Mulesoft

26Jun

Salesforce Instance Refresh Maintenance

Preparing for Instance Refresh in Your Organization To support your organization’s ongoing growth, Salesforce occasionally performs an instance refresh, which involves upgrading the infrastructure in their data centers. After this maintenance, your instance will transition to a new data center, and its name will change. This process ensures we continue to deliver the high performance you’ve come to expect from Salesforce. Salesforce Instance Refresh Maintenance. Following these best practices will make this maintenance seamless. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about instance refresh maintenance. Note: This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal or binding agreement. Salesforce may modify its policies and practices at its sole discretion. Frequently Asked Questions Salesforce Instance Refresh Maintenance Conclusion Staying informed and prepared for instance refreshes ensures a smooth transition and continued high performance of Salesforce. Follow best practices, adjust configurations as needed, and utilize the provided resources for a seamless experience. 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

June 26, 2024in Hyperforce, Mulesoft

25Jun

Salesforce MuleSoft Innovations

Salesforce Introduces Innovations for MuleSoft At its MuleSoft Connect event today, Salesforce unveiled two significant innovations aimed at enhancing end-to-end artificial intelligence integration and ensuring AI experiences are future-proof. Salesforce MuleSoft Innovations. Key Innovations These advancements are designed to empower businesses to harness the full potential of AI, driving better outcomes and more dynamic customer interactions. Project requests are piling up for the majority of IT teams. Requests for these teams increased by an estimated 39% in the past year alone, which made it challenging for developers to meet the deadlines for work that was essential to the business. Thankfully, many operations can now be automated thanks to generative AI, which is one of the main reasons 86% of IT executives think the technology will eventually be heavily utilized in their companies. 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

June 25, 2024in Mulesoft

22Jun

Salesforce Focuses on Data Cloud

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

June 22, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud

20Jun

DPD Salesforce AI Enhancements

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

June 20, 2024in Generative AI, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein

18Jun

Life Sciences Cloud Organizing Clinical Trials and Outreach

Salesforce CRM announced today its expansion into the life sciences sector with the launch of a new cloud platform designed to enhance engagement between medical technology providers, pharmaceutical companies, patients, and healthcare professionals. The Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud platform, now available, integrates advanced artificial intelligence capabilities from the Einstein 1 Platform. These AI capabilities aim to streamline clinical operations and processes by harnessing insights from all aspects of organizational data. Life Sciences Cloud Organizing Clinical Trials and Outreach. One of the primary benefits of the Life Sciences Cloud platform is its ability to optimize clinical trials, particularly in streamlining the recruitment and enrollment of participants. By leveraging AI, the platform can identify and match qualified candidates for clinical trials based on specific prescreening and eligibility criteria, significantly reducing the time traditionally spent on these processes. The platform facilitates the creation of personalized online portals for each clinical trial, making it easier for eligible patients to discover and enroll in trials relevant to them. It also simplifies the enrollment process through customizable e-consent forms. Using Einstein Copilot, an AI assistant, organizations can automate the identification of potential trial participants based on criteria such as proximity to trial sites, drawing data from sources like spreadsheets and electronic health records. This capability enhances efficiency by proactively reaching out to suitable candidates. Life Sciences Cloud Organizing Clinical Trials and Outreach Salesforce emphasizes the platform’s potential to alleviate common challenges in clinical trials, where recruitment delays and participant retention issues often hinder progress. By addressing these inefficiencies, Life Sciences Cloud aims to improve the operational timelines and success rates of clinical trials. Beyond clinical trials, the platform features a pilot patient benefits verification tool that helps organizations swiftly assess pharmaceutical costs and eligibility for financial assistance. Integrated with Einstein Copilot, this tool supports bulk re-verifications, ensuring continuous access to treatments for patients requiring periodic authorizations. Additionally, the platform includes a pilot patient program outcome management module, which automates the evaluation of educational and support programs’ impact on patients. This module aids in enhancing patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans by sending automated reminders and analyzing the effectiveness of engagement strategies. Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud also offers robust data analytics capabilities, leveraging Salesforce Data Cloud and MuleSoft for Life Sciences to unify structured and unstructured data sources. This unified data model provides comprehensive profiles for each patient and healthcare provider, enabling personalized interactions and informed decision-making. Frank Defesche, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Life Sciences at Salesforce, highlighted the platform’s role in enabling life sciences organizations to navigate challenges such as rising drug costs and regulatory complexities. He emphasized AI’s transformative potential in optimizing operational processes and prioritizing patient-centric approaches across the industry. Overall, Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud represents a significant advancement in leveraging AI-driven technologies to enhance efficiency, engagement, and outcomes within the life sciences sector. 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

