Podcasts about data cloud

Bonnie Tinder is the founder and CEO of Raven Intelligence, an independent B2B peer review site that amplifies the voice of the customer. She focuses on software customers, consulting partners, and software vendors and helps identify the best partners for their needs. In this episode, Bonnie shares insights from a recent Salesforce event, exploring how AI agents, data clouds, and robotics are reshaping customer experience, software implementation, and enterprise transformation.Episode 52 | AI Agents in ActionThe Big Themes:Campaigns Are Out, Conversations Are In: Marketing is undergoing a radical transformation. Gone are the days of mass email blasts and no-reply addresses. Instead, AI is ushering in a new era of real-time, personalized engagement. Salesforce is leaning into this shift with tools that replace one-way campaigns with dynamic conversations. AI agents now tailor interactions based on behavior, preferences, and real-time context, fostering true customer intimacy at scale.Unified Data Is the Bedrock of Smart AI: No AI strategy can succeed without clean, connected data. Salesforce's Data Cloud addresses what SAP calls the “swivel chair problem” — when teams toggle between disconnected systems to piece together a customer story. AI agents can't operate effectively if data is fragmented or siloed. That's why Salesforce is investing in tools that unify sales, marketing, support, and financial data, giving AI a full-picture view of the customer journey.AI Agents Are Already Delivering Real Results: AI isn't theoretical anymore — it's working in the wild. Bonnie pointed out two standout cases: University of Chicago Medicine and Ford Pro. In healthcare, Agentforce transformed an outdated, frustrating appointment system into a streamlined digital process, improving both efficiency and patient experience. At Ford, AI agents guide customers to ideal vehicle matches with minimal input, keeping users on-site and increasing conversion.The Big Quote: “I think that buyers are looking more at the execution and fit of software, as opposed to the software brand itself. And I would say that that is a shift in the last year or so, especially now with the advent of AI and just the rapid pace that everything is moving so, less on brand, more about how are you going to offer me the complete solution and break down silos of data?” More from Bonnie Tinder:Connect with Bonnie on LinkedIn or send a message via her Acceleration Economy Analyst page. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this follow-up to our discussion on the business case for Business Data Cloud, expert Shawn Brown returns for a focused deep dive into one of the most critical topics for established SAP customers. If your organization has a significant investment in SAP Business Warehouse (BW) or Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC), this episode is essential listening. Shawn provides a strategic roadmap for migration, explaining how BDC offers a "glide slope" to modernize your landscape by turning existing artifacts into valuable data products, rather than forcing a disruptive break from your past investments. Tune in to understand the clear path forward for your on-premise solutions and learn how to leverage BDC to protect what you've built while accelerating your future in data and analytics. With over two decades of experience in SAP solutions, Shawn Brown currently serves as Senior Director for SAP's Center of Excellence. Known for expertly identifying customer needs, Mr. Brown excels in presenting tailored solutions involving Business Technology Platform, Business Data Cloud, S4HANA, and Business AI. A proven leader in demand generation and partner relationship management, Mr. Brown has successfully driven initiatives that enhance customer experience and streamline cloud solution adoption. Renowned as a thought leader and strategist, Mr. Brown frequently shares insights with CIOs and business influencers, fostering strong, trust-based relationships across multiple industries.   Connect with Us: LinkedIn: Shawn Brown Mustansir Saifuddin Innovative Solution Partners : Twitter:  @Mmsaifuddin YouTube or learn more about our sponsor Innovative Solution Partners to schedule a free consultation.    Episode Transcript [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. I'm honored to have Sean Brown of SAP rejoin me to a deeper dive into what SAP Business Data Cloud means for existing business warehouse customers. If you're running BW or BPC and weighing your options, this episode is for you. [00:00:28] Welcome [00:00:32] back to Tech-Driven Business. Shawn, how are you? [00:00:36] Shawn Brown: I am doing well. Thanks for having me back. Happy to be here. [00:00:40] Mustansir Saifuddin: It's great to have you back. I'm really excited to have you back on our show, especially when we started the first session. It was more summary level talking about business data cloud in general. What I would like to do is to bring it a notch down and talk about some of the benefits. [00:00:58] that BDC will bring to SAP BW customers. I see a lot of questions or thoughts about what it will do for those customers having business warehouse. So I'd like to dig deeper into this conversation. How does that sound? [00:01:14] Shawn Brown: That sounds great. [00:01:16] Mustansir Saifuddin: Awesome. Awesome. [00:01:17] Okay, so let's get into it. Right? Let's start with this. I mean, how does BDC simplify the data landscape for BW users? Let's start with that. [00:01:29] Shawn Brown: Yeah, so I think the big question is first, how is a customer using BW? This gets into whether they're using it for the purposes of. An analytical tool. They've built reports against, they've BEx reports. They, they're using older technologies like Business Objects. They're moving forward to actually even using even some third party, or they're using SAC or are they using it for the purposes of extracting the data from the source systems at SAP ERP, ECC [00:02:04] And even if they're already on S/4 and then using it as, Hey, I've extracted this data from SAP, now I'm looking for a way to use this data. And if it's acting as a bit more of a pass through then they have to kind of figure out what are they gonna do to get to that data after they're [00:02:24] thinking of what are they gonna do with BW now, if they're thinking about BW in a BW 4HANA perspective, they're probably looking at it as a long-term solution because they've got until 2040 before they have to really get off of BW. If, if they're using it in, let's say BW 7.5, they've got a little bit more time. [00:02:44] But the question is, are you gonna upgrade or, you know, what's the longer term plan with it? In those cases, I think really the big question for those customers is if I am looking to try to move to the more advanced capabilities that we have to access data within SAP. Then you're, you're clearly going to be in a position of trying to explore Business Data Cloud. [00:03:08] Now, the ability to take your environment that is on-prem, likely today in BW and then move it into BDC it, it moves in as a private cloud instance within BDC. This allows you to basically turn off everything that you're doing. On the on-prem BW and turn it into a software as a service that I think is going to open up a lot of opportunity for organizations that, you know, they may have invested very heavily in BW. If they're on BW4, they're looking at some maintenance costs. If they're before that, they're not so worried about it, but they are still dealing with potentially HANA costs. To be able to take all of that investment that they may have made and move it into BDC changes in many respects, the, the [00:04:00] path to do this 'cause [00:04:02] now it's not I have to pay for something in perpetuity or maintain something in perpetuity. I have a path to make it easier to move those assets into BDC. This is where the data product generator in BW in BDC is a big game changer because data products are gonna be the way that we're going to be delivering SAP artifacts in in the future. [00:04:27] To be able to take those BW artifacts and turn them into data products, and then develop all of your own insights on those artifacts, on those new BW data products that you've generated. This is gonna create a, a really great opportunity for a lot of those organizations that have been trying to figure out what their path forward looks like. [00:04:51] Maybe one last thing I'll say on this is, for those organizations that are maybe thinking of decommissioning BW altogether and moving towards some third party capability, I guess my only caution would be that's gonna be an expensive proposition, both in the short term and in the long term. [00:05:09] Most organizations are looking for self-service analytics. And while you can spend a lot of time and energy curating all of that data from all of the systems across your organization at SAP with SAP data, we're already doing that for you. You're basically duplicating the effort that we're going to provide out of the box. [00:05:32] This is one way you can kind of say, what do I do with BW? Well, I wanna move away from it, but if I wanna move away from it, I have a way to do it and still be able to take advantage of a lot of those curated data products that will be delivered from SAP, from all of those, we'll call it ERP based needs. [00:05:49] . [00:05:49] Mustansir Saifuddin: That's a good point you made. Let's circle back on this last point you mentioned later in our conversation. One thing that I, I take away from this is depending on your BW version you have options available to you. And eventually the idea is how to reuse some of these investments you've done over the past few years that customers have been using BW, BW4HANA, and not lose all that investment. [00:06:17] Shawn Brown: Mm-hmm. [00:06:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: Going to the private cloud and having those BW artifacts turn into the data products we know we talked about in BDC, and make sure that you are still able to utilize that. That's a big win for customers. [00:06:32] Shawn Brown: Absolutely. [00:06:33] Mustansir Saifuddin: Let's talk about customers who are running a little bit more complex BW. You know, when you have BW and you also have BPC, either it's used for planning or forecasting or consolidation. What are some of the considerations when it comes to their future planning and consolidation platform? Can you delve into that and kind of show the path, like what it's gonna look like? [00:06:58] Shawn Brown: Yeah, so, so most BPC customers already kind of know that there is the consolidation piece is the big question mark in many regards, and it really depends on how much they are leveraging, consolidations, how complex they are. The planning piece is something that we, we look at from a standpoint of, yes. [00:07:19] Okay. We're, we're really looking for SAC planning to take over those responsibilities. But then the consolidation piece is something that is going to find its way into S/4HANA. When we're talking about this combined environment, BW and