagement. This insight outlines a typical customer’s journey through a Salesforce Envision Advisory engagement with the Tectonic team. We will highlight three key areas that contribute to a powerful and successful Envision engagement: Outcome-Driven Focus The cornerstone of any Salesforce Envision Advisory engagement is an upfront and honest conversation with the customer about their future business aspirations. Establishing desired outcomes and understanding how customers should perceive the business are critical. This focus is about envisioning future possibilities rather than dwelling on current systems. Collaboration with the Customer Alignment between the customer and the consulting team is essential. Success hinges on ensuring all organizational groups are aligned, as individual great ideas often fail without collective buy-in. Effective collaboration can prevent projects from delivering minimal benefits and adding redundant systems. Planning for Success Understanding customer goals and desired outcomes allows building on existing efforts within business and IT departments. This understanding helps create a roadmap for business transformation, enabling the customer to serve their customers better, achieve efficiencies, and scale for future growth. Every stakeholder must participate in creating this roadmap, aligning with organizational leadership. This roadmap is not merely a technology rollout plan but a capabilities roadmap to meet business outcomes. Business processes and existing IT systems must be analyzed and re-architected for successful execution. What is Salesforce Envision? Salesforce Envision is a design-led engagement enabling organizations to undergo digital transformation to unlock customer insights, build actionable roadmaps, and develop successful solutions. The principles guiding Salesforce Envision include: Envision engagements are typically co-led by a Salesforce Senior Business Architect and a Senior Salesforce Technical Architect to provide guidance and ensure customer alignment. A seasoned Salesforce Solutions Architect leads the Envision discovery process to ensure no stone is left unturned. Typical Phases of an Envision Engagement: The future-state capability matrix, developed from these strategies, identifies IT systems to be decommissioned, contributing to cost and maintenance benefits and supporting a solid business case. This elimination of technical debt can fully offset the long-term costs with the investment in your future success. Final Executive Brief The Envision engagement concludes with an executive brief for business and IT stakeholders, covering: By following these steps, organizations can effectively leverage Salesforce Envision to achieve their digital transformation goals. 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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Stay Ahead of SaaS Threats

Stay Ahead of SaaS Threats

The modern kill chain is eluding enterprises because they are not adequately protecting the infrastructure of modern business: SaaS. Stay Ahead of SaaS Threats. SaaS continues to dominate software adoption, accounting for the greatest share of public cloud spending. However, enterprises and SMBs alike have not revised their security programs or adopted security tooling designed for SaaS environments. Security Teams Struggle with SaaS Security Traditional security controls that CISOs and their teams relied on during the era of on-premise dominance have become obsolete. Firewalls now protect a much smaller perimeter, visibility is limited, and even if SaaS vendors offer logs, security teams need custom middleware to process them into their SIEM. SaaS vendors define security scopes for their products, but customers must manage SaaS compliance, data governance, identity and access management (IAM), and application controls—areas where most incidents occur. While the SaaS shared responsibility model is universal among SaaS apps, no two SaaS applications have identical security settings. Understanding the SaaS Kill Chain In the context of SaaS security, the application provider is responsible for physical infrastructure, the network, OS, and the application itself. Customers are responsible for data security and identity management. This shared responsibility model requires SaaS customers to take ownership of components that threat actors target most frequently. Research by AppOmni indicates that a single SaaS instance typically has 256 SaaS-to-SaaS connections, many of which are no longer in use but still retain excessive permissions to core business applications like Salesforce, Okta, and GitHub. With the multitude of different SaaS security settings and constant updates, security teams struggle to monitor these connections effectively. The number of entry points multiplies exponentially as employees enable SaaS-to-SaaS connections, using machine identities like API keys and digital certificates. As the attack surface migrated outside the network perimeter, so did the kill chain—threat actors orchestrate their attacks through various phases: Case Study: Scattered Spider/Starfraud In a recent attack by the Scattered Spider/Starfraud groups, a user opened a phishing email and logged into a spoofed IdP page. Through social engineering, the attackers obtained the user’s TOTP token, tricked the MFA protocol, and gained access to Amazon S3, Azure AD, and Citrix VDI. They then deployed a malicious server in the IaaS environment and executed a privileged Azure AD escalation attack, eventually encrypting all accessible data and delivering a ransom note. Growing SaaS Attack Activity SaaS breaches, though not always making headlines, have significant consequences. IBM reports that the average cost of data breaches in 2023 was $4.45 million per incident, a 15% increase over three years. Threat actors frequently use tactics similar to those seen in the Scattered Spider/Starfraud kill chain, targeting SaaS tenants and exploiting configuration issues. Protecting SaaS Environments With these measures, security teams can gain the visibility and intelligence needed to identify intruders early in the kill chain and prevent breaches before they become devastating. 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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Salesforce Flow Efficiency and Automation