June 18, 2024in Einstein 1 Platform, Life Sciences Cloud, Mulesoft, Salesforce Data Cloud

16Jun

Salesforce Feeding Post-Pandemic AI-Powered Digital Transformation

The Digital Transformation Imperative: Salesforce’s AI Solutions The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just accelerate digital transformation; it cemented it as an existential imperative for businesses across all industries. The sudden shift to remote work, digital customer engagement, and e-commerce highlighted the stark contrast between organizations that had prioritized digitization and those that hadn’t. In the post-pandemic era, digital agility has become synonymous with resilience and competitiveness. Salesforce Feeding Post-Pandemic AI-Powered Digital Transformation with unparalled innovation. However, the path to digital transformation remains challenging for many companies. Legacy systems, data silos, and manual processes continue to hinder adaptation and innovation at the pace demanded by today’s market and consumer. This has led to a certain weariness and skepticism around transformation initiatives, often perceived as an ever-receding target. Salesforce’s AI-Powered Integration Solutions Salesforce’s AI-powered integration solutions aim to revitalize the digital transformation journey. With tools like Einstein for Flow, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), and Einstein for MuleSoft, Salesforce is embedding AI across its automation and integration portfolio to address some of the most difficult challenges in digitization. Anypoint Partner Manager: Harnessing AI for B2B Integration Salesforce’s latest MuleSoft offering, Anypoint Partner Manager, exemplifies this AI-centric approach. The cloud-native B2B integration solution leverages IDP to streamline partner onboarding and manage API and EDI-based transactions, addressing a key pain point for companies in complex supply chain ecosystems. “EDI has historically been that code-driven solution. You must really know the EDI spec,” noted Andrew Comstock, VP of Product Management at Salesforce. “Partner Manager actually brings the partner definition into a form, and you can just define that, save it, and you’re off and done. We can deploy all the applications that you need for you.” By using AI to extract and structure data from unstructured documents like invoices and purchase orders, Anypoint Partner Manager democratizes B2B integration, making it accessible to businesses beyond the traditional technology sector. The solution is now generally available. MuleSoft Accelerator for Salesforce Order Management: Bridging B2B and B2C Salesforce also introduced the MuleSoft Accelerator for Salesforce Order Management. This tool provides pre-built APIs, connectors, and templates to unify B2B and B2C orders from a centralized hub. By connecting Salesforce OMS with ERP systems in real-time, the accelerator enables end-to-end visibility across channels, a critical capability in today’s omnichannel environment. “For many companies, [order management] is super critical and vital,” emphasized Comstock. “The more that they can standardize and centralize that, the better visibility, controls, and governance they have.” The MuleSoft Accelerator for Salesforce OMS is now generally available. The AI Imperative in Digital Transformation Salesforce’s AI-powered integration solutions come at a time when businesses are grappling with the realities of the post-pandemic digital imperative. Automating complex B2B processes, unifying data flows across ecosystems, and extracting insights from unstructured data is no longer a luxury but a necessity for survival in the digital economy. Salesforce Feeding Post-Pandemic AI-Powered Digital Transformation “A lot of our successes are happening at companies that are not traditional technology companies. Using solutions like MuleSoft and Salesforce allows them to build those technologies better,” noted Comstock. In this context, AI is emerging as a key enabler of digital transformation at scale. By abstracting complexity and automating manual tasks, AI-powered integration tools like those from Salesforce are helping businesses overcome the hurdles that have long stymied digitization efforts. For companies still wrestling with the challenges of digital transformation, Salesforce’s AI-powered integration portfolio offers a glimmer of hope. By harnessing the power of large language models and other AI technologies to streamline integration and automation, Salesforce is providing a new path forward for organizations looking to thrive in the post-pandemic digital landscape. Salesforce Feeding Post-Pandemic AI-Powered Digital Transformation with Einstein, Mulesoft, Flow, and more. 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

