SAP

12Oct

SingleStore Acquires BryteFlow

SingleStore Acquires BryteFlow, Paving the Way for Real-Time Analytics and Next-Gen AI Use Cases SingleStore, the world’s only database designed to transact, analyze, and search petabytes of data in milliseconds, has announced its acquisition of BryteFlow, a leading data integration platform. This move enhances SingleStore’s capabilities to ingest data from diverse sources—including SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce—while empowering users to operationalize data from their CRM and ERP systems. With the acquisition, SingleStore will integrate BryteFlow’s data integration technology into its core offering, launching a new experience called SingleConnect. This addition will complement SingleStore’s existing functionalities, enabling users to gain deeper insights from their data, accelerate real-time analytics, and support emerging generative AI (GenAI) use cases. “This acquisition marks a pivotal step in our mission to deliver unparalleled speed, scale, and simplicity,” said Raj Verma, CEO of SingleStore. “Customer demands are evolving rapidly due to shifts in big data storage formats and advancements in generative AI. We believe that data is the foundation of all intelligence, and SingleConnect comes at a perfect time to address this need.” BryteFlow’s platform provides scalable change data capture (CDC) capabilities across multiple data sources, ensuring data integrity between source and target. It integrates seamlessly with major cloud platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, making it a powerful tool for cloud-based data warehouses and data lakes. Its no-code interface allows for easy and accessible data integration, ensuring that existing BryteFlow customers will experience uninterrupted service and ongoing support. “By combining BryteFlow’s real-time data integration expertise with SingleStore’s capabilities, we aim to help global organizations extract maximum value from their data and scale modern applications,” said Pradnya Bhandary, CEO of BryteFlow. “With SingleConnect, developers will find it easier and faster to access enterprise data sources, tackle complex workloads, and deliver exceptional experiences to their customers.” 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

October 12, 2024in Data, Enterprise, Generative AI, Google, Salesforce, Technology

10Oct

Fivetrans Hybrid Deployment

Fivetran’s Hybrid Deployment: A Breakthrough in Data Engineering In the data engineering world, balancing efficiency with security has long been a challenge. Fivetran aims to shift this dynamic with its Hybrid Deployment solution, designed to seamlessly move data across any environment while maintaining control and flexibility. Fivetrans Hybrid Deployment. The Hybrid Advantage: Flexibility Meets Control Fivetran’s Hybrid Deployment offers a new approach for enterprises, particularly those handling sensitive data or operating in regulated sectors. Often, these businesses struggle to adopt data-driven practices due to security concerns. Hybrid Deployment changes this by enabling the secure movement of data across cloud and on-premises environments, giving businesses full control over their data while maintaining the agility of the cloud. As George Fraser, Fivetran’s CEO, notes, “Businesses no longer have to choose between managed automation and data control. They can now securely move data from all their critical sources—like Salesforce, Workday, Oracle, SAP—into a data warehouse or data lake, while keeping that data under their own control.” How it Works: A Secure, Streamlined Approach Fivetran’s Hybrid Deployment relies on a lightweight local agent to move data securely within a customer’s environment, while the Fivetran platform handles the management and monitoring. This separation of control and data planes ensures that sensitive information stays within the customer’s secure perimeter. Vinay Kumar Katta, a managing delivery architect at Capgemini, highlights the flexibility this provides, enabling businesses to design pipelines without sacrificing security. Beyond Security: Additional Benefits Hybrid Deployment’s benefits go beyond just security. It also offers: Early adopters are already seeing its value. Troy Fokken, chief architect at phData, praises how it “streamlines data pipeline processes,” especially for customers in regulated industries. AI Agent Architectures: Defining the Future of Autonomous Systems In the rapidly evolving world of AI, a new framework is emerging—AI agents designed to act autonomously, adapt dynamically, and explore digital environments. These AI agents are built on core architectural principles, bringing the next generation of autonomy to AI-driven tasks. What Are AI Agents? AI agents are systems designed to autonomously or semi-autonomously perform tasks, leveraging tools to achieve objectives. For instance, these agents may use APIs, perform web searches, or interact with digital environments. At their core, AI agents use Large Language Models (LLMs) and Foundation Models (FMs) to break down complex tasks, similar to human reasoning. Large Action Models (LAMs) Just as LLMs transformed natural language processing, Large Action Models (LAMs) are revolutionizing how AI agents interact with environments. These models excel at function calling—turning natural language into structured, executable actions, enabling AI agents to perform real-world tasks like scheduling or triggering API calls. Salesforce AI Research, for instance, has open-sourced several LAMs designed to facilitate meaningful actions. LAMs bridge the gap between unstructured inputs and structured outputs, making AI agents more effective in complex environments. Model Orchestration and Small Language Models (SLMs) Model orchestration complements LAMs by utilizing smaller, specialized models (SLMs) for niche tasks. Instead of relying on resource-heavy models, AI agents can call upon these smaller models for specific functions—such as summarizing data or executing commands—creating a more efficient system. SLMs, combined with techniques like Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), allow smaller models to perform comparably to their larger counterparts, enhancing their ability to handle knowledge-intensive tasks. Vision-Enabled Language Models for Digital Exploration AI agents are becoming even more capable with vision-enabled language models, allowing them to interact with digital environments. Projects like Apple’s Ferret-UI and WebVoyager exemplify this, where agents can navigate user interfaces, recognize elements via OCR, and explore websites autonomously. Function Calling: Structured, Actionable Outputs A fundamental shift is happening with function calling in AI agents, moving from unstructured text to structured, actionable outputs. This allows AI agents to interact with systems more efficiently, triggering specific actions like booking meetings or executing API calls. The Role of Tools and Human-in-the-Loop AI agents rely on tools—algorithms, scripts, or even humans-in-the-loop—to perform tasks and guide actions. This approach is particularly valuable in high-stakes industries like healthcare and finance, where precision is crucial. The Future of AI Agents With the advent of Large Action Models, model orchestration, and function calling, AI agents are becoming powerful problem solvers. These agents are evolving to explore, learn, and act within digital ecosystems, bringing us closer to a future where AI mimics human problem-solving processes. As AI agents become more sophisticated, they will redefine how we approach digital tasks and interactions. 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