Salesforce Flow Efficiency and Automation

Salesforce Flow: For Efficiency with Automation Salesforce Flow enables businesses to create very sophisticated solutions without the need for extensive coding, using a simple point-and-click interface. This capability is particularly beneficial for Salesforce Admins, offering functionalities akin to those of Salesforce developers. In this insight we will explore Salesforce Flow: Understanding Developer and Admin Contributions. Salesforce Flow Efficiency and Automation. Salesforce Flow, originally known as Visual Flow, has evolved significantly with each Salesforce release, culminating in the intuitive Flow Builder interface available today. Its applications are expansive and continually expanding. Key Capabilities of Salesforce Flow Mass Updates: Easily handle batch processing to update thousands of records simultaneously based on specific criteria, significantly saving time and effort. Automated Workflows: Construct intricate workflows with multiple steps and decision points, ensuring consistency and efficiency across business processes. User-Friendly Interface: Designed to be intuitive, Flow Builder allows users of varying technical skill levels to create and manage workflows effortlessly. Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with Salesforce products and third-party applications, enabling comprehensive solutions leveraging diverse data sources. Continuous Improvement: With each Salesforce update, Flow receives new features and enhancements, continually enhancing its versatility and power. Salesforce Flow serves as a pivotal tool for enhancing productivity and streamlining complex operations, making it indispensable for Salesforce Admins striving to optimize workflows. Understanding Salesforce Flow in Detail What is Salesforce Flow? Salesforce Flow Builder is a robust tool within the Salesforce ecosystem, enabling users to automate workflows and processes. These workflows encompass tasks such as sending emails, updating records, triggering other flows, executing Apex actions, and sending notifications. Flows can be initiated by various events, including user actions, record changes, and scheduled times. Flows comprise elements such as actions, conditions, variables, and screens. The visual, drag-and-drop interface of Salesforce Flow Builder ensures accessibility for users without extensive coding knowledge while offering advanced capabilities for technical experts. Types of Salesforce Flow Screen Flows: Provide a step-by-step user interface to automate tasks, collect data, and guide users through processes. Ideal for systematically capturing and qualifying leads, Screen Flows are straightforward to set up and manage. Record-Triggered Flows: Automate actions based on changes to Salesforce records, like creating, updating, or deleting records. These flows replace older tools like Workflow Rules and Process Builder, offering flexibility and ease of management. Scheduled Flows: Run at specified times or intervals to automate routine tasks or periodic updates. Useful for scenarios such as sending reminders or performing batch operations. Platform Event-Triggered Flows: Respond to events within the Salesforce platform in real-time, enabling instant automation based on critical business events. Requires technical proficiency in integrations and platform events. Autolaunched Flows: Initiated by other processes or external systems without user interaction, making them essential for automating backend processes like updating records based on external triggers. The Role of Salesforce Administrators Salesforce Administrators play a major role in designing, implementing, and managing flows. Their responsibilities span from creating automated workflows to ensuring optimal flow performance and providing user training. Administrators leverage Flow to automate data entry, streamline approval processes, and set up notifications for critical events. Collaboration Between Admins and Developers Effective collaboration between Salesforce Administrators and Developers is important for creating efficient and robust flows. While Administrators focus on designing and implementing simpler flows, Developers enhance capabilities by integrating custom Apex code, performing advanced data manipulations, and optimizing flow performance. This collaboration ensures comprehensive solutions that meet both business requirements and technical standards. Final Thoughts Salesforce Flow closees the gap between manual operations and automated efficiency, enabling businesses to enhance accuracy, reduce operational bottlenecks, and adapt swiftly to market changes. By understanding the distinct contributions of Administrators and Developers and fostering a collaborative environment, organizations can design and implement innovative workflows that drive success and growth. Embracing Salesforce Flow not only optimizes business processes but also positions organizations to thrive in dynamic market landscapes. Staying abreast of Salesforce automation advancements and best practices ensures sustained competitiveness and growth. 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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MuleSoft Compostability