June 16, 2024in Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein

11Jun

Salesforce Driving Change

Sony Honda Mobility Leverages Salesforce Technology to Enhance Customer Relationships Sony Honda Mobility, a mobility tech startup, is utilizing Salesforce solutions—including Automotive Cloud, Data Cloud, Tableau, and MuleSoft—to deepen its customer relationships through enhanced data and insights. Sony Honda Mobility Inc. is a Japanese joint venture automotive company established by Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Company in 2022 to produce battery electric vehicles. The company will market its vehicles under the Afeela brand. Why It Matters: A significant 81% of business leaders report challenges with data fragmentation and silos. This disconnected, disjointed information often leads to immaterial and generic customer interactions, which is problematic as 80% of customers expect superior experiences given the extensive data companies collect. Key Developments: Sony Honda Mobility plans to launch its first electric vehicle in the United States in 2025, followed by Japan in 2026. To scale globally and stand out in the market, the company is empowering its service team with real-time data and insights on customer interactions with its products and services. How Is Salesforce Driving Change Data Cloud: A unified data platform that consolidates application, workflow, and data lake records, making it easier to train AI models, gain business insights, and improve customer relationships. Sony Honda Mobility is leveraging Data Cloud to integrate disparate data seamlessly across applications. MuleSoft API Integration: This integration connects data from Sony Honda Mobility’s vehicle and customer platform to Salesforce, ensuring a cohesive data flow. Automotive Cloud: Inside Automotive Cloud, Sony Honda Mobility now maintains a comprehensive profile of each customer and their vehicle, based on data from Data Cloud. This integration allows for personalized service and experiences at every touchpoint. The platform also streamlines contact center management, query handling, internal FAQ creation, web actions, and ongoing service support for incident and customer information management. Tableau: With Tableau’s visualizations of vehicle operation conditions and service usage status, Sony Honda Mobility can make quicker, more informed decisions about each customer’s needs. Customer Perspective “We aim to elevate our customer service and experiences to new heights. We are confident we can achieve this with Salesforce’s global expertise and proven track record in CRM, trusted AI, and data analytics,” said Yasuhide Mizuno, Chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility. Salesforce Perspective “We are thrilled that Sony Honda Mobility has chosen the scalability, reliability, and expertise of Salesforce technology. By integrating their customer data on a single and trusted platform, we are excited to support Sony Honda Mobility as they scale excellent service to customers worldwide,” said Shinichi Koide, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Salesforce Japan. The Result By harnessing Salesforce’s advanced technology, Sony Honda Mobility is poised to revolutionize its customer service and experience, ensuring a more connected, efficient, and personalized interaction for its customers globally. 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

June 11, 2024in Einstein 1 Platform, Generative AI, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Manufacturing Automotive Energy, Salesforce Tableau

09Jun

Improve Patient Care and Trust

A recent survey conducted by Kyruus Health and shared with HealthPayerIntelligence reveals that consumers are demanding more accurate online provider data from payers to enhance access to care. Healthcare solutions from Tectonic and Salesforce improve patient care and trust by improving data accuracy. The survey, fielded by Wakefield Research in April 2024, involved 1,000 healthcare consumers. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) had private health insurance, with Medicare being the second most common form of coverage (18%). The participants represented an even distribution across U.S. regions and age groups, with 57% identifying as women. Payers have historically struggled to maintain up-to-date provider directories, and this survey highlights the significant impact of these challenges. About 30% of consumers reported skipping care due to inaccurate provider information, with 70% of them seeking this data online. Consumers primarily rely on health plan websites or apps for provider information, with 32% naming these platforms as their first resource. Medicaid enrollees were particularly dependent on their plan’s digital resources, with 64% turning to these tools first. Besides health plan websites and apps, consumers also used general internet searches, provider or clinic websites, and healthcare information sites like WebMD. Social media platforms were also popular for care searches, with 77% of users turning to Facebook and 61% to YouTube. The survey also revealed that payers often fail to provide accurate cost predictions. Only 32% of respondents said their health plans offered accurate cost information. Price transparency tools are particularly important to younger generations, with 76% of Millennials and 80% of Gen Z respondents using these tools. However, 40% of Baby Boomers were unsure if their plans even offered such tools. Among those who did use them, 34% found that the tools presented incorrect provider data, with 45% of Gen Z reporting this issue. Inaccurate provider information can lead to significant negative consequences for consumers, including delays in accessing care, difficulties contacting preferred providers, and higher costs. Some consumers even reported accidentally receiving out-of-network care or forgoing care altogether due to these inaccuracies. These experiences not only hinder access to care but also damage consumer trust in their healthcare providers and payers. Overall, 80% of respondents said that inaccurate provider data affected their trust, with 27% losing trust in their health plans and 22% losing trust in their providers. The survey results underscore a clear call to action. Over 60% of consumers, and nearly 75% of Gen Z specifically, want their health plans to provide more accurate data. Tectonic has decades of experience applying Salesforce solutions to health care providers and payers. To address these concerns, the report recommends that health plans take three key steps: First, engage with members through appropriate channels, including social media. Second, unify and validate their provider data to ensure accuracy. Third, introduce self-service capabilities within their digital platforms to empower consumers. Reach out to Tectonic today if your organization needs help applying these three steps. 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