October 10, 2024in Data, Enterprise, Salesforce

22Sep

Is Agentforce Different?

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

September 22, 2024in Agentforce Platform, Artificial Intelligence, Data, Enterprise, Google, Salesforce, Snowflake, Technology

20Sep

Thoughts on Workday With Illuminate

Workday Expands AI Across HR and Finance Platforms with ‘Illuminate’ Workday is significantly enhancing its AI capabilities within its HR and finance platforms through a new set of updates called Illuminate. These updates aim to improve automation and increase productivity by embedding AI more broadly across various HR processes. From routine tasks like content generation to complex problem-solving, Workday’s AI now identifies inefficiencies in HR workflows and offers recommendations for improvement. Thoughts on Workday With Illuminate follow. A key feature of Illuminate is a series of AI agents designed to assist in areas such as succession planning. These agents can suggest internal candidates that HR teams might overlook, helping organizations identify potential leaders within their workforce. During a press briefing ahead of the Workday Rising conference, TechTarget asked if the AI agent used in succession planning could fully capture the intricacies of the employee experience and assess leadership potential. David Somers, Chief Product Officer at Workday, acknowledged the sensitivity of succession planning but emphasized that AI is used to augment—not replace—human decision-making. The agents provide recommendations, while the final hiring decisions still involve talent acquisition professionals and interview panels. Workday’s updates include tools for a wide range of tasks, from content summarization to more advanced capabilities such as detecting bottlenecks in onboarding processes and suggesting optimizations. “These AI agents will streamline common business workflows, boosting productivity and freeing up users to focus on strategic, meaningful work,” Somers explained. While AI has long been part of Workday’s offerings, generative AI is now driving rapid transformation in HR practices. Workday’s Illuminate platform combines data with contextual insights, offering features like compensation data tailored to a company’s specific information. Users can access these AI capabilities through Workday Assistant, a generative AI chatbot that integrates with Microsoft Teams and Slack. This tool will be generally available early next year, making it easier for teams to interact with Workday’s AI-powered systems. HR industry expert Josh Bersin sees Workday’s Illuminate as part of a broader trend of AI agents in the HR space, similar to SAP’s Joule. He believes Workday’s new AI agents will be a major focus for the company, though building out all the necessary Workday transactions into these tools will take time. Bersin does not foresee trust issues among Workday users regarding Illuminate, noting that the platform isn’t open to non-Workday data, which limits concerns around data security. Bersin’s own AI assistant, Galileo, is also expected to integrate with Workday’s platform in the future, further enhancing its capabilities. rativAccording to recent Gartner surveys from March and June, the majority of HR leaders are adopting AI in their organizations. Only 15% of respondents indicated they had no plans to incorporate generative AI into their HR processes, signaling widespread acceptance of AI tools like those Workday is rolling out with Illuminate. 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