BPC, what I see mostly with customers is that BW is has a larger role than just BPC, but it can just be BPC. [00:07:45] The benefit of BDC of Business Data Cloud is that we're now able to go ahead and take those BPC environments into Business Data Cloud and turn them into a private cloud setting. This gives [00:08:00] a little bit more time. This is something that SAP's really trying to work pretty hard on this year, is taking customers that are a BPC customer, move them into BDC as part of a private cloud deployment. [00:08:14] And then that allows time to transition to SAC planning and then take advantage of S4 for those consolidations. Now there's a lot of organizations, you know, partners that have been working on this as well to try to figure out how do I deal with some of those consolidations in SAC planning. [00:08:34] And in some cases that works really, again, gets back to how complex your consolidations are. That's something that has to be considered as organizations try to figure out what am I gonna do with my BPC environment? How am I going to modernize it? If it's working fine, this is one that I always try to focus on with customers is, I'm not interested in trying to fix something that isn't broken. [00:08:55] If it's working fine for you and feel like you can have some more time to actually make a transition take advantage of some of those new tool sets and learn what those new tool sets have to offer that the previous tool sets did not have to offer. That's the other part, right? Things may be working fine, but it also means that you may not be taking advantage of new technology, new capabilities that are going to improve your planning and consolidation efforts. [00:09:22] Mustansir Saifuddin: I think that's an interesting comment you made about how going to private cloud eases the burden from a customer perspective. If you're a BPC shop and you are running BW you don't have to wrap everything up and start over. It's almost like there's a path for you and you can still utilize older technology or the existing technology, and then look at ways of modernizing. [00:09:47] Either choose the planning solution or look at other consolidation solutions like group reporting, as you mentioned in S4. [00:09:55] Shawn Brown: Right, right. [00:09:56] Mustansir Saifuddin: it seems like there's time that they can buy. Can be utilized for, for adapting to the new tool as well as learning what else you can offer besides what I'm currently doing in BPC. [00:10:11] Shawn Brown: Right. [00:10:11] Mustansir Saifuddin: Though it's not broken. There are ways to analyze and then make the decision. I think that's a big win. I see that as a good consideration from SAP perspective. There are always folks who are thinking, there will be challenges any time you look at a new solution. What is your advice, like, what are some of the key considerations potential challenges that BW customers should be aware of when they're planning a move to Business Data Cloud? Something that comes to your mind that you can share as a caution or something that they should be thinking of or taking care of. [00:10:47] Shawn Brown: Yeah, the first thing, it sounds obvious, but your BW is going to be in the cloud, right? So one thing that you might think about is the type of maintenance that you've had to do to take care of that environment, to have the personnel that will oversee that environment .That changes quite a bit with the support of SAP when it's in a private cloud environment. [00:11:10] That's one of the things out of the gate you can look at and you say, all right, there's some benefits that I'm getting, as a result of moving into private cloud. I'm gonna have SAP overlooking this environment with me. This is the other thing to consider too, is that private cloud is from an SAP perspective, private cloud is a stepping stone. It is to get you to a public cloud environment where really you don't have to do much of anything to maintain your environment, at least not from an infrastructure or from a upgrades. We're doing all of that for you and we're taking away the risk factor of those elements where your organization has to care for that. [00:11:52] Moving it to private cloud is saying, all right, now SAP takes on some of those responsibilities. And then longer term you're [00:12:00] seeing that Business Data Cloud is a software as a service. So we're going to be taking away even more of those administrative type of responsibilities. [00:12:10] Those keep the lights on type of responsibilities that a lot of organizations have had to bear in the past. And then the last part is we're going to help you get to the point where you can take advantage of new advancements in technology faster. Because frankly, once you kind of move into the space of a public cloud scenario, as you've transitioned from private into public over time, then essentially you're having the advantage of using those new advancements as we release them [00:12:44] rather than this staggered effect. Now that's gonna require some understanding that the way we did things in the past and the amount of customizations that we might have done and the amount of wrangling of data that we did in the past, those things we may not need to do as much of in the future. [00:13:01] And we have a framework upon which it'll make it easier for you to, let's say, add data elements to the standard SAP data elements that you have or make customizations that are a combination of data elements, that'll be a lot easier to manage over time because the foundational components, the building blocks upon which you will use are already there from SAP's point of view. [00:13:29] So as we introduce new enhancements, new improvements to those building blocks, those customers get to take advantage of them immediately. [00:13:40] Mustansir Saifuddin: So, we always look for success stories or examples. Can you share any examples success stories of companies that have either started the migration from BW into Business Data Cloud or, already done through the migration and, and some of the benefits that they have realized or come across? [00:13:58] Shawn Brown: Yeah, I. [00:13:59] Mustansir Saifuddin: That'll be great to hear your thoughts. [00:14:00] Shawn Brown: I would say that the customers that I've talked to, and I'd love to be able to use names, but they're particular about that at this point, but the customers that I've spoken to that we have had some success with already are doing exactly what we're talking about. [00:14:13] They're taking their BW environment, they're moving it directly into Business Data Cloud. It's a PC environment, and. They're already on this journey of taking those artifacts and saying, how do I make use of them in Business Data Cloud? How do I turn those BW artifacts into data products that can sit at the foundation layer of BDC? [00:14:34] And then how do I then start building the models within Datasphere to make them available for any sort of reports that they want to go ahead and leverage at that point. A lot of this is taking advantage of the type of visualizations that they may have already built, let's say, for example, with SAC and using them as part of the Business Data Cloud construct. [00:14:58] So we're early days on some of this, so customers are very early on on this, but the goal or the vision based on some of the engagements we've had so far is playing out exactly as we've talked about today and in the past as well. So that's, that's why I can give you on that. [00:15:15] Mustansir Saifuddin: That's helpful. When we talk about BW customers, let's focus from that perspective: you are using the Business Data Cloud's major offering, which is, Hey, how can I have a data product? [00:15:27] Right? The data product approach is what's going to help them reuse those investments in a newer environment, in a way that they can further grow instead of being stagnant with the, the old technology. So that's where I see the value. [00:15:44] Shawn Brown: I'm gonna add something to that one too, Mustansir, because, you know, the the thing that we think about as these investments that we have in BW they're investments that organizations don't want to let go of initially. But over time, [00:16:00] we should see that ultimately these investments, these developments that they've done with BW, for example, and what they've extracted from the ERP, whether it's ECC or S4, what they've extracted is essentially they're a collection of data products that over time SAP is going to provide [00:16:24] out of the box anyway, so there's gonna be time that you're going to say, all right, I've developed these data products from these Business Warehouse artifacts. But as SAP continues to release new data products for all of our business applications, they're largely going to replace much of what the BW artifacts are, which of what the BW data products are. [00:16:51] I like to think about this for customers as this is your transition. This is the easy glide slope to move from i'm flying along with BW and all of what invested I've done, but I've gotta land somewhere and I've gotta find a way to easily transition into the newest, latest and greatest capabilities that SAP re releases as part of Business Data Cloud. [00:17:17] Those will be those new data products that will feed those insight apps. We're largely going to be taking a lot of those investments that customers have made over time and said, you can replace them over time. And the beauty of that as well is you don't have to worry about maintaining them as well. [00:17:37] SAP maintains them and, and of course. We can include any sort of custom fields that you've added all of those elements into those data products so they're not static, but they are something that largely the bulk of the work is something that SAP is going to cover for you over the extended period of time. [00:18:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. I think the idea is. Once they get into BDC once they get into private cloud, they can immediately start utilizing the AI capabilities and some of the newer needs of the organization, which was earlier not possible with BW. [00:18:16] Shawn Brown: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. [00:18:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: Let's talk about other options, other cloud data warehouses. [00:18:24] We kind of touched upon it earlier , SAP customers who have already started a journey with some of the other data warehouses, like Snowflake, Azure , in some cases GCP, those other platforms what benefits will they get by adopting BDC? Can you shed some light on that? [00:18:44] Because they're already on a journey, right? Like you mentioned earlier, I just wanted to bring it back to that conversation because important for those customers to realize what will be there for them if they want to look at BDC as the potential option? [00:18:59] Shawn Brown: Yeah. Let's use a couple of scenarios here in this case, right? Scenario number one. I'm on ECC and I'm moving to S/4HANA. I already have invested a lot in terms of how I access SAP data and then delivered it to