June 9, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Health Cloud, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Managed Services, Salesforce Optimization

01Jun

Salesforce Summer 24 Flow Release

Salesforce Flow Salesforce Summer 24 Flow Release. Compose intelligent workflows with Flow Builder and Flow Orchestration. Integrate across any system with Flow Integration. 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

June 1, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce

22May

Salesforce Informatica Almost

The Deal That Never Was: Salesforce and Informatica In one of the biggest technology news stories of the year, it was reported in April that Salesforce was on the verge of acquiring cloud data management provider Informatica. Salesforce Informatica Almost. Both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal confirmed the story, with Bloomberg predicting that the deal could be finalized within days. Salesforce appeared poised to leverage Informatica’s data integration and management platform to enhance its Data Cloud and Einstein 1 solutions. However, by the following week, reports surfaced that the deal had fallen through due to an inability to agree on terms, with an unnamed Bloomberg source citing a disagreement over price. Neither company has disclosed specific reasons for the failed negotiations, but market reactions were notable, with both companies experiencing share price drops after the news broke. Salesforce has since somewhat recovered from its initial 7% decrease, but Informatica’s stock has continued to decline, now at its lowest point since mid-February. Criticism also emerged within the technology sector. Gaurav Dhillon, Co-Founder of Informatica and current CEO of SnapLogic, was particularly vocal, describing the proposed acquisition as a “real step backward” for Salesforce and expressing concerns about the merger’s impact on Informatica’s users. Dhillon predicted a “rocky road ahead” due to significant overlaps in integration products, specifically highlighting the challenge of merging Informatica’s technology with MuleSoft, an integration platform Salesforce acquired for $6.5 billion in 2018. Dhillon warned that integrating these disparate platforms would be a complex, time-consuming project likely to take more than five years to complete. Industry Analysts Weigh In The topic was recently revisited by leading CX analysts during a CX Today Big CX News discussion. Despite the initial market and industry criticism, many analysts agreed that the acquisition made strategic sense for Salesforce. Martin Schneider, Head of Research at Annuitas Research, emphasized that data quality is a longstanding issue in the CRM sector and described Informatica’s data capabilities as the missing “puzzle piece” for Salesforce’s end-to-end, AI-driven strategy. He stated, “One thing that Informatica does incredibly well is data quality. Having a CDP is one thing, but unless you actually have the data set right, you can’t create a free-flowing customer data value chain.” Michael Fauscette, Founder, CEO & Chief Analyst at Arion Research, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the enhancements Informatica could have brought to the backend of Data Cloud as a missed opportunity. “If you think about what Salesforce has done over the last couple of years with Data Cloud, it really completes that story from the backend,” he said. “The part of how do I get the data prep and make sure the quality is there.” While acknowledging that the price may have been a sticking point, particularly given the overlap with Salesforce’s existing solutions, Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, expressed surprise that Salesforce walked away from the deal. He asserted, “If an acquisition is a good acquisition, you can never pay too much for it.” Kerravala further explained that data quality issues are a significant hindrance to Salesforce’s AI capabilities. “Salesforce customers are notorious for putting bad data into Salesforce, and bad data leads to bad output. If there’s one thing they needed, it was a company like Informatica to help with that.” Conclusion Despite the week-long will-they-won’t-they drama, the potential acquisition of Informatica by Salesforce remains a ‘what if.’ While initial market reactions and industry criticisms suggested that the failed deal might have been for the best, many CX analysts believe it represented a missed opportunity for Salesforce to enhance its data management and AI capabilities. As the dust settles, the implications of this near-acquisition will continue to be a topic of discussion in the CX community. 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

