Ever since Genie, now rebranded as Data Cloud, made its debut at Dreamforce ’22, Salesforce has been on a mission to propel this product to the forefront of its agenda.
Gone are the days of solely focusing on Customer 360, which aimed to integrate all data into CRM for a comprehensive customer view.
Now, Salesforce’s strategy revolves around AI + CRM + Data + Trust, signalling their vision for success in 2024 and beyond. But what exactly does this mean? Let’s unravel the mystery together.
In their recent Q4 earnings announcement, Salesforce exceeded analyst expectations with a 10.8% year-over-year growth. However, they also forecasted single-digit growth of 8.6%, marking their lowest yearly growth to date. Despite this, the company’s margins are on the rise, dividends are being paid for the first time, and Wall Street is cheering as Salesforce’s stock has surged by 70% over the past year.
Data Cloud has been the talk of the town for some time now, touted as “the greatest Salesforce innovation in the company’s history” since Dreamforce ’22. Now, we have concrete evidence of its success:
Data Cloud is nearing $400M in ARR, experiencing nearly 90% year-over-year growth.
It stands as the fastest-growing organic product in Salesforce’s history.
In Q4, a quarter of deals over $1M featured Data Cloud.
Salesforce has onboarded 1000 net new customers.
An astounding 7 trillion records have been ingested into Data Cloud.
Additionally, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant positioned Salesforce as a clear favorite, surpassing competitors like Twilio and Adobe.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: What exactly is Data Cloud, and why should we care? Amidst the frenzy of buzzwords, the answer lies in the revitalized conversation surrounding data.
While data has always been essential, its significance has reached new heights. Traditional CRMs struggle to keep pace with modern data collection, storage, and dissemination needs. They excel in managing sales, customer support, and marketing interactions but fall short when it comes to handling the plethora of data generated within a company.
Enter CDPs, or Customer Data Platforms. These platforms are tailored to store customer data across every touchpoint throughout the customer lifecycle. Unlike CRMs, which traditionally served as the single source of truth, CDPs are now hailed as the torchbearers of comprehensive data views, given their ability to ingest data from diverse sources.
Beyond Data Cloud lies Einstein 1, Salesforce’s foray into AI. While the initial excitement surrounding predictive analysis tools announced in Dreamforce 2016 waned, Salesforce’s strategic acquisitions paved the way for Einstein 1’s emergence.
Salesforce’s AI + CRM + Data mantra underscores the necessity of automated data collection across the entire company via CDPs. This, coupled with CRM utilization, serves as the cornerstone for leveraging AI insights in the B2B world.
Einstein 1 Studio emerges as the pièce de résistance, offering a suite of AI tools within Salesforce’s ecosystem. This includes out-of-the-box features like sales email generation in Sales Cloud and custom tools like Copilot, Prompt, and Model Builder.
The real game-changer, however, lies in Salesforce’s proprietary LLM (Large Language Models) housed in the Einstein 1 Studio. This advanced model allows for enhanced data input and longer outputs, setting the stage for transformative AI capabilities.
In summary, while Salesforce has often taken bold bets on emerging trends like Blockchain and NFTs, AI stands out as a trend with staying power. With Data Cloud and Einstein 1 at the helm, Salesforce’s future growth prospects seem promising. As businesses scramble to invest in AI solutions to stay competitive, the true potential of Salesforce’s AI products, particularly Einstein 1 Studio, awaits exploration.
It’s an exciting time to witness the evolution of the Salesforce ecosystem and the innovative tools that will emerge from this revolutionary technology stack.
Author: Tim Maxwell