a third party repository, we'll call it. Right? Operational data store, data warehouse data lake. [00:19:21] Let's whatever terminology you want to use to, to describe what's happened with acquiring SAP data and then delivering it to some third party, and it could be directly, let's say because the customer had access at the database level, they purchased HANA Enterprise and gave them access to the database level to get to it. [00:19:43] As they move to the cloud, much of that's gonna change. Much of that's gonna go away. Not only is it going to go away just because you're probably going to go from ECC to S4 because that's gonna change too, because the data structure has changed, but also from on-premise to [00:20:00] cloud. So this is the type of scenario that organizations should try to avoid in the future. [00:20:09] How much work do I have to do to get the data from a source system to deliver it to some other need in the organization? That's scenario number one, what's changing as a result of every upgrade, every change to the environment that takes place, whether it's a version change or whether it's on-prem to cloud. [00:20:29] All of those things or whether it's one other additional one, which we've talked quite a bit about here, which is what if BW is involved? What if I'm using BW as the extraction point to get to the SAP data, even if I am and I'm making a change, let's say from ECC to S4, BW is gonna change. [00:20:47] Much of that has to be reevaluated. So when you think about how I'm acquiring SAP data, the best way to look at it is if I can get the data curated for my needs out of the box, and I don't have to do anything to make that happen, or I have to do a minimal amount of effort because I'm just making the adjustments for [00:21:10] the custom fields I might have, the customizations I may have included. Those are things that we can include as most of the work has been done. SAP has provided most of the curated data. Now, then this gets into a question of what question am I asking and where am I getting the bulk of the data from? And I think we might have touched on the data of gravity topic in the last discussion, but I think it bears [00:21:38] that, we're talking about for just another second more, which is, if I'm asking primarily an SAP question, and I know that the time it takes to deliver SAP data is, is critical, right? 'cause it's, it's tends to be, in many cases the most important data in an organization. Finance data usually is where we can start. [00:22:00] Then we have to ask how important is it to be able to deliver that data as quickly as possible, especially for an SAP data centric question, right? Why take all of the extraction points, put it over into a third party, model it, do everything we have to do with that, and then make it available to the SAP community when SAP is going to be providing [00:22:27] access to that data in a curated format, knowing already what kind of questions the business community's going to ask of that data. Why not just make it available for them to access it through Business Data Cloud? Now, that sounds like a really centric SAP data strategy. We understand that the converse of that is that it's not always going to be the case that, you know, the bulk of the data that's being asked for is SAP. [00:22:51] It could be third party data as well. So. That's where you also ask the question, well, what's the fastest way for me to access the SAP data to deliver it to a not so SAP centric question. You need data elements from SAP, but the question primarily is third party data, and we're just using SAP data to enrich that third party data. [00:23:16] The bulk of the data being in, let's say, whatever third party it is, or an operational data store or a hyperscaler, wherever they've taken that data and placed it, whether they extracted it or they have a tool set, similar to what SAP provides with Business Data Cloud. We're providing the data in a curated format through our data products anyway, this is the best way to access the data from SAP systems. [00:23:42] 'cause again, we know what questions organizations are going to ask, we know what data elements they're going to ask of, and we've already built all the logic into that data package, data product that we can deliver to any third party need. So [00:24:00] this is a scenario where I like to use some people kind of chuckle at first, which is I call this the SAP's data strategy as a snuggle, don't struggle. We're happy to snuggle up to whatever else you're doing in your organization. We're not here to struggle and say you need to do everything through SAP. You don't. What we want you to do is be able to access SAP data in the most efficient manner possible, in most inexpensive manner possible, and to be able to deal with changes to the environment that come with upgrades, [00:24:33] with new advancements in the technology that are bound to happen because we're living in a, a pace of super hyper change, especially with AI. We're, we're in a position to deliver that data for whatever need it is, whether it's an SAP centric or a non SAP centric. But using business data cloud is the fastest way to get to the data. [00:24:56] Already curated, already ready to go for whatever need is. The business may have. [00:25:02] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, I think the bottom line is the speed that you get and the speed is what's going to count in the future. So it seems like the, the BDC answer will be: how do you make that access to the data as quickly as possible in order to get that, you know, get benefit out of that information. [00:25:20] Shawn Brown: For sure, time is. Time is money. [00:25:23] Mustansir Saifuddin: Time is money. [00:25:23] Exactly. So I think that leads me to my last question. What's one key takeaway from this session that you want to leave with our listeners? [00:25:33] Shawn Brown: Yeah. I would say, I'm gonna lean in on something I said earlier, you know, which is SAP's the best at delivering SAP data. Nobody understands the data and the needs of the data better than we do. And the reason for that is because we have 50 years of talking to organizations in different lines of business, in different industries and knowing what it is that they're looking to do with our data structures, right? [00:26:05] It's their data. But the structure upon that data is something that SAP has created, and largely we've evolved what those backend data models look like. We've evolved what the different fields are that we capture because we understand what organizations are trying to do with the data that they're collecting and placing in the SAP systems. [00:26:30] So knowing that, know that when the business comes to the data and analytics teams in the organization and they say, we need a report that says this, they're likely going to leave something out. They're likely not going to include everything that is being asked for, and the data and analytics organization's gonna do their best to deliver what the business is asked for. [00:26:55] Not knowing oftentimes that they're missing things, that relationships that they need to take into account are something that requires real understanding of the backend business application for SAP. What we can do with Business Data Cloud is simplify the world for the data and analytics teams, the IT department. [00:27:22] It's a lot of effort, a lot of work that they have had to do in the past that SAP is taking on for them and then just delivering what it is that the business is going to ask for. Even if the business doesn't know yet that they need another data element, it's already there from SAP from our data products. [00:27:42] It comes back to the same thing that we've said before, which is time is money. The faster we can deliver these data products to our customers, and the customer says, well, the business says this: this has everything that I want except this, except this is just a click, one [00:28:00] click, and you turn it on. [00:28:01] You add one more data element rather than, okay, now I need to go ahead and take a look at where I'm getting the data from, whether I'm actually at the database level or whether I'm actually, you know, do using some best practices and using those core data services that SAP provides. Instead of having to know all of the backend relationships and the things that you might have to pull, on top of what was requested by the business, the data's already curated. [00:28:27] It's already there for you. Now, that's the part that customers have gotta take away from, which is we're delivering speed. Speed gives you that opportunity to consume the data as quickly as possible. And then the, the one other thing I'll say and know you asked for one, but at the, this one goes directly with it, which is you're gonna have visualizations that you're going to need to develop. [00:28:53] Those visualizations are things that we already knew that customers have been asking for over and over and over. We've had a rich history of building business content for our customers, and now it's just a matter of now putting it into a visualization that is software as a service, push a button and it's available. [00:29:14] Start consuming it. It's about speed. Delivering those data products curated quickly and then about delivering, delivering those visualizations. So I think, I think that's, that's really the, the, in a nutshell the big, big elements that customers need to understand about the benefits of Business Data Cloud. [00:29:33] Mustansir Saifuddin: That is great. Thanks. What I'm hearing from you is it's all about how quickly you can make it happen. What are the, the different pieces that you can leverage if you are a BW customer and then not losing those investments at the same time, be able to get up and run much quicker than if you are taking a different path either adopting party solution versus, you know, keep using your current environment but not able to utilize some of the changes that are coming up in the Business Data Cloud. And I think it's just a way of speeding up your journey for AI. [00:30:12] Shawn Brown: Absolutely. [00:30:12] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thank you for the time you spent with us. It's been a pleasure and it's been very informative, so thank you. [00:30:18] Shawn Brown: Great. Thanks, Mustansir. I appreciate the time as well. [00:30:22] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for listening to Tech Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. Sean shared valuable roadmaps for SAP BW and BPC customers to BDC. Sean's key takeaway with 50 years of experience. SAP understands its own data structures better than anyone. It's about leveraging their expertise to gain speed. [00:30:51] Use BD, C to dramatically accelerate your journey from data to insight and ai. We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or X. Learn more about innovative solution partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting i solution partners.com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. [00:31:16] Information is in the show notes.