May 22, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce

19May

Case Study: Salesforce Health Services Modernization

Modernizing Public Health using Salesforce Client is the largest tribally-operated health care system in the United States, with almost 160 full-time providers and over 2,200 health services employees. Committed to improving patient access, this Tribal Nation has invested substantially in technology, building new facilities and expanding existing locations. The primary hospital and nine health centers are dedicated to providing world-class patient care. Salesforce Health Services Modernization “The Gadugi Portal and Salesforce technology is helping us get to our citizens quicker by streamlining the application process, and enabling us to have updated records that are online and easily accessible to our citizens to truly help them recover in their greatest time of need” Client Implemented – Case Study: Salesforce Health Services Modernization The Problem: The Solution: The Results: Ready to explore a Salesforce implementation with Health Cloud, MuleSoft, and Experience Cloud for your government or public sector entity? Contact Tectonic today. 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

May 19, 2024in Mulesoft, Public Sector Solutions, Salesforce, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Health Cloud, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Success Stories

16May

MuleSoft B2B and B2C With AI

Salesforce yesterday announced new solutions to help streamline and accelerate end-to-end order lifecycle management: MuleSoft’s Anypoint Partner Manager with Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and MuleSoft Accelerator for Salesforce Order Management. MuleSoft B2B and B2C With AI. Together, these business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) integration solutions make it easier to connect essential data across third-party applications, Salesforce OMS, and partner ecosystems – all within MuleSoft. Enhanced with AI, these new solutions help IT teams unify data from multiple data and system sources to achieve end-to-end order visibility, improved efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Why it matters: IT teams are inundated with requests to integrate disparate systems and adopt different technologies. And IT teams in retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare must manage the thousands of daily transactions between suppliers and buyers across the supply chain ecosystem. To add to the complexity, 75% of B2B digital sales occur via standardized Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and specialized solutions are needed to handle these transactions. Go deeper: Anypoint Partner Manager with IDP is a cloud-native B2B integration solution that accelerates partner onboarding and operational management of both API and EDI-based transactions through the commerce and supply chain lifecycle. It provides visibility tools to accurately monitor the health of partner transactions along with key business and operational insights like overall order frequency and volume, shipment statuses, and more. By utilizing IDP, developers can leverage AI to extract, read, and store unstructured data from documents such as invoice and purchase order PDFs, surfacing it in systems of record and order management systems like Salesforce OMS. IT and business teams can rapidly develop integrations and APIs, monitor and manage their performance, and secure them in compliance with partner requirements, all through a single pane of glass. New capabilities of MuleSoft B2B and B2C With AI include: MuleSoft Accelerator for Salesforce OMS makes it easier and faster to achieve end-to-end order visibility across channels from a centralized hub. The accelerator includes pre-built APIs, connectors, implementation templates, and other technical assets for Anypoint Platform to unify B2B orders with Salesforce OMS and connect all B2B and B2C orders to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. By leveraging the available out-of-the-box integration assets, customers can significantly reduce the development time required for integrating systems and accelerate time to market. MuleSoft B2B and B2C With AI. New capabilities of this offering include: Industry Use Cases: Customer perspective: “We were struggling with disjointed technology that was causing order and shipping delays while hampering our ability to innovate across our ecosystem,” said Jeff Blank, VP, Finance & Infrastructure at Jillamy. “MuleSoft’s Anypoint Partner Manager helped accelerate our partner onboarding processes with seamless B2B integration and more efficient management of our EDI transactions.” Salesforce perspective: “B2B and B2C integrations are critical to the success of supply chain management. From getting berries out of the farm or medical devices to hospitals, organizations across the globe are looking for a unified solution to manage and securely monitor their business partner transactions. With Anypoint Partner Manager and MuleSoft Accelerator for OMS, our customers can use our technology to build a composable business ecosystem that meets business partner compliance standards and drives end-to-end supply chain and commerce processes with efficiency, visibility, and speed.” – Andrew Comstock, VP, Product Management With Anypoint Partner Manager and MuleSoft Accelerator for OMS, our customers can use our technology to build a composable business ecosystem that meets business partner compliance standards and drives end-to-end supply chain and commerce processes with efficiency, visibility, and speed. Andrew Comstock, VP, Product Management 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