September 20, 2024in AI Tools, Data, Generative AI

20Sep

Bye Klarna

Fintech firm Klarna is cutting ties with two major enterprise software providers, opting to automate its services using AI, and hints that more cuts could follow. Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski discussed the move during a recent conference call, as reported by Seeking Alpha. The company has already stopped using Salesforce, a platform that helps businesses manage sales and marketing data, and has also removed Workday, an HR and hiring platform, from its tech stack, according to a spokesperson from Klarna. This shift towards AI-driven automation is part of a larger strategy at Klarna. “We have multiple large-scale initiatives combining AI, standardization, and simplification that will allow us to eliminate several SaaS providers,” a company spokesperson said, though they did not specify which providers or services might be next. Founded in 2005, Klarna provides payment processing for e-commerce and reports over 150 million active users worldwide. Despite posting a net loss of $241 million last year—down from nearly $1 billion in 2022—the company reported a reduced loss of $32 million for the first half of 2024. With reports suggesting that Goldman Sachs has been tapped to underwrite Klarna’s potential IPO, the company’s focus on AI could strengthen its profitability prospects. This isn’t Klarna’s first AI initiative. Earlier in 2024, the company introduced an AI-powered customer service assistant in collaboration with OpenAI, which reportedly handled 2.3 million interactions in its first month and replaced the work of 700 agents. Klarna was among the early adopters of OpenAI’s enterprise ChatGPT package, and the company claims that 90% of its employees use the tool daily for process automation. Klarna’s decision to drop Salesforce and Workday is part of a broader effort to replace third-party SaaS solutions with internally developed applications, likely built on OpenAI’s infrastructure. Siemiatkowski stated in the August call, “We are shutting down a lot of our SaaS providers as we are able to consolidate.” However, not everyone is convinced. HR technology analyst Josh Bersin questioned whether Klarna could successfully replace a robust platform like Workday. “Workday systems have decades of workflows and complex data structures, including payroll and attendance,” he told Inc.. Bersin warned that developing an in-house system could lead Klarna into a “black hole of features,” with a poor user experience as a result. Many in the tech world share Bersin’s skepticism, with some suggesting the move is more of a PR tactic as Klarna gears up for its IPO. Investors and executives voiced doubts on social media, with financial insights account BuccoCapital posting on X, “Is it actually the best use of capital to rebuild in-house? Feels like a massive distraction,” while Ryan Jones, CEO of Flighty, called the move “free marketing.” Critics also point out that Klarna has downsized its workforce significantly, reducing its headcount by 1,200 over the past year, and Siemiatkowski has hinted at further reductions, suggesting the company could benefit from cutting staff from 3,800 to 2,000 employees. Siemiatkowski remains adamant that AI will allow Klarna to maintain growth despite these cuts. Bersin also noted that many tech giants have struggled to build their own HR platforms, citing examples like Google, which recently abandoned its internally developed HR software, and Amazon, which undergoes similar cycles regularly. “Microsoft,” Bersin added, “spends money on their own products but partners with SAP for HR software.” If Klarna does succeed in developing an in-house HR platform, it would be an achievement where even some of the biggest tech companies have fallen short. 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

September 20, 2024in Salesforce

19Sep

Vonage Premier for Salesforce Service Cloud Voice

HOLMDEL, N.J., Sept. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Vonage, a global leader in cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation and a part of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), is one of the first contact center providers to join Salesforce’s Bring Your Own Channel for Contact Center as a Service (BYOC for CCaaS) pilot program. With BYOC for CCaaS, Vonage Premier for Salesforce Service Cloud Voice customers will have the ability to integrate Vonage omnichannel and AI-powered capabilities into their existing contact center solutions, including voice, SMS, chat, social messaging apps like WhatsApp, and more – delivering faster resolution times and creating a more native, personalized and meaningful experience for customers by connecting with them on their channel of choice. “We are very excited to have Vonage, a leading Salesforce Service Cloud Voice partner, take this very important step to expand its deep Salesforce integration through BYOC for CCaaS, delivering the omnichannel capabilities – and the APIs to enable them – that create the kind of customer experiences that drive meaningful engagement,” said Tony Flores, Senior Director of Product Management for Salesforce. With BYOC for CCaaS, Vonage Premier for Service Cloud Voice customers will now be able to connect with customers across various communications channels, as well as access data insights and AI-based agent productivity tools, to create a better overall customer journey and a more productive and efficient agent experience. The solution’s single routing and agent capacity model also increases contact center capacity, leading to more customer interactions being resolved better and faster. Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) is also provided through Vonage’s seamless integrations with leading WEM solutions Verint, Calabrio Teleopti, Playvox and injixo, ensuring optimum planning, scheduling, tracking, and management of the contact center workforce. “Today’s contact center agents play a vital role in support of the businesses they represent and in meeting the increasing demands of tech-savvy customers who want to connect from anywhere, on their preferred communications channels,” said Reggie Scales, Acting Head of Applications for Vonage. “These agents are also frequently working from anywhere and need the tools to access critical information to troubleshoot common customer issues and provide real-time customer support. Having all of these capabilities in a single user interface – omnichannel modes of communication coupled with a 360 view of customer information and key knowledge bases – this is the contact center of the future.” A key differentiator for Vonage as a pilot partner in this program is its ability to source a single AI-based Virtual Agent solution for self-service automations across voice and digital channels using Vonage AI studio – while also leveraging Salesforce for all Live Agent Assist and Analytics needs. Vonage can also integrate its own Vonage Communications APIs to power pre-built programmable capabilities for voice, SMS, social and chat, directly into the contact center – all on one combined Salesforce and Vonage platform. This singular view also enhances efficiency by keeping agents and supervisors in a single Salesforce desktop to eliminate application switching and the need to toggle between screens. “Modern contact centers are experiencing increasing pressure and demand to deliver better, more personalized, omnichannel interactions, as well as quicker and more accurate responses to customer issues,” said Jim Lundy, CEO, Founder & Lead Analyst, Aragon Research. “With BYOC for CCaaS, Vonage aims to address the increasing demand for a unified and customizable customer experience across all communication channels, leveraging existing Salesforce platforms and AI-powered insights and automation.” Vonage Premier for Service Cloud Voice is currently available on the Salesforce AppExchange with Salesforce BYOC for CCaaS integrated capabilities now available for customers to pilot. To find out more about Vonage Premier for Service Cloud Voice, visit www.vonage.com. Salesforce, AppExchange, Service Cloud Voice, Einstein and others are among the trademarks of Salesforce, inc. About Vonage Vonage, a global cloud communications leader, helps businesses accelerate their digital transformation. Vonage’s Communications Platform is fully programmable and allows for the integration of Video, Voice, Chat, Messaging, AI and Verification into existing products, workflows and systems. The Vonage conversational commerce application enables businesses to create AI-powered omnichannel experiences that boost sales and increase customer satisfaction. Vonage’s fully programmable unified communications, contact center and conversational commerce applications are built from the Vonage platform and enable companies to transform how they communicate and operate from the office or remotely – providing the flexibility required to create meaningful engagements. Vonage is headquartered in New Jersey, with offices throughout the United States, Europe, Israel and Asia and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), and a business area within the Ericsson Group called Business Area Global Communications Platform. To follow Vonage on X (formerly known as Twitter), please visit twitter.com/vonage. To follow on LinkedIn, visit linkedin.com/company/Vonage/. To become a fan on Facebook, go to facebook.com/vonage. To subscribe on YouTube, visit youtube.com/vonage. SOURCE Vonage 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