Dr. Fabian Gampfer von Snowflake gibt im Podcast spannende Einblicke in seine Rolle als Principal AI Specialist, wo er die Brücke zwischen technischer Exzellenz und strategischer Kundenberatung schlägt – immer mit dem Ziel, KI-Projekte nicht nur möglich, sondern auch wirksam zu machen. Besonders hervor hebt er den aktuellen Push für europäisches KI-Hosting, das auf die steigende Nachfrage nach Datenschutz und lokaler Datenverarbeitung reagiert – ein Thema, das Snowflake auf Initiative seines Teams nun konsequent vorantreibt.

SaaStr 807: Snowflake's CEO on the AI Data Cloud, Partner Strategy, and What's Next Join Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Snowflake, and Jeremy Burton, CEO of Observe, in a comprehensive discussion led by SaaStr CEO & Founder, Jason Lemkin. Discover the inner workings of Snowflake's Board, the dynamics of strategic partnerships, and the evolving role of AI in data management. Learn how Snowflake aims to be the AI Data Cloud and how Observe integrates with Snowflake to provide scalable analytics. With detailed insights into the partnership strategies, future technological trends, and success stories, this conversation offers a blueprint for leveraging AI and data to drive business value. Don't miss out on the valuable lessons and future predictions shared by these industry leaders. ----------------- This episode of the SaaStr podcast is sponsored by: Attio This episode is brought to you by Attio — the AI-native CRM. Connect your email, and Attio instantly builds a powerful CRM - with every company, contact and interaction you've ever had. Get 15% off your first year at https://attio.com/saastr  ------------------ This episode of the SaaStr podcast is sponsored by: Attention.com Tired of listening to hours of sales calls? Recording is yesterday's game. Attention.com unleashes an army of AI sales agents that auto-update your CRM, build custom sales decks, spot cross-sell signals, and score calls before your coffee's cold. Teams like BambooHR and Scale AI already automate their Sales and RevOps using customer conversations. Step into the future at attention.com/saastr ------------------ Hey everyone, we just hosted 10,000 of you at the SaaStr Annual in the SF Bay Area, and now get ready, because SaaStr AI is heading to London! On December 2nd and 3rd, we're bringing SaaStr AI to the heart of Europe. This is your chance to connect with 2,500+ SaaS and AI executives, founders, and investors, all sharing the secrets to scaling in the age of AI. Whether you're a founder, a revenue leader, or an investor, SaaStr AI in London is where the future of SaaS meets the power of AI. And we just announced tickets and sponsorships, so don't wait! Head to SaaStrLondon.com to grab yours and join us this December in London. SaaStr AI in London —where SaaS meets AI, and the next wave of innovation begins. See you there!  

In de nieuwste aflevering van Techzine Talks wordt de recente overname van Informatica door Salesforce voor 8 miljard dollar onder de loep genomen. Deze strategische overname laat zien hoe belangrijk data is voor AI en daarmee voor de strategie van Salesforce. Wat maakt deze overname nu zo belangrijk? Coen en Sander analyseren de overname, wat dit betekent voor de markt en voor organisaties.Wat kun je verwachten in deze aflevering?- Diepgaande analyse van de technologie die Informatica toevoegt aan het Salesforce-ecosysteem;- Inzicht in de data-strategie achter deze overname en hoe deze past in Salesforce's AI-ambities;- Vergelijking met eerdere grote overnames zoals Slack, MuleSoft en Tableau;- Toekomstperspectief voor klanten van beide platformsWaarom is deze overname zo belangrijk?Informatica, een meer dan 30 jaar oud bedrijf gespecialiseerd in data-integratie, master data management en data governance, brengt cruciale technologie naar Salesforce die essentieel is voor het succes van AI-oplossingen. Waar MuleSoft sterk is in connectiviteit, blinkt Informatica uit in dataverwerking en -kwaliteit. Dat is precies wat nodig is voor Salesforce's Data Cloud, Einstein en Agentforce.De aflevering belicht hoe deze overname past in een breder patroon waarbij alle grote technologiebedrijven (Microsoft, Oracle, Google, AWS) investeren in 'data fabric'-technologieën als fundament voor hun AI-strategie.Hoofdstukken:02:15 - Wat is Informatica en waarom is het waardevol? 04:30 - Vergelijking met eerdere Salesforce-overnames (Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau) 07:45 - Data-integratie: MuleSoft vs. Informatica - de verschillen 10:20 - De cloud-transitie van Informatica's legacy-producten 13:40 - AI-strategie: Waarom data cruciaal is voor Salesforce's toekomst 16:55 - De concurrentiestrijd: Waarom IBM en anderen ook interesse hadden 22:10 - Integratiemogelijkheden binnen het Salesforce-ecosysteem 25:45 - Data Fabric: De grotere visie achter deze overname 28:00 - Conclusie: Wat betekent dit voor de enterprise-technologiemarkt?#SalesforceInformatica #TechOvername #DataIntegratie #SalesforceDataCloud #EnterpriseAI #DataManagement #CloudComputing #MasterDataManagement #TechStrategie #DataFabric #SalesforceEcosysteem #EnterpriseData #AIToekomst #TechAnalyse #DataGovernance