May 16, 2024in Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein

09May

MuleSoft Certifications Now Unified with Salesforce Certifications

MuleSoft Certifications Now Unified with Salesforce Certifications As of May 6, 2024, MuleSoft certifications have been officially integrated into the Salesforce Certification program, with management now handled through Webassessor. This move simplifies the certification process, enabling professionals to manage both their Salesforce and MuleSoft credentials within a single platform, streamlining maintenance and tracking. This article delves into the merging of MuleSoft certifications with Salesforce’s Trailhead platform, highlighting what this means for professionals in both ecosystems. The update offers a significant improvement in managing certifications, particularly for those working across both platforms, as Salesforce has owned MuleSoft since 2018. We’ll cover what this change entails for current certification holders, key dates in the transition, and the new opportunities this unified platform brings—including new certifications. What is MuleSoft? MuleSoft is a leading integration platform that enables businesses to connect applications, data, and devices seamlessly. As an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), MuleSoft facilitates the integration of cloud-based and on-premise applications, ensuring smooth workflows across various systems. Acquired by Salesforce in 2018, MuleSoft powers the integration layer of the Salesforce ecosystem, playing a crucial role in enabling businesses to unify their systems and create connected experiences. With the increasing demand for digital transformation and connected systems, MuleSoft expertise is becoming ever more valuable in the job market. MuleSoft Certifications and Training MuleSoft certifications validate expertise in designing, building, and managing integrations using the Anypoint Platform. Prior to this transition, MuleSoft certifications were handled through the MuleSoft Training portal, which was separate from Salesforce’s broader certification system. While this independent platform was functional, it required separate accounts and processes, making exam registration and certification management more cumbersome. By integrating MuleSoft certifications into Trailhead, Salesforce has simplified this process, offering a unified, more user-friendly experience for managing certifications. Transition Timeline The following key dates marked the transition: What This Means for Current MuleSoft Certification Holders For those already certified through MuleSoft, the migration to Salesforce’s certification system should have occurred automatically. MuleSoft credentials were transferred to their Trailblazer profiles for anyone with existing Webassessor accounts. A confirmation email was sent to ensure that the transition was successful. For those without a Webassessor account, one was created on their behalf, with login details provided via email by April 2024. Certification Maintenance MuleSoft certification holders with maintenance pending as of January 1, 2024, are not required to complete additional tasks through the old system. The expectation is that certification holders will have ample time to familiarize themselves with the new Trailhead process before maintenance requirements are introduced in 2025. New Certifications on Trailhead With the migration, certifications such as the MuleSoft Certified Catalyst Specialist and MuleSoft Certified Hyperautomation Specialist have also been integrated into Trailhead. Though not entirely new, these certifications were part of the legacy MuleSoft program, originally launched in late 2022 and early 2023. Summary The integration of MuleSoft certifications into Salesforce’s Trailhead platform marks a significant step towards a unified, more efficient credentialing process. This transition simplifies certification management, making it easier for professionals to stay current across both platforms. By merging these certifications, Salesforce is empowering professionals to fully leverage the combined capabilities of Salesforce and MuleSoft, further enhancing their skill sets in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape. Content updated September 2024. 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

May 9, 2024in Data, Mulesoft, Salesforce

23Apr

If Not Informatica, Then Who?