September 19, 2024in Data, Salesforce Service Cloud

18Sep

CXM

XM Software Providers Set to Replace Point Solutions with Multifunction Suites By 2028, Enterprises Will Transition to Comprehensive CXM Solutions, According to New ISG Research According to new research from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), companies are expected to shift from various customer experience (CX) point solutions to comprehensive, cross-functional suites by 2028. This transition aims to manage CX at the enterprise level more effectively. Keith Dawson, Director of Customer Experience Research at ISG, explains, “Enterprises recognize the need for platforms that manage the entire customer lifecycle. We are witnessing the rise of tools that integrate communication components with analytic assessments of customer value, loyalty, and intent, marking a significant shift in the marketplace.” The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Customer Experience Management (CXM) defines CXM as a suite of applications on a unified platform that provides a comprehensive view of customer activity and enables management of that activity across departments. The report notes that the mix of applications in a software provider’s suite often reflects their historical expertise and origins. CXM addresses the limitations of traditional Customer Resource Management (CRM) software, which has been more departmental and application-centric. In contrast, CXM focuses on the customer journey and interactions across all channels. The report highlights challenges in comparing similar offerings from different providers due to their varied origins and expertise. The range of functionality across CXM products often reflects their diverse components, users, and use cases. ISG identifies five core areas of platform functionality in CXM software: knowledge management, resource management, automation, analytics, and customer journey management. However, CXM software is still developing, and it is uncommon to find a single solution that excels in all five areas. Many providers start with their core strengths and expand their capabilities over time. The ISG Buyers Guide evaluates CXM software providers based on support for analytics, customer journey management, knowledge management, CRM platform support, operational resource management, and process control and optimization. To be included in the CXM Buyers Guide, products must cover at least three of the four areas: resource management, automation, analytics, and customer journey management. Separate guides on Customer Journey Management (CJM) and Knowledge Management (KM) are available for more specific analysis. For its 2024 Buyers Guides, ISG assessed 19 providers, including Adobe, eGain, Emplifi, Freshworks, Genesys, HubSpot, Microsoft, Nextiva, NICE, Oracle, Qualtrics, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, SugarCRM, Verint, Zendesk, and Zoho. The top three software providers in each category are: Mark Smith, Partner at ISG Software Research, notes, “Managing customer experience is crucial for every organization, yet many lack the technology to orchestrate the customer journey across channels. The Buyers Guide for CXM offers insights to help businesses understand, optimize, and select software providers that move beyond the limitations of traditional CRM systems.” The ISG Buyers Guides for CXM, CJM, and KM are based on over a year of market research. The research is independent and not influenced by software providers, aiming to help enterprises optimize their software investments. For more details, visit the ISG Buyers Guides to read executive summaries and request full reports. About ISG Software Research ISG Software Research, formerly Ventana Research, delivers expert market research and analysis on business and IT software. The firm provides consulting, advisory, research, and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. For more information and to join the community, visit Ventana Research. About ISG ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a global technology research and advisory firm specializing in digital transformation services. With a client base of over 900 organizations, ISG helps clients achieve operational excellence and growth. The firm’s expertise spans AI and automation, cloud and data analytics, sourcing advisory, and more. Founded in 2006 and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs 1,600 professionals in over 20 countries. For more information, visit ISG. 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