Dive into the future of enterprise data with the latest episode of Tech-Driven Business. Mustansir Saifuddin welcomes Shawn Brown, of SAP, for Part 1 of an in-depth exploration of the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). If you're navigating the complexities of data management and analytics within the SAP ecosystem, this episode is unmissable. Shawn breaks down the fundamental 'why' behind BDC, revealing how it's engineered to drastically reduce data preparation time, cut costs, and empower businesses to make faster, more accurate decisions. Tune in to understand how you can your team can take advantage of all that BDC offers to SAP customers looking to unlock true value from their data. With over two decades of experience in SAP solutions, Shawn Brown currently serves as Senior Director for SAP's Center of Excellence. Known for expertly identifying customer needs, Mr. Brown excels in presenting tailored solutions involving Business Technology Platform, Business Data Cloud, S4HANA, and Business AI. A proven leader in demand generation and partner relationship management, Mr. Brown has successfully driven initiatives that enhance customer experience and streamline cloud solution adoption. Renowned as a thought leader and strategist, Mr. Brown frequently shares insights with CIOs and business influencers, fostering strong, trust-based relationships across multiple industries.   Connect with Us: LinkedIn: Shawn Brown:  Mustansir Saifuddin:  Innovative Solution Partners  X:  @Mmsaifuddin YouTube or learn more about our sponsor Innovative Solution Partners to schedule a free consultation.    Episode Transcript [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech- Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. I'm honored to have Sean Brown of SAP join me to kick off an essential two part series to unpack a topic that's on every SAP user's mind. The Business Data Cloud or BDC. If you're looking to understand how BDC can transform your data landscape and drive real business value, you are in the right place. [00:00:32] . [00:00:32] Welcome to Tech- Driven Business, Shawn. How are you? [00:00:35] Shawn Brown: I am good. I'm good. Things are going well, staying busy. [00:00:38] Mustansir Saifuddin: That's awesome. That's awesome. So glad to have you on our show and I'm really excited for the topic that we are going to discuss today. You ready for it? [00:00:47] Shawn Brown: I am. I'm excited as well. [00:00:51] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, so I, I know we had talked in the past a couple of times and right now , the hot topic everybody's talking about from SAP and in general is the whole idea, the concept, and now the actual product called Business Data Cloud and what it really means for SAP customers. I like to use this time to dig deeper into this conversation and have a better understanding of exactly what this brings, what kind of landscapes that are changing with this new product, and to expect, you know, if you're a customer interested into, in going forward with BDC. [00:01:28] Shawn Brown: -. [00:01:28] Sure. That sounds great. Yeah. [00:01:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: Awesome. Okay. So I think every time we, we have this new products, right? And SAP is really good about and talk, people talk about rebranding and all that. Let's talk about the why of why should SAP customers adopt BDC. What is different about BDC that SAP customers should be asking that question. [00:01:53] Why? [00:01:55] Shawn Brown: Yeah, this is, this is my favorite question to start. Anything in the space that is outside of packaged solutions, you know ERP, HR Supply Chain and, and the capabilities we have in those areas because the why is something that it, it should be the driver for everything. Right? And, and for BDC, I would say the first thing we wanna talk about is it's a, it's a new product. [00:02:24] But it's an evolution of everything that we've been doing for years. It's, it's capabilities that our customers already know about. And it's taking all of the capabilities that we have offered over the time that we've been, been in the data and analytics space. And it's the, I call it a next generation, right? [00:02:45] It's the next generation of what was. And so when we get into the why. I would say the first thing that we really gotta say is, is the reason for BDC is it is to short circuit the amount of time it takes to prepare from data to finally analytics and planning and all the steps in between, where we're often times organizations see it as this, this wheel that. [00:03:15] They start with the data that's in the source system. They're gonna extract a, transform it loaded profile it, catalog it you know, press governance on it. Maybe make it in, you know, in a marketplace setting. Organize it so that it can be easily digestible, create some standard analytics, and then now we can actually start analyzing it. [00:03:34] And the why is really about reducing the amount of time it takes to go around that whole wheel of, Data all the way around to analytics and planning and reduce the amount of prep time and increase the amount of analysis time. Because if we think about how much time a person gets to analyze the [00:04:00] data, let's say for example, and this is a, this is actually a number that is, has been verified with numerous customers and with, the analyst firms like Gartner and Forrester and TDWI is that it takes as much as 70% or more of the actual workload and investment to go from data to analytics. That's not, so that means the analytics is just 30% or less of the time. So if we think about how much each question costs. You have to add in all of that cost that even deliver up the analytical or, or deliver up the, the data in a way that it can be analyzed. [00:04:45] So BDCs goal is to shrink that time of preparation and actual delivery of data for the analyst purpose or for the AI purpose, or for any application purpose. Shrink it as much as possible so that, the questions that are asked are cheaper, and essentially we can ask more questions. We don't have to continue to reformat the data, deliver the data in a new way to get to the final answers that we're trying to seek. [00:05:20] So I would say savings and costs. Savings and money. More data, more, more analysis time. That's the why for BDC. [00:05:31] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, it totally makes sense. I think one of the things that while you're talking about this that stuck out for me was, we always talk about time value, right? And, especially when it comes to analytics, It's such a critical part of any organization's path forward and the numbers that you're just sharing from Gartner and other resources, [00:05:51] where if the majority of the time is gone into the data collection, the data refinement, all that, there's no time left or a very minimal time for your analytics part, which makes it really difficult for organizations to make quick decisions. So I think what I'm hearing from you, the why: the time value becomes very important in this case. [00:06:13] Shawn Brown: Correct. Absolutely. [00:06:16] Mustansir Saifuddin: That's good because that kind of takes me into this conversation, like, Hey, benefits. When you have that, why understood, what are some of the benefits that BDC will provide to SAP customers who want to go on the journey? Because benefits is really the reason why it will make sense for them to move forward. [00:06:33] Shawn Brown: For sure, for sure. And this is the one that's always interesting for organizations because they're focused so much on the actual preparation of the data that oftentimes the benefits that they can glean from all of that effort are, are fleeting, so they look at the, the overall effort and they go, oh yeah, there's, there's a lot here that is really based on, on how much it took to get here. [00:07:01] And the faster we can deliver the capabilities for analysis purposes for any AI purposes, the faster we can make decisions. The faster we can adjust based on those decisions. And so when you think about the speed at which organizations operate, to be able to answer those questions faster is probably the number one benefit that you can get. [00:07:27] And then you also get into accuracy. What, what questions are we asking? And if we don't have to go through this rigorous effort of moving data from all of these source systems and joining it all back together, and then building all that business context. Data integrity, is that a, a concern? It is for most organizations, they're concerned about what this looks like at its end state. [00:07:57] And the other thing that still [00:08:00] exists in the world of business, especially in the analytics space, is the typical spread marked problem. Where people just take the data that they're looking for, they extract it out of whatever solution it's been delivered to them. Maybe it's cheap cloud storage on flat files, or maybe it's been all dumped into an ODS, an operational data store, and then they're accessing the data as they like. [00:08:26] If they don't understand the details of the data and the relationships that occur with the data, and they don't have the original business context that the data came from in its source system, then if they do extract it to whatever they like, then somebody can walk into a meeting with one version of the truth and another can walk in with another version of the truth. [00:08:48] They all can believe that they're accurate. They all can argue over why their version of truth is correct and the others is not. So the confidence in the data is the other thing. We take away a lot of those concerns, because when you have it coming from those source systems and the preparation of that data has been provided in this case by SAP, for SAP systems, at a minimum, you're going to have much more confidence that the data [00:09:17] is delivered to you in a way that respects all of the integrity that it came from. That the accuracy of the data is as accurate as it was entered into the business application upon which it was the source. So the speed of delivery, the accuracy of the data. These are, these are major advantages that you get with regards to using BDC versus [00:09:43] the, the older school, I'll call it older school 'cause I'm an old guy. The old days of Bill Inman and star schemas and relational database systems that we created. These massive data warehouses. It's an older school thought, and it was one that was born outta this idea that we had to get the data from those source systems because we couldn't query the source systems at runtime. [00:10:06] All those things contribute to, to today where we're curating the data for you. It's been curated by SAP from all SAP systems, so if you have any questions about the quality of the data, in that case, you then you should have questions about the quality of your data in its source. there's a bigger issue, so speed of delivery, accuracy of data. [00:10:32] Those are probably my, my two top benefits that customers are going to get out of this. [00:10:38] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. That makes total sense. I think one of the things that really stuck out for me was the whole concept of end-to-end governance . Does BDC do a better job? And how, is that integrated to this whole BDC realm of the different pieces that makes up BDC? How is data governance and security working within those parameters? [00:11:03] Shawn Brown: Yeah. So in BDC, you're getting role level security on all the data. At that point then you're asking questions like, where do I, how do my users access the data? What are they allowed to see? What are they not allowed to see? All those capabilities can be integrated into BDC. You, you can deliver all of those capabilities directly within BDC. [00:11:27] You start off by setting up some broader, who's the, who's the group? What systems are they accessing? So if I'm in finance and I'm looking at finance data, I probably have access to let's say S/4HANA as the backend system that is storing all this data. All the users within the finance team that have access to S/4HANA can have access to that space of data. [00:11:55] And I use that word space because this is a concept that, again, there's nothing [00:12:00] new. We've invited these concepts into our thinking a while ago, and now it's just another generation of what we're doing here. So that idea of a space is I can include the data that is necessary for a line of business hr, finance, supply chain, and that's what they can see. [00:12:20] And if I need to, all of the rest of the data is accessible through BDC. It's just a question of whether I want to provide the rights to access those other data sets to another line of business, for example. So if I said I wanted to join let's say expense information that's in Concur with employee information, that's in success factors, I can easily join those data sets [00:12:48] bring in forward, from one space to another. And decide at a row level and column level, what individual data set I need to join across groups or individuals, if you will. [00:13:06] Mustansir Saifuddin: I think that's super good because that's where a lot of the questions come in. You know, every time you do move your data from one environment to another environment that you need to have your own new set of governance and security and, it can be role level security or whatever else you wanna do, [00:13:21] you have to kind of redefine that. It seems like it's all built into the BDC portfolio. You're leveraging your source system objects and then be able to apply the same rules that you may have built in. [00:13:37] Shawn Brown: Yeah, the, the analogy I always liked was it's kind of like, and I don't know if they're really like this. I mean, maybe there are not. I just remember old movies that you'd have these Japanese styled homes and they were like, the walls that were almost paper thin, that you could, you almost felt like you could just push your hand right through the wall and just grab something that was in the other room. [00:13:57] I liken it a bit like that in terms of spaces. The spaces are separated in that way with a, a level of access that is very simple to provide when necessary, but distinctly in separate spaces, separate areas, so that that's the benefit. That's the simplicity of being able to access data from any LOB or any third party for that matter. [00:14:23] If you wanted to access that third party data in BDC to any other data that's in BDC as well, whether it's finance, hr, supply chain, whatever it may be, warehouse inventory, whatever it may be. [00:14:38] Mustansir Saifuddin: Totally. Now, since we talked about the benefits, let's look into the details. Like what steps are involved if someone wants to take on this journey and move to SAP BDC? [00:14:53] Shawn Brown: Much of that begins with where are they right now? Let's take a few different scenarios? if a customer is, let's say, already using some SAP solutions, I would say, let's go with the most rudimentary that has been around for a while now for SAP. Let's talk about, they're using HANA Enterprise. [00:15:09] They've, they've been taking a lot of data from their SAP systems and dropping it into HANA Enterprise on-prem. This is a natural next step to that on-premise approach where you said, all right, I, I don't necessarily wanna be in the position of housing systems like this myself and my own data centers. [00:15:28] I want to put them into the cloud. This is a simple transition , to take the data from a HANA Enterprise, drop it into BDC and start using that data in essentially what would be a component of BDC, Datasphere. But it's built on HANA Cloud. And HANA Cloud is built on the same technology that HANA Enterprise is built on that in terms of its capabilities, what it can do. [00:15:52] It's a natural transition for that case if you're talking about a customer that's already using let's say another old product from [00:16:00] SAP, BW. Right. BW has been a really challenging one for a lot of organizations because they've had such value and such benefit by using BW to access data in SAP with those BW extractors. [00:16:14] And in many cases, they've built a lot of and invested a lot in BW in the framework itself. Creating their own objects, creating their own cubes, creating asos, DSOs and so forth, depending on what versions of BW you're on. Not necessarily wanting to just abandon that investment. There's another great example of is, once you're, once you're at least BW 7.5 and above, we make it very simple for you to go ahead and take all of that in BW investment and move it directly into BDC in its format, in its same format as a BW environment. [00:16:54] BW for HANA, same thing, move it right into BDC, it would be in a cloud-based environment that way as well. And essentially all of those connections back to the source systems still persist. When we talk about how do we take advantage of the investments you have, that's where you say, all right, well, I can access them through the BDC framework in [00:17:16] BW that is now part of BDC and use it for whatever purpose I leave it in BW in that case, or I can start taking those particular assets that I have in BW and using the data product generator that is now part of BW embedded in BDC, I can then change those assets in BW to data products. Which is the lowest level form of data that we have in BDC, and in this case, just for those that may be listening and wondering, am I copying the data? [00:17:51] Yes . And we can come to this in a minute as to why you're copying the data, but we are copying the data from its source system, and we would be copying the data from BW as well, where we wanted to make it a data product in BDC. And we can talk about why that is in a minute. 