What Lies Ahead for Salesforce’s Acquisition Strategy? If Not Informatica Then Who? The Breakdown: The proposed Salesforce-Informatica acquisition, which promised significant advancements in data integration, quality control, and customer insights, ultimately fell through due to disagreements over the deal’s terms. Impact on Salesforce’s Strategy: The acquisition was positioned as a strategic move for Salesforce, building on its largest acquisition of Slack in 2020, aimed at fortifying its data ecosystem and bolstering its position in data analytics and management through enhanced AI capabilities and data management solutions. Future Acquisition Prospects: With the Informatica deal off the table, attention turns to potential targets like HubSpot. This shift underscores Salesforce’s commitment to maintaining a competitive edge in CRM and marketing automation amidst increasing competition and past acquisitions such as ExactTarget and Pardot. The Details: The anticipated mega-deal, which could have significantly expanded Salesforce’s data capabilities and represented one of its largest acquisitions to date, dissolved due to an inability to reach consensus on deal terms, as reported by multiple sources. Informatica, valued at over billion, specializes in data management software, while Salesforce, the world’s leading CRM software company valued at 1.71 billion, has historically expanded its customer data capabilities through strategic acquisitions. Notably, Salesforce completed its largest acquisition with the $27.7 billion purchase of Slack Technologies in 2020. If Not Informatica, Then Who Boosting Salesforce’s Data Ecosystem: The proposed acquisition of Informatica, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on April 12, aimed to elevate Salesforce’s data capabilities, particularly in areas like data integration, quality control, and customer insights. This strategic move reflected a broader trend in the software industry towards mergers and acquisitions to strengthen capabilities in data analytics and management. By integrating Informatica into Salesforce’s data ecosystem, the company was poised to enhance its AI systems and leverage the Mulesoft infrastructure for improved data cataloging, as well as sophisticated solutions like master data management and data governance. Implications for Marketing and Customer Experience (CX) Professionals: The potential acquisition could have accelerated innovation in customer experience management, empowering CMOs and CX professionals with robust data tools for faster, more informed decision-making. This could have translated into enhanced customer interactions, driving revenue growth and enhancing Salesforce’s competitive position in the market. 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

April 23, 2024in Marketing Automation, Mulesoft, Salesforce

15Apr

Salesforce in a Mega-Data Deal with Informatica

Since Salesforce announced its acquisition of Slack for $27.7B in late 2020, the cloud software mega-giant has paused its acquisition strategy due to factors like rising interest rates, declining revenues, and a laser focus on profitability. However, recent leaks from The Wall Street Journal and other news publications suggest that Salesforce in a Mega-Data Deal with Informatica, is in advanced talks to acquire Informatica in a deal worth over $11B. Informatica is a significant player in enterprise data management, boasting revenues of over $1.51B and a workforce of over 5,000 employees. They specialize in AI-powered cloud data management, assisting companies in processing and managing large volumes of data from various sources to derive actionable and real-time insights. Salesforce in a Mega-Data Deal with Informatica The synergies between Informatica and Salesforce are many, with both companies focusing on consolidating data from multiple sources to provide comprehensive business insights. This aligns well with Salesforce’s strategic shift towards AI-driven data processing and analysis, aiming to enhance generative and predictive capabilities. While Salesforce’s previous acquisition of MuleSoft in 2018 for $6.5B has proven successful in facilitating API connectivity for real-time integrations, Informatica brings expertise in ETL (Extract-Transform-Load), data quality, and data movement to and from platforms like Snowflake and Databricks. This potential mega-data deal underscores the growing importance of data in the tech industry, especially with the emergence of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) that enable deeper analysis of vast datasets. Salesforce’s recent rebranding of its platform to “Einstein 1” underscores the convergence of AI and data within its product suite. The company’s emphasis on “AI + Data + CRM” reflects its commitment to leveraging data analytics for CRM enhancement, exemplified by the growth of its Data Cloud product. Partnering with industry leaders like Snowflake, Databricks, AWS, and Google, Salesforce aims to offer comprehensive data solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. Informatica’s capabilities in ETL and Master Data Management (MDM) align with this vision, particularly in streamlining data integration and ensuring data quality across disparate systems. In final thoughts, while the Informatica acquisition is still pending finalization, it represents a strategic move by Salesforce to strengthen its position in the AI and data-driven CRM market. As Salesforce continues to evolve its product ecosystem, this acquisition signals its commitment to innovation and leadership in the era of AI-powered data 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 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

April 15, 2024in Generative AI, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Snowflake

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