MuleSoft Composability

MuleSoft: Enabling AI Integration with Composability Solutions – MuleSoft Composability MuleSoft, a subsidiary of Salesforce, is enhancing its portfolio with new capabilities to help organizations build AI services that serve as the building blocks for more complex applications. The company announced a new AI-powered composability solution designed to assist organizations in constructing discrete AI services to form sophisticated systems and applications. The Power of APIs in AI“We believe the world of AI is really the world of APIs,” said Param Kahlon, Salesforce EVP and GM of Automation and Integration. “Accessing AI in the enterprise fundamentally involves the ability to call a model.” This applies whether the AI model is an internal large language model (LLM) or a foundational model built by a third party. “Using an LLM within the company or federating requests across multiple LLMs through LangChain involves API calls,” Kahlon added. “These API calls need to be managed and governed.” AI Integration with MuleSoftMuleSoft’s goal is to provide a platform that integrates AI, especially generative AI, with business processes. For instance, MuleSoft aims to manage API calls to external LLMs using its API management tools and enable APIs to act as actions for copilot conversational agents in the enterprise. This allows agents to execute backend actions using natural language, such as granting customer credit or escalating orders. The MuleSoft solution enables you to connect data, automate workflows, and build an AI-ready foundation in a single unified platform. The pulse of innovation never stops, and neither does the pressure to cater to employees and customers. In fact, 84% of IT leaders share the need for IT to step up its game and better address shifting customer expectations.  The MuleSoft Composability Solution The MuleSoft composability solution comprises three main pillars: Anypoint Platform: Used to define, design, build, and deploy APIs.API Management: Manages the deployment of APIs throughout their lifecycle, whether built with Anypoint or other technologies.Automation: Includes MuleSoft RPA and MuleSoft Intelligent Document Processing (IDP).While these components are part of MuleSoft’s existing portfolio, the company introduced new features, such as support for AsyncAPI, to facilitate the adoption of event-driven architectures (EDAs). AsyncAPI Support and Real-Time CommunicationCurrently in open beta, AsyncAPI support will be generally available later this year. It will enable systems to add real-time communication for processes with fluctuating data sets, like predictive maintenance, dynamic pricing, or fraud detection. For example, a bank could use AI models for fraud detection by analyzing transactional data and user behavior. This model can be transformed into a service callable by various applications. Enhancing Security and GovernanceSecurity and governance are crucial components of the composability solution. When applications make API calls to LLMs and other external models, it’s vital to ensure that valuable data is encrypted and/or masked. MuleSoft’s API gateways, Anypoint Flex Gateway, and Mule Gateway can act as LLM gateways with custom policies to secure and manage APIs. For example, a financial institution could use an API gateway to implement a custom policy checking for sensitive customer information before sharing data with a third-party LLM. To increase internal collaboration and efficiency, IT leaders are leaning into automation and AI – but these initiatives are not here to replace the human touch, rather to liberate human potential. These technologies free up IT experts to dive into the more “human” aspects of their roles, think innovation, communication, and collaboration. Picture it as IT superheroes, if you will, donning capes of automation. MuleSoft is at the forefront of enabling AI integration and innovation in enterprise environments. By breaking down data silos and fostering interoperability, MuleSoft’s composability solution enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of AI applications, ensuring secure and seamless integration across business processes. MuleSoft has a goal to empower everyone with AI. Salesforce announced AI-powered enhancements to its MuleSoft automation, integration, and API management solutions that help business users and developers improve productivity, simplify workflows, and accelerate time to value.  MuleSoft’s Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) helps teams quickly extract and organize data from diverse document formats including PDFs and images. Unlike other automation solutions, MuleSoft’s IDP is natively integrated into Salesforce Flow, which provides customers with an end-to-end automation experience. Additionally, to speed up project delivery, MuleSoft has embedded Einstein, Salesforce’s predictive and generative AI assistant, in its pro-code and low-code tools. This empowers users to build integrations and automations using natural language prompts directly in IDP, Flow Builder, and Anypoint Code Builder.  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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Gemma 2 Available