'cause it's a shift. It, it's a bit of a shift in terms of what we've talked about in the past with regards to a whole play the data where it lies, federate versus materialize [00:18:18] that data in, what was Datasphere, which is now part of BDC. That idea of moving those assets from BW into BDC as data products, over time allows us to decommission those, those deployments of BW. So that's the benefit is, we now have a path for BW customers to migrate to BDC, [00:18:45] not give up those assets that they've created and leveraged for so many years in BDC, and then over time decommission BW altogether. Or, if you're really interested and you really like using BW, keep it. That's the other benefit of moving a BW 7.5 environment to BDC is, you're gonna get three more years of mainstream maintenance. [00:19:09] And for example, for BW/4HANA, we're pushing that end of life date all the way out to 2040. That's a long time that you can hold onto that BW environment if that's what you choose to do. But the benefit of BDC is that we're going to give you the mechanism to actually migrate it over and then as your backend systems, particularly like S4 changes, [00:19:31] you're gonna need to change a lot of what you're doing from a BW extraction anyway. Don't do it in BW anymore. Do it in BDC. Now, those are some of the SAP scenarios, but some of the ones that I get as well are, we already have a strategy with our SAP data. We're pulling it into S3 buckets. [00:19:55] Azure Data Factory, Snowflake , all of these third [00:20:00] party extraction destinations and why would I go ahead and use BDC in that case? And the reality is, you have to ask yourself this question where we started in the first place. How much time and energy are you spending going from data all the way around that wheel to analytics? [00:20:20] If you're like the typical organization and it's north of 70%, 80%, 90% as a CIO, I heard last week talking about this, 90% of their time is spent just moving data to get it prepared for analysis. How much do you want to continue to do that? And nobody likes to be looked at as a cost center. Everybody likes to be seen as somebody that is providing value to the organization. [00:20:50] If you're part of an organization and you are seen as a cost center, because the amount of energy it takes to get the data from where it sits to where it needs to be is exorbitant, nine tenths maybe of the overall cost of asking those questions. That's not a great place to be. If you can shrink that as much as possible, then you can actually live up to some of those things that everybody would like to say. [00:21:19] Like, data is the new gold, data is the new oil. The value of data is, is immeasurable. We can do so much with our business because of the data. We could be a data-driven organization. All of these things can become possible, but not so easy when nine tenths or eight tenths of the cost, it's just getting the data where it needs to be. [00:21:44] That's the big thing that needs to be focused on as it relates to some of these ideas that let's go ahead and do the, what I still call old school extract, transform, load, model, profile, catalog govern and, create all of the overhead that is necessary to actually deliver those analytics back to the organization. [00:22:07] And if, you're in a part of your organization where you think it's good enough for me to just extract all the data and drop it over here and let the business go have fun, that's another one where you're not providing additional value to the organization. [00:22:19] What the business community really wants is they want curated data that is business context aware, that is in a position to help them answer questions out of the box, push button. An actual software as a service. That's what we've got with BDC. So this idea that of you've already got a strategy in place, [00:22:44] it might be working right now because you did a ton of work to get you where you are. But here's the kicker. It's probably all going to change, maybe not next year, but maybe two years or three years, maybe the next time you do some major upgrade and we've become more efficient in terms of how we store the data in the business applications, or, [00:23:12] any of the other business applications that you use, they change their underlying architecture in how they are actually storing the data in those source systems. Guess what just changed with your data strategy? Potentially everything. And we have customers that this has happened to them. Where I've walked into a huge SAP customer and I had a conversation with him where I said, we're gonna go ahead, and this is before we had two separate entities of BDC and BTP. And I walked into this session with the customer and said, here's what we're gonna do. [00:23:43] We're gonna go ahead and tell you everything that we can do in the space of data and analytics and everything within the platform space. And the customer said, I don't think we really need to hear about your data and analytics strategy, because we're pretty well set on that. And I said, I want to talk to you about all these things and I need to talk to you [00:24:00] about this one as well. [00:24:01] This one's not negotiable. I need whoever's responsible for data and analytics to be in the room to discuss this. And that person did arrive and that person pretty much felt like they had everything figured out. They didn't wanna, engage in the conversation at all. Pretty much arms crossed throughout most of the most of the meeting. [00:24:19] And we finally got to a point where they said, all right, I can see that there's some benefits, you know, to how this works. But I'll tell you, they were on ECC on HANA. And so fast forward six months and they're negotiating the RISE opportunity with S4/HANA in a private cloud and RISE, and they now realize that everything needs to be changed. [00:24:50] It's good that we had this conversation with them about how you can access the SAP data through, at the time, Datasphere, which is now Business Data Cloud, because they now understand that for them to be able to get access to the data in the way they want, the fastest way they want, and for the fact that we're curating all that data for them, and then providing them out of the box insights with our insight apps. [00:25:14] This is pretty much a no brainer in their part. They knew that they had to explore it, and they knew they had to explore it for the SAP centric question, but also for the non SAP centric question where they want to pull smaller data sets to non SAP capabilities because we are gonna curate those scenarios through data products that will allow them to pull that data into those non SAP scenarios. [00:25:40] So this, these are some of the big plays, we've got that existing SAP solutions, we've got that non SAP centric approach. And then, ultimately, if you haven't got to the point that you're deciding what you're going to do or you haven't don't have a very mature data strategy, maybe you're a growing company, at some point you're going to need to go ahead and start asking those data and analytics questions. [00:26:05] Just know that it's very expensive, as I've said before, to move the data from one place to another, place it there, do all of those things that we've talked about in the past, and then deliver analytics, just pull it out of the box. The last comment I'll make is "that pull it out of the box" sometimes that's not as useful as we think it is. [00:26:25] If I said, you have to dig a hole, it's 10 feet deep and you started from ground level, you have 10 feet to dig. But if I gave you something that got you 50% of the way, I dug five feet for you, I dug six feet for you, would you rather just dig five more feet or four more feet, or would you just rather start from ground level and dig 10 feet on your own? [00:26:48] That's the value that we were trying to demonstrate through BDC. [00:26:53] Mustansir Saifuddin: Good explanation. And I think it is really clear that a lot of times conversations come up about SAP customers talking about their on-prem, their legacy systems and how they will benefit from BDC, but your examples went beyond HANA Enterprise to other non SAP solutions where customers have already been on the journey and they don't see the value at least at this point. [00:27:20] But, after seeing the example you use, it's very logical for them to start thinking in those terms. Also saying, Hey, I simplify my landscape? Still get , if not same, at least, the value that whatever else that BDC brings to the table, like the whole AI capability, all of that can be leveraged by adopting this platform. On a personal note how do you stay on top of, you know, this changing technology world, and business at the same time. How you keep up with all this? [00:27:58] Shawn Brown: Yeah, as you [00:28:00] might imagine in the space of SAP, oftentimes it's hard enough just staying on top of all of the different options we have and different things that we have in terms of technology. So one of the ways that I like to keep up in, in the SAP space is called the BTP Talk podcast, which is a pretty good one. [00:28:18] It actually goes to a number of different you know, platform and data analytics related scenarios. Data skeptics is another pretty good podcast that I get a kick out of. There's another one I'm trying to think of that I use from time to time as well. [00:28:32] Analytics Power Hour. That's it. Yeah, the Analytics Power Hour is another good one. And, I've been paying attention to Tech-Driven Business as well too, so I like this one too. But, you know, the thing that I've been finding too is that, these days, things move so quickly and we think we know where we're going and then something comes along and, and change makes us change direction again. [00:28:53] And AI has probably been the biggest driver to that. The thing that I would say that that it's probably most interesting in terms of how I've changed how I operate is I actually ask AI to provide resources for me on particular topics. For example mid early last year there was a lot of talk about vector engines and knowledge graphs. [00:29:14] And the easiest thing I found to really kind of get a little bit more, versed on the topics was AI itself. I started asking for resources and, and I'll use for example, ChatGPT in some cases I like using Grok as well. From time to time they seem to provide a little bit different types of approaches and levels of interaction. [00:29:35] I kinda like how, grok will ask me follow up questions, which is pretty neat as well. But that's a great way to learn about topics that you are wanting to become more versed in or learning where the resources are to find those topics. So those, those are some of the things that I like to use. [00:29:58] Mustansir Saifuddin: Great list of ideas to kind of keep up with the changing, I mean, just everywhere around us. taking from AI to just carries to anything else. A lot of conversations going on so many different directions. How do you even keep up with them? So I'd like your suggestions, and I know we've talked about a lot of different things today. What is the one thing or one takeaway that you want to leave our listeners with? [00:30:24] Shawn Brown: Hmm, probably in, in the audience of that are responsible for data and analytics. If you're a CDAO, or an analyst or somebody that's responsible for enterprise wide analytics: I would focus on two things because these two things are probably the most important to the people that you serve, your business community. [00:30:50] Point number one is, they want analytics quickly. They want to be able to ask questions quickly. They don't wanna wait. They don't want to say this report, these data sets that you've provided me, they look really interesting, but I'd like to add this and this and this, and when can I have that? [00:31:12] If you can't say you can have that now, then you're taking too long. The other point is. We need to stop being looked at as a cost center. We need to stop being looked at as a place that is a necessary evil. We gotta ask questions of the system. We've gotta extract data everywhere and put it in someplace that we can start answering questions or even not even doing to the extent of actually providing the analytics out of the box. [00:31:40] Instead, we're just providing data sets for people to access. We need to be able to offer real value to the business community. Those are the ones that are footing the bill. Those are the ones that are actually paying for everything. So we need to be in a position to deliver it very quickly, [00:32:00] and it needs to not be expensive, and it needs to be accurate. [00:32:06] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely [00:32:07] Shawn Brown: Those are the elements I think are the key takeaways. That's really the foundation of what we're doing with Business Data Cloud. That's the whole purpose behind it. [00:32:16] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely great advice and a great way to sum up the session. It's been a great conversation. There's so much to gain from this product and, and direction, that SAP's taking. I'd like to thank you very much for joining us today in our show, and look forward to having further detailed conversation with you. [00:32:36] Shawn Brown: Thanks, I appreciate your time as well. [00:32:39] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for listening to Tech-Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. We have covered the critical why behind BDC, the immense time and cost savings it promises, and the tangible benefits like enhanced speed and accuracy for SAP customers. Sean's key takeaway? Focus on delivering analytics quickly to your business community and strive to offer real accurate value moving away from being seen as just a cost center. [00:33:15] . We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or X. Learn more about Innovative Solution Partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting isolutionpartners.com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Information is in the show notes.