September 18, 2024in Salesforce

09Sep

Salesforce AI Agents Explained

Salesforce’s AI Agents: Revolutionizing Enterprise Sales and Service for the Future In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), Salesforce continues to lead the charge, transforming enterprise operations with cutting-edge AI agents. With the introduction of Agentforce, Salesforce is not just enhancing sales and service departments but reshaping business processes across sectors. This comprehensive exploration highlights how Salesforce’s AI agents are changing the game, offering enterprise-level executives insights into their revolutionary potential. Salesforce AI Agents Explained. AI Agents: Beyond Autonomous Vehicles A fitting analogy to grasp the progression of AI agents is the evolution of autonomous vehicles. Just as self-driving cars advance from basic driver assistance to full autonomy, AI agents evolve from simple automation to more complex decision-making. Salesforce’s Chief Product Officer, David Schmaier, draws this comparison: “In the autonomous driving world, we have levels of autonomy, from level zero to level five. AI agents for enterprises follow a similar path.” At the core of this evolution is what Salesforce defines as the “agentic” phase of AI. Unlike generative AI that follows instructions to create content, agentic AI autonomously determines and takes actions based on broader goals. Schmaier notes, “We’re at the point where AI not only creates content but takes strategic actions. It’s like having an infinite pool of interns handling mundane tasks so human employees can focus on higher-value activities.” Agentforce: Salesforce’s Next-Generation AI Platform Agentforce is the latest addition to Salesforce’s AI arsenal, unveiled during their Q2 ’25 earnings call and now positioned as a significant milestone in AI development. With Agentforce, organizations can build and manage autonomous agents for tasks across various business functions—not just customer service. This versatility is highlighted by Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s CEO, who described the energy around Agentforce during a recent briefing as “palpable.” Agentforce builds on Salesforce’s data management, security, and customization expertise, uniting these capabilities into an AI framework. Schmaier explains, “It’s about creating trusted, enterprise-ready agents, not just deploying a large language model. We’ve developed over 100 out-of-the-box use cases, from sales account summaries to service reply recommendations, all customizable and easy to deploy.” Agentforce “In Every App” A key announcement is the integration of Agentforce in every app across Salesforce’s product suite, including Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce Agents. The Atlas reasoning engine, Agent Builder, and a partner network were also introduced to further enhance its capabilities. The Atlas Reasoning Engine acts as the “brain” behind Agentforce, autonomously generating plans and refining them based on actions it needs to perform, such as running business processes or engaging customers through preferred channels. What Makes an AI Agent? Salesforce AI Agents Explained Building an AI agent with Agentforce requires five key elements: These components leverage existing Salesforce infrastructure, making it easier for businesses to deploy agents through Agent Builder, which is part of the new Agentforce Studio. Agents vs. Chatbots Unlike traditional chatbots, which provide pre-programmed responses, Salesforce’s AI agents use large language models (LLMs) and generative AI to interpret and autonomously execute customer requests based on CRM data. This distinction allows AI agents to perform tasks that go beyond simple queries, driving efficiency in customer service, sales, and other business areas. Practical Applications: Sales, Service, and Marketing Salesforce’s AI agents offer tangible business benefits. For instance, Sales Agent, available as both a Sales Development Representative (SDR) and Sales Coach, automates lead nurturing and inquiry management. It utilizes CRM data to deliver personalized pitches, handle objections, and even suggest meeting times—freeing sales teams to focus on more strategic tasks. In customer service, AI agents manage routine inquiries, allowing human representatives to address more complex customer needs. In marketing, AI agents generate data-driven insights to personalize campaigns, improving customer engagement and conversion rates. The Security and Trust Foundation Security and trust remain core to Salesforce’s approach to AI. The Einstein Trust Layer ensures that data protection, privacy, and ethical guidelines are maintained throughout AI interactions. Schmaier emphasizes, “Our platform defines what data agents can access and how they use it, adhering to strict data integrity standards.” The Trust Layer also prevents AI from training on customer data without consent, ensuring transparency and security. A Partnership Between Humans and AI-Salesforce AI Agents Explained Salesforce’s vision emphasizes the synergy between human employees and AI agents. As Schmaier points out, “AI agents handle routine tasks and deliver insights, allowing employees to focus on more creative and strategic work.” This human-AI partnership boosts productivity and innovation, ultimately improving business outcomes. The Future of AI in Business As AI technology advances, Salesforce is already working on next-generation capabilities for Agentforce, including predictive analytics and more sophisticated autonomous agents. Schmaier forecasts, “These agents will handle a wider range of tasks and provide deeper insights and recommendations.” With Agentforce launching in October 2024, businesses can expect significant returns on investment, thanks to its cost-efficient model starting at $2 per conversation. In summary, Salesforce’s Agentforce is a game-changing innovation, blending AI and human intelligence to transform sales, service, and marketing. As more details unfold, it’s clear that Agentforce will redefine the future of business operations—driving efficiency, personalization, and strategic success. 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

September 9, 2024in Agentforce Platform, Generative AI, Technology

30Aug

Detecting the Hot Chatbot

All the tech giants are eager to prove their chatbot is the hottest in the market. Like wild stallions fighting over the mares, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI are competing to show that their AI models have the most momentum. Companies with built-in AI like Salesforce occupy a broader sector. Detecting the Hot Chatbot is the challenge for the consumer. Why Detecting the Hot Chatbot Matters These companies have poured immense resources—both talent and money—into developing their models and adding new features. Now, they’re keen to showcase that these investments are yielding results. What’s Happening In the past few dayss, several major players have released new usage statistics: The Big Picture Generative AI is still in its early stages, and the entire industry faces the challenge of proving that these products deliver real value—whether by capturing market share from the lucrative search industry or by helping companies save money through increased productivity. How are you Detecting the Hot Chatbot. In the short term, however, everyone is eager to show they’re leading the pack. TV commercials for generative AI are now common, with Meta, Google, and Microsoft all airing spots, although the effectiveness of these ads varies. Some companies even boast that their commercials were created using AI—not necessarily the most convincing selling point. Between the Lines The competition isn’t just about consumer popularity; it’s also spilling over into the battle to secure business customers. On Wednesday’s earnings call, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made a point of distinguishing Salesforce’s new Agentforce AI sales assistant from Microsoft’s Copilot offerings. “This is not Copilot,” Benioff said. “So many customers are disappointed with what they bought from Microsoft Copilot because they’re not getting the accuracy and response they want. Microsoft has let down many customers with AI.” Microsoft quickly responded in a comment to CNBC. “We are hearing something quite different from our Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers,” said corporate VP Jared Spataro. “When I talk to CIOs directly, and if you look at recent third-party data, organizations are betting on Microsoft for their AI transformation.” The Bottom Line The competition is heating up as tech giants vie to prove they have the upper hand in the AI race and the Hot Chatbot. Customers will ultimately decide. 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