Gemma 2 is now available to researchers and developers

News from Google – Gemma 2 is now available! Introducing Gemma 2: Advanced AI for Everyone Expanding Access to AI AI has the potential to solve some of humanity’s most pressing issues, but this can only happen if everyone has the tools to build with it. Earlier this year, Google introduced Gemma, a family of lightweight, state-of-the-art open models based on the same research and technology used to create the Gemini models. They’ve since expanded the Gemma family with CodeGemma, RecurrentGemma, and PaliGemma, each offering unique capabilities for various AI tasks. These models are easily accessible through integrations with partners like Hugging Face, NVIDIA, and Ollama. Launching Gemma 2 Google is now officially releasing Gemma 2 to researchers and developers worldwide. Available in both 9 billion (9B) and 27 billion (27B) parameter sizes, Gemma 2 offers higher performance and greater efficiency than its predecessor, along with significant safety enhancements. The 27B model provides competitive alternatives to models more than twice its size, achieving performance levels that were only possible with proprietary models as recently as last December. This performance is now achievable on a single NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU or TPU host, significantly reducing deployment costs. Setting a New Standard for Efficiency and Performance Gemma 2 is built on a redesigned architecture, engineered for exceptional performance and inference efficiency. Here’s what sets it apart: Designed for Developers and Researchers Gemma 2 is not only more powerful but also easier to integrate into your workflows: Supporting Responsible AI Development Google is committed to providing resources for responsible AI development, including their Responsible Generative AI Toolkit. The recently open-sourced LLM Comparator helps with in-depth evaluation of language models. You can now use its companion Python library to run comparative evaluations and visualize the results. Additionally, we are working on open-sourcing our text watermarking technology, SynthID, for Gemma models. When training Gemma 2, Google followed rigorous safety processes, filtering pre-training data and performing extensive testing and evaluation to identify and mitigate potential biases and risks. They publish their results on public benchmarks related to safety and representational harms. Projects Built with Gemma The first Gemma launch led to over 10 million downloads and numerous inspiring projects. For instance, Navarasa used Gemma to create a model rooted in India’s linguistic diversity. Looking Ahead Gemma 2 will enable even more ambitious projects, unlocking new levels of performance and potential in AI creations. We will continue to explore new architectures and develop specialized Gemma variants for a broader range of AI tasks and challenges, including an upcoming 2.6B parameter model designed to bridge the gap between lightweight accessibility and powerful performance. Getting Started Gemma 2 is now available in Google AI Studio, allowing you to test its full performance capabilities at 27B without hardware requirements. You can also download Gemma 2’s model weights from Kaggle and Hugging Face Models, with Vertex AI Model Garden coming soon. To support research and development, Gemma 2 is acessable free of charge through Kaggle or a free tier for Colab notebooks. First-time Google Cloud customers may be eligible for $300 in credits. Academic researchers can apply for the Gemma 2 Academic Research Program to receive Google Cloud credits to accelerate their research with Gemma 2. Applications are open now through August 9. 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 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 Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

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Generative AI Regulations

AI Manipulation

The Future of AI: Convenience and Risk Our lives are on the brink of being transformed by conversational AI agents designed to anticipate our needs, offer tailored information, and perform useful tasks on our behalf. These agents will rely on extensive personal data, including our interests, hobbies, backgrounds, aspirations, personality traits, and political views, all aimed at making our lives more convenient. What then will be the source of AI Manipulation? Advanced AI Agents: The Next Generation These AI agents are becoming increasingly sophisticated. OpenAI recently released GPT-4o, a next-generation chatbot capable of reading human emotions. It does this not only by analyzing the sentiment in written text but also by assessing voice inflections (if spoken to through a mic) and facial cues (if interacting via video). This rapid development signifies the future of computing. Google, for instance, announced Project Astra, an advanced seeing and talking responsive agent designed to interact conversationally while understanding its surroundings. This allows it to provide real-time interactive guidance and assistance. OpenAI’s Sam Altman has predicted that assistive agents will be the killer app for AI. He envisions a future where everyone has a personalized agent acting as a super-competent colleague, knowing everything about their life to take useful actions on their behalf. The Potential Risks-AI Manipulation While this sounds promising, significant risks accompany these advancements. As I wrote in VentureBeat last year, AI agents pose a risk to human agency through targeted manipulation. This risk is particularly acute as these agents become embedded in our mobile devices, which are gateways to our digital lives. These devices provide AI agents with a continuous flow of our personal information, enabling them to learn intimate details about us while filtering the content we receive. Such systems could become powerful tools for interactive manipulation. AI agents equipped with cameras and microphones will react to our environments without explicit prompts, potentially triggering targeted influences based on our activities and situations. Public Perception and Adoption Despite the creepy level of tracking and intervention, I predict that people will embrace this technology. These agents will be designed to make our lives easier, providing reminders, tutoring, and even social coaching. The competition among tech companies will drive rapid adoption, with individuals feeling disadvantaged if they do not use these features. By 2030, these technologies will likely be ubiquitous. The AI Manipulation Problem In my new book, “Our Next Reality,” I discuss how AI agents can empower us with mental superpowers while also serving as tools for persuasion. AI agents, designed for profit, will influence our thoughts and behaviors. They will be more effective than traditional content because they can engage us interactively, using sophisticated techniques based on extensive personal data. These agents will read our emotions with unparalleled precision, adapting their influence tactics in real-time. Without regulation, they could document our reactions to tailor their approaches, making them highly effective at persuasion. The agents’ appearances could also be optimized to maximize their impact on us personally. Feedback Control and the Need for Regulation The technical danger of AI agents lies in their feedback control capabilities. Given an “influence objective,” these agents can continuously adapt their strategies to maximize their impact on us. This ability is similar to heat-seeking missiles adjusting their path in real-time to hit a target. To mitigate this risk, regulators must impose strict limits on interactive conversational advertising, which is the gateway to more dangerous uses of these technologies. If unchecked, this could lead to an arms race among tech companies to develop the most effective conversational ads, ultimately driving misinformation and propaganda. The Urgent Need for Regulatory Action The time for policymakers to act is now. While traditional AI risks like generating misinformation at scale are significant, targeted interactive manipulation poses a far greater threat. Recent announcements from OpenAI and Google highlight the urgency for regulation. An outright ban or stringent limitations on interactive conversational advertising is a crucial first step. Without such measures, we risk allowing AI agents to become powerful tools of manipulation. Conclusion The future of AI holds both promise and peril. As conversational AI agents become integral to our daily lives, we must balance their benefits with the potential for abuse. Regulatory action is essential to ensure these technologies enhance our lives without compromising our autonomy. Louis Rosenberg, PhD, is an American technologist specializing in AI and XR. His new book, “Our Next Reality,” explores the impact of AI on society and is published by Hachette. He earned his PhD from Stanford, was a professor at California Polytechnic, and is currently CEO of Unanimous AI. This piece originally appeared in VentureBeat on 5/17/24. 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 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 Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