August 30, 2024in Generative AI, Salesforce Financial Services Solutions, Salesforce for Nonprofits, Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Manufacturing Automotive Energy, Salesforce Public Sector Solutions

29Aug

Salesforce Einstein SDR and Sales Coach Agents

Salesforce Introduces Autonomous AI Sales Agents: Einstein SDR Agent and Einstein Sales Coach Agent Salesforce, the leading CRM for sales, has announced two new fully autonomous AI sales agents: Einstein Sales Development Rep (SDR) Agent and Einstein Sales Coach Agent. These groundbreaking agents, set to be generally available in October, are designed to help sales teams accelerate growth by handling key sales functions autonomously. Built on the Einstein 1 Agentforce Platform, these agents are poised to transform how sales teams operate, allowing them to focus on more complex deals while automating routine tasks. Einstein SDR Agent: Automating Pipeline 24/7 The Einstein SDR Agent autonomously engages with inbound leads, nurturing pipelines around the clock. Unlike traditional chatbots, which can only respond to pre-programmed queries, the Einstein SDR Agent uses advanced AI to make decisions, prioritize actions, and handle various lead interactions. Whether it’s answering product questions, managing objections, or booking meetings, the SDR Agent ensures that every response is trusted, accurate, and personalized, grounded in your company’s CRM and external data. Key features of the Einstein SDR Agent include: Einstein Sales Coach Agent: Enhancing Seller Performance Through AI-Driven Role-Play Einstein Sales Coach Agent takes sales enablement to the next level by autonomously engaging in role-plays with sellers. Whether simulating a buyer during discovery, pitch, or negotiation calls, the Sales Coach Agent uses generative AI to convert text into speech, providing a realistic training environment. This agent helps sellers refine their skills by offering personalized feedback based on real deal contexts. Key features of the Einstein Sales Coach Agent include: Accenture’s Collaboration with Salesforce Accenture, a global leader in business consulting, will leverage these new AI agents to enhance deal team effectiveness, scale support for more deals, and allow their sales teams to concentrate on the most complex transactions. According to Sara Porter, Global Sales Excellence Lead at Accenture, these AI-driven tools will empower their sales practitioners with advanced technology and processes to drive more intelligent customer conversations and accelerate revenue. Salesforce’s Vision for AI in Sales Salesforce sees these autonomous AI agents as a key part of the future of sales. By integrating AI that can generate high-quality pipeline and provide personalized coaching, sales teams can focus on higher-value deals and better prepare for them. Ketan Karkhanis, EVP and GM of Sales Cloud, emphasizes that every AI conversation must translate into ROI, and these new agents are designed to do just that by augmenting human sales teams to accelerate growth. Availability Both Einstein SDR Agent and Einstein Sales Coach Agent will be generally available in October, with additional functionalities expected to be rolled out throughout the year. Learn More: Note: Any unreleased services or features mentioned here are not currently available and may be subject to changes. Customers should base their purchasing decisions from Salesforce on currently available features. 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

August 29, 2024in Agentforce Platform, Generative AI, Salesforce Einstein

25Aug

Winter 25 Release Developer Enhancements

Developer Enhancements Salesforce Flow Enhancements Flow Orchestrator Enhancements How to Access and Use Key Salesforce Features View the Automation Lightning App: Manage Steps in an Orchestration Stage: Customize the Flow Orchestration Work Guide Component: Customize SMS One-Time Password Delivery for Experience Cloud Sites: Control Authenticated Callouts Permissions: Improve Data Transmission Speed and Security with TLS 1.3: Enable LWC Stacked Modals: Additional Enhancements: Salesforce Mobile App Enhancements Resolve Sync Issues with Offline Drafts: Access Hyperlinks in Enhanced Reports: Messaging in the Salesforce Mobile App: Seller-Focused Sales Mobile Experience: Stay Informed About Upcoming Releases: Check Out Resources: 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

August 25, 2024in Salesforce Shield

25Aug

AI as a Service

The latest research study from HTF MI, titled Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) As a Service Market Size, Player Analysis & Segment Growth 2020-2032, offers an in-depth evaluation of market risks, opportunities, and strategic decision-making support. The report delves into trends, growth drivers, technological advancements, and the evolving investment landscape within the Global AI As a Service market. Key players featured in the study include Google, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, Intel, Baidu, FICO, SAS, and BigML. Market Overview: The study provides an extensive view of the AI As a Service market, with segmentation across industries such as banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, government and defense, manufacturing, and energy. Covering 18+ countries globally, it also highlights both emerging and established players. The report offers tailored analysis based on specific business objectives or geographic requirements. AI As a Service Market: Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2030 This research defines the market size across various segments and countries by analyzing historical data and forecasting future values through 2030. It combines qualitative and quantitative insights, including market share, value, and volume forecasts from 2019 to 2023, with projections extending to 2030. Key elements such as growth drivers, restraining factors, and critical statistics shape the market’s outlook. Market Segmentation: The report categorizes the AI As a Service market into the following: Key Players: The study profiles major industry players such as Google, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, Intel, Baidu, FICO, SAS, and BigML, analyzing their market strategies and positioning. Geographic Scope: The global report covers multiple regions, including: Key Questions Addressed: Report Chapters Overview: For more information, request a sample report or inquire about the full research study through the provided links. 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

August 25, 2024in Salesforce

20Aug

Collabrate With AI

Many artists, writers, musicians, and creators are facing fears that AI is taking over their jobs. On the surface, generative AI tools can replicate work in moments that previously took creators hours to produce—often at a fraction of the cost and with similar quality. This shift has led many businesses to adopt AI for content creation, leaving creators worried about their livelihoods. Yet, there’s another way to view this situation, one that offers hope to creators everywhere. AI, at its core, is a tool of mimicry. When provided with enough data, it can replicate a style or subject with reasonable accuracy. Most of this data has been scraped from the internet, often without explicit consent, to train AI models on a wide variety of creative outputs. If you’re a creator, it’s likely that pieces of your work have contributed to the training of these AI models. Your art, words, and ideas have helped shape what these systems now consider ‘good’ in the realms of art, music, and writing. AI can combine the styles of multiple creators to generate something new, but often these creations fall flat. Why? While image-generating AI can predict pixels, it lacks an understanding of human emotions. It knows what a smile looks like but can’t grasp the underlying feelings of joy, nervousness, or flirtation that make a smile truly meaningful. AI can only generate a superficial replica unless the creator uses extensive prompt engineering to convey the context behind that smile. Emotion is uniquely human, and it’s what makes our creations resonate with others. A single brushstroke from a human artist can convey emotions that might take thousands of words to replicate through an AI prompt. We’ve all heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But generating that picture with AI often takes many more words. Input a short prompt, and the AI will enhance it with more words, often leading to results that stray from your original vision. To achieve a specific outcome, you may need hours of prompt engineering, trial, and error—and even then, the result might not be quite right. Without a human artist to guide the process, these generated works will often remain unimpressive, no matter how advanced the technology becomes. That’s where you, the creator, come in. By introducing your own inputs, such as images or sketches, and using workflows like those in ComfyUI, you can exert more control over the outputs. AI becomes less of a replacement for the artist and more of a tool or collaborator. It can help speed up the creative process but still relies on the artist’s hand to guide it toward a meaningful result. Artists like Martin Nebelong have embraced this approach, treating AI as just another tool in their creative toolbox. Nebelong uses high levels of control in AI-driven workflows to create works imbued with his personal emotional touch. He shares these workflows on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, encouraging other creators to explore how AI can speed up their processes while retaining the unique artistry that only humans can provide. Nebelong’s philosophy is clear: “I’m pro-creativity, pro-art, and pro-AI. Our tools change, the scope of what we can do changes. I don’t think creative AI tools or models have found their best form yet; they’re flawed, raw, and difficult to control. But I’m excited for when they find that form and can act as an extension of our hands, our brush, and as an amplifier of our artistic intent.” AI can help bring an artist 80% of the way to a finished product, but it’s the final 20%—the part where human skill and emotional depth come in—that elevates the piece to something truly remarkable. Think about the notorious issues with AI-generated hands. Often, the output features too many fingers or impossible poses, a telltale sign of AI’s limitations. An artist is still needed to refine the details, correct mistakes, and bring the creation in line with reality. While using AI may be faster than organizing a full photoshoot or painting from scratch, the artist’s role has shifted from full authorship to that of a collaborator, guiding AI toward a polished result. Nebelong often starts with his own artwork and integrates AI-generated elements, using them to enhance but never fully replace his vision. He might even use AI to generate 3D models, lighting, or animations, but the result is always driven by his creativity. For him, AI is just another step in the creative journey, not a shortcut or replacement for human effort. However, AI’s ability to replicate the styles of famous artists and public figures raises ethical concerns. With platforms like CIVIT.AI making it easy to train models on any style or subject, questions arise about the legality and morality of using someone else’s likeness or work without permission. As regulations catch up, we may see a future where AI models trained on specific styles or individuals are licensed, allowing creators to retain control over their works in the same way they license their traditional creations today. The future may also see businesses licensing AI models trained on actors, artists, or styles, allowing them to produce campaigns without booking the actual talent. This would lower costs while still benefiting creators through licensing fees. Actors and artists could continue to contribute their talents long after they’ve retired, or even passed on, by licensing their digital likenesses, as seen with CGI performances in movies like Rogue One. In conclusion, AI is pushing creators to learn new skills and adapt to new tools. While this can feel daunting, it’s important to remember that AI is just that—a tool. It doesn’t understand emotion, intent, or meaning, and it never will. That’s where humans come in. By guiding AI with our creativity and emotional depth, we can produce works that resonate with others on a deeper level. For example, you can tell artificial intelligence what an image should look like but not what emotions the image should evoke. Creators, your job isn’t disappearing. It’s