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Deep Dive Summer 24 Release

Deep Dive Summer 24 Release

Deep Dive Summer 24 Release Get ready, Salesforce fans! The Summer ’24 release is here, and it’s like Christmas morning for tech geeks. We’re talking about new features, enhancements, and improvements that will make you wonder how you ever lived without them. This Tectonic insight is your ultimate guide to all the exciting updates, changes, and key considerations for this release. So hang on tight to your keyboards and let’s dive into the Christmas treat bag of goodies coming your way! Key Highlights – Deep Dive Summer 24 Release What’s New in Einstein AI? 1. Einstein for Flow Meet your new best friend for building Salesforce workflows, Salesforce Flow. Just describe what you need in plain English, and Einstein will whip up the workflow for you. For example, say “Notify sales reps when a lead converts,” and boom, it’s done. Automation just got a whole lot easier and way cooler. How to: Einstein for Flow makes complex processes feel like a walk in the park, letting you deliver solutions faster than you can say “workflow.” Considerations: 2. Einstein for Formulas No more tearing your hair out over formula syntax errors. Einstein for Formulas will not only tell you what’s wrong but also suggest fixes, saving you from endless hours of debugging. How to: Einstein for Formulas cuts down errors and speeds up formula creation, making your life exponentially easier. Like easier squared. Easier to the nth degree. Considerations: UI/UX Enhancements 1. Add New Custom Fields to Dynamic Forms-Enabled Pages Say goodbye to limitations! You can now add new custom fields directly to Dynamic Forms-enabled pages, aligning fields with your ever-changing business needs. Considerations: 2. Use Blank Spaces to Align Fields on Dynamic Forms-Enabled Pages Finally, a way to make your Dynamic Forms pages look neat and tidy with blank spaces for perfect alignment. Considerations: 3. Set Conditional Visibility for Individual Tabs in Lightning App Builder Now you can make specific tabs visible based on user profiles, record types, or other criteria. Customization just got a whole lot more precise. Considerations: 4. Create Rich Text Headings in Lightning App Builder Make your headings pop with bold, italic, and varied font sizes. Your Lightning pages are about to get a visual upgrade. Considerations: Flow Updates 1. Automation Lightning App A one-stop shop for managing and executing all your automation tools and processes. Considerations: 2. Lock and Unlock Records with Action Gain more control over your processes by locking records during critical stages and unlocking them when done. Considerations: 3. Check for Matching Records (Upsert) When Creating Records Avoid duplicates by checking for existing records before creating new ones. One can never have too many de-dupe tools. Considerations: 4. Transform Your Data in Flows (Generally Available) Now generally available, perform calculations, data transformations, and more with the Transform element in Flow Builder. Considerations: Admin Enhancements 1. Field History Tracking Manage tracked objects and fields more efficiently with a centralized page in “Setup.” Considerations: 2. See What’s Enabled in Permission Sets and Permission Set Groups (Generally Available) Enhanced permission set viewing improves visibility and control over security configurations. Considerations: 3. Get a Summary of User’s Permissions and Access Quickly view user permissions, public groups, and queues from the user’s detail page. Help and Training Community: Salesforce is simplifying Permission Set management by phasing out Profiles. Data Cloud Vector Database Vector search capabilities allow the creation of searchable “vector embeddings” from unstructured data, enhancing AI applications’ understanding of semantic similarities and context. Considerations: Deep Dive Summer 24 Release The Salesforce Summer ’24 release is packed with features designed to enhance your Salesforce experience. From a sleek new interface to powerful automation tools, enhanced analytics, and expanded integration options, this release aims to elevate workflow efficiency and data protection. Jump into the exciting updates, and let’s make automation simpler and more user-friendly together! 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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Changes in Advertising Changing CRMs

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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DPD Salesforce AI Enhancements

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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Recurring Donations in NPSP

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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Mamba-2

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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