August 20, 2024in Generative AI

08Aug

AI Infrastructure Flaws

Wiz Researchers Warn of Security Flaws in AI Infrastructure Providers AI infrastructure providers like Hugging Face and Replicate are vulnerable to emerging attacks and need to strengthen their defenses to protect sensitive user data, according to Wiz researchers. AI Infrastructure Flaws come from security being an afterthought. During Black Hat USA 2024 on Wednesday, Wiz security experts Hillai Ben-Sasson and Sagi Tzadik presented findings from a year-long study on the security of three major AI infrastructure providers: Hugging Face, Replicate, and SAP AI Core. Their research aimed to assess the security of these platforms and the risks associated with storing valuable data on them, given the increasing targeting of AI platforms by cybercriminals and nation-state actors. Hugging Face, a machine learning platform that allows users to create models and store datasets, was recently targeted in an attack. In June, the platform detected suspicious activity on its Spaces platform, prompting a key and token reset. The researchers demonstrated how they compromised these platforms by uploading malicious models and using container escape techniques to break out of their assigned environments, moving laterally across the service. In an April blog post, Wiz detailed how they compromised Hugging Face, gaining cross-tenant access to other customers’ data and training models. Similar vulnerabilities were later identified in Replicate and SAP AI Core, and these attack techniques were showcased during Wednesday’s session. Prior to Black Hat, Ben-Sasson, Tzadik, and Ami Luttwak, Wiz’s CTO and co-founder, discussed their research. They revealed that in all three cases, they successfully breached Hugging Face, Replicate, and SAP AI Core, accessing millions of confidential AI artifacts, including models, datasets, and proprietary code—intellectual property worth millions of dollars. Luttwak highlighted that many AI service providers rely on containers as barriers between different customers, but warned that these containers can often be bypassed due to misconfigurations. “Containerization is not a secure enough barrier for tenant isolation,” Luttwak stated. After discovering these vulnerabilities, the researchers responsibly disclosed the issues to each service provider. Ben-Sasson praised Hugging Face, Replicate, and SAP for their collaborative and professional responses, and Wiz worked closely with their security teams to resolve the problems. Despite these fixes, Wiz researchers recommended that organizations update their threat models to account for potential data compromises. They also urged AI service providers to enhance their isolation and sandboxing standards to prevent lateral movement by attackers within their platforms. The Risks of Rapid AI Adoption The session also addressed the broader challenges associated with the rapid adoption of AI. The researchers emphasized that security is often an afterthought in the rush to implement AI technologies. “AI security is also infrastructure security,” Luttwak explained, noting that the novelty and complexity of AI often leave security teams ill-prepared to manage the associated risks. Many organizations testing AI models are using unfamiliar tools, often open-source, without fully understanding the security implications. Luttwak warned that these tools are frequently not built with security in mind, putting companies at risk. He stressed the importance of performing thorough security validation on AI models and tools, especially given that even major AI service providers have vulnerabilities. In a related Black Hat session, Chris Wysopal, CTO and co-founder of Veracode, discussed how developers increasingly use large language models for coding but often prioritize functionality over security, leading to concerns like data poisoning and the replication of existing vulnerabilities. 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

August 8, 2024in Salesforce

07Aug

Autonomous AI Service Agents

Salesforce Set to Launch Autonomous AI Service Agents. Considering Tectonic only first wrote about Agentic AI in late June, its like Christmas in July! Salesforce is gearing up to introduce a new generation of customer service chatbots that leverage advanced AI tools to autonomously navigate through various actions and workflows. These bots, termed “autonomous AI agents,” are currently in pilot testing and are expected to be released later this year. Autonomous AI Service Agents Named Einstein Service Agent, these autonomous AI bots aim to utilize generative AI to understand customer intent, trigger workflows, and initiate actions within a user’s Salesforce environment, according to Ryan Nichols, Service Cloud’s chief product officer. By integrating natural language processing, predictive analytics, and generative AI, Einstein Service Agents will identify scenarios and resolve customer inquiries more efficiently. Traditional bots require programming with rules-based logic to handle specific customer service tasks, such as processing returns, issuing refunds, changing passwords, and renewing subscriptions. In contrast, the new autonomous bots, enhanced by generative AI, can better comprehend customer issues (e.g., interpreting “send back” as “return”) and summarize the steps to resolve them. Einstein Service Agent will operate across platforms like WhatsApp, Apple Messages for Business, Facebook Messenger, and SMS text, and will also process text, images, video, and audio that customers provide. Despite the promise of these new bots, their effectiveness is crucial, emphasized Liz Miller, an analyst at Constellation Research. If these bots fail to perform as expected, they risk wasting even more customer time than current technologies and damaging customer relationships. Miller also noted that successful implementation of autonomous AI agents requires human oversight for instances when the bots encounter confusion or errors. Customers, whether in B2C or B2B contexts, are often frustrated with the limitations of rules-based bots and prefer direct human interaction. It is annoying enough to be on the telephone repeating “live person” over and over again. It would be trafic to have to do it online, too. “It’s essential that these bots can handle complex questions,” Miller stated. “Advancements like this are critical, as they can prevent the bot from malfunctioning when faced with unprogrammed scenarios. However, with significant technological advancements like GenAI, it’s important to remember that human language and thought processes are intricate and challenging to map.” Nichols highlighted that the forthcoming Einstein Service Agent will be simpler to set up, as it reduces the need to manually program thousands of potential customer requests into a conversational decision tree. This new technology, which can understand multiple word permutations behind a service request, could potentially lower the need for extensive developer and data scientist involvement for Salesforce users. The pricing details for the autonomous Einstein Service Agent will be announced at its release. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

August 7, 2024in Generative AI

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