¿Quieres seguir profundizando en #salesforce #Data Cloud?En este episodio de Crónicas de Salesforce, conversamos con Alia Lupandina sobre las claves para una segmentación efectiva y una activación inteligente. Exploramos buenas prácticas, errores comunes y cómo sacar el máximo provecho de las herramientas disponibles para lograr campañas más precisas y efectivas. Si quieres llevar tu segmentaciones al siguiente nivel, este episodio está lleno de consejos prácticos e insights valiosos. ¡No te lo pierdas!Además, si estas preparándote para la certificación de Data Cloud, te recomendamos escuchar este episodio con papel y lápiz porque Alia, entrega muchas recomendaciones que te ayudarán para el examen.Podrás encontrarnos en Spotify, Apple Podcast y Google Podcast

The Road to ‘Service-as-Software.' Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff is articulating a bold vision for the next era of enterprise software. In an exclusive interview with theCUBE on April 25, 2025, Benioff outlined how AI-driven agents and a unified data architecture will transform Software as a Service (SaaS) into what we're calling “Service as Software” – a model where software-based digital agents augment every business process. The Salesforce chief has often quipped that today's CEOs are “the last generation of executives leading exclusively human workforces,” underscoring his conviction that AI agents (what many call agentic AI) will soon work alongside humans in every enterprise. Our premise is that this “digital labor” revolution could be more disruptive than the cloud and mobile waves of 15 years ago, fundamentally redefining how applications function. In this Breaking Analysis, we focus on Salesforce's Agentforce and Data Cloud strategies – the twin pillars of its agentic vision – and how they position the company to become what we call the first software-only hyperscaler. We also examine the broader industry context, including competitive dynamics with Microsoft and Salesforce's interoperability with platforms like Snowflake, Databricks and AWS.FULL ARTICLE: https://thecuberesearch.com/276-breaking-analysis-salesforce-agentforce-data-cloud-a-path-to-the-software-only-hyperscaler/

Was passiert, wenn SAP-Kernsysteme plötzlich mit Databricks sprechen können? Wenn BW-Datenprodukte per Knopfdruck in moderne AI-Modelle fließen? Und wenn Fachbereiche Verantwortung für Daten übernehmen sollen, aber noch zögern? In dieser Folge trifft klassische SAP-Denke auf moderne Data-Architekturen – mit Andreas Scholl im Deep Dive zur Business Data Cloud. Zwischen technologischem Umbruch, organisatorischer Realität und kommerziellem Kalkül zeigt sich: Die Zukunft der Unternehmensdaten liegt nicht im Entweder-oder, sondern im intelligenten Sowohl-als-auch. Doch eines ist klar: Wer BW einfach weiterlaufen lässt, verliert den Anschluss.

Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Mehmet Orun, SVP, GM, and Data Strategist at PeerNova. Join us as we chat about how to use Data Cloud to create trustworthy AI experiences. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Mehmet Orun. How Data […] The post How Data Cloud Enhances Contextual AI for Salesforce Admins appeared first on Salesforce Admins.

In dieser Folge des Data Culture Podcasts spricht Carsten Bange mit Wolfgang Epting über die SAP Business Data Cloud -- eine zentrale Plattform, die Datenprodukte und -services in einem Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-Angebot vereint.

In this episode of TechSurge, host Sriram Viswanathan sits down with Charlie Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO of Pure Storage, to discuss the evolution and future of data storage in the digital age. Charlie shares insights from his career spanning his pivotal role in Cisco's success as a networking pioneer, to his leadership in transforming Pure Storage into a leader in innovative storage solutions.They explore the evolution of data center infrastructure, and the critical role of storage architecture in enabling AI and cloud technologies. Charlie also explains how Pure Storage's software-driven approach is creating new efficiencies and opportunities for enterprises, offering a compelling vision for a unified "data cloud" that breaks down data silos and unlocks new insights.This episode delves into the intersections of networking, compute, storage, and AI, providing an essential perspective for anyone interested in the future of technology infrastructure.If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Sign up for our newsletter at techsurgepodcast.com for exclusive insights and updates on upcoming TechSurge Live Summits.Links:Pure Storage Official Website: Explore Pure Storage's innovative data storage solutions. Pure Storage DataCharlie Giancarlo's Biography: Learn more about Charlie Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO of Pure Storage. ​Charlie GiancarloPortworx by Pure Storage: Discover Portworx, the Kubernetes data services platform acquired by Pure Storage. ​Wikipedia Portworx ASBIS – IT DistributorFlashBlade//EXA Announcement: Read about Pure Storage's FlashBlade//EXA, designed for high-performance computing and AI workloads. FlashBlade//EXA: The Future of AI and HPC Storage Performance

Tune in to a special roundtable episode of ASUG Talks, where Geoff Scott, ASUG CEO & Chief Community, is joined by two ASUG Board Members: Mark LeClair and Craig Dalziel.  A few weeks ago, the three attended the SAP Business Unleashed event in New York, where the software company unveiled the SAP Business Data Cloud along with a new partnership with Databricks. Aimed at helping ASAP customers establish a sound data foundation in order to embrace AI solutions, the offering is yet another in SAP's business AI development journey. The three thought leaders leveraged their extensive SAP knowledge to offer their thoughts on what the announcements mean for SAP Customers. Key topics covered in their discussion include: How SAP Business Data Cloud integrates into the larger SAP suite of solutions. The ways in which SAP Business Data Cloud can enable customers to improve their data management practices and set a foundation to embrace AI solutions. The three leaders' first impressions of the new solution and partnership. 

In this episode of Inside SAP S/4HANA Cloud, host Katharina Klug discusses the innovative SAP Business Data Cloud with SAP experts Rolf Sieberg and Georg Meier. Delve into how SAP Business Data Cloud supports data insights through seamless integration of data platforms and business applications, supporting agility, value chain efficiency, and sustainability. Learn about the collaboration between SAP S/4HANA Cloud and BDC, providing an end-to-end, AI-enabled data solution. Discover how SAP's data products empower decision-makers, and gain insights into the vision for transforming organizations. What topic would you like us to discuss next? Send an email to insides4@sap.com.

“Most customer service reps have five to 20 different tabs open in their browser of all these different systems — it's the modern equivalent of the swivel chair,” said Salesforce AI's Adam Evans, executive vice president and general manager. In this episode of the Tech Disruptors podcast, Evans joined Bloomberg Intelligence's senior technology analyst Anurag Rana for a discussion encompassing several key initiatives Salesforce is developing with data and AI for products such as Agentforce and Data Cloud. Additionally, the two recap the company's recent partnership with Google Cloud and what Gemini can do for the former's AI tools.

“More or less, the data strategy will inform the AI effectiveness,” SAP President and Chief Product Officer of Data and Analytics Irfan Khan explains to Bloomberg Intelligence senior technology analyst Anurag Rana. In this episode of Tech Disruptors, Khan and Rana delve into the three archetypes of data management, how zero copy sharing enables greater flexibility and how SAP's new Business Data Cloud product can optimize customer data inside and outside of the SAP ecosystem.

ASUG CEO & Chief Community Champion Geoff Scott traveled to New York for the SAP Business Unleashed event, where SAP unveiled its newest offering, SAP Business Data Cloud, and its partnership with Databricks, a data analytics and  management software company.During his trip, Scott sat down with Irfan Khan, President and Chief Product Officer of SAP Data & Analytics. They discussed SAP's new offering and partnership, and how these announcements will help enterprises develop a data foundation for business insights and artificial-intelligence applications.Key topics from their conversation included:How SAP Business Data Cloud is different from SAP Datasphere.The way SAP Business Data Cloud will sit in the SAP suite alongside applications such as the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and SAP Analytics Cloud.The importance of integrating SAP and non-SAP data into a single data layer.For more information on these announcements and their impact on the SAP ecosystem, check out the following SAP insights:The trust factor: Data, resilience, and innovationSAP and Databricks Open a Bold New Era of Data and AI

Welcome to the 250th episode of the podcast! In this week's episode of Talent Hub Talk, we catch up with Matt Robison, who reflects on his journey over the past year with Lightbox Logic. We discuss the milestones achieved, the challenges faced in the first year of business, and the importance of working on the business rather than just in it. Matt shares insights on sales metrics, the significance of staying relevant in the Salesforce ecosystem, and the complexities of the sales cycle. He also reflects on the importance of maintaining social connections while working remotely and adapting to new technologies like Data Cloud and AI. Looking ahead, Matt sets goals for the next year and explains the balance he strives to achieve with what success looks like to him. Make sure you're following Matt on his LinkedIn account! You can learn more about Lightbox Logic here: https://lightboxlogic.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightbox-logic/   You can find more content from us at Talent Hub, here: LinkedIn@ https://www.linkedin.com/company/talent-hub-global/ YouTube@ https://www.youtube.com/@talenthub1140 Facebook@ https://www.facebook.com/TalentHubGlobal/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/talenthubglobal/ Twitter X @ https://twitter.com/TalentHubGlobal We hope you enjoy the episode!  

Jack McCurdy is joined by Ian Gotts and Jack Lavous from Elements.cloud to discuss the transformative impact of Agentforce within the Salesforce ecosystem.In this episode we explore how Elements.cloud implemented Agentforce internally, emphasizing the importance of well-defined business processes and the role of business analysis in building effective agents. The conversation delves into the Job to Be Done framework, the challenges organizations face in adopting agents, and the necessity of documentation and structured approaches to ensure success.Jack Lavous offers insights into the actual build process of agents and the importance of making documentation AI-ready, how to use prompt templates, data cloud strategies, and deployment using Gearset. They also discuss the significance of internal trust and the return on investment from implementing AI agents, while also expressing excitement for the future of AI technology in business.Learn more:- Deploy Agentforce with Gearset- What is Agentforce?- How to effectively document Salesforce processesAbout DevOps Diaries: Salesforce DevOps Advocate Jack McCurdy chats to members of the Salesforce community about their experience in the Salesforce ecosystem. Expect to hear and learn from inspirational stories of personal growth and business success, whilst discovering all the trials, tribulations, and joy that comes with delivering Salesforce for companies of all shapes and sizes. New episodes bi-weekly on YouTube as well as on your preferred podcast platform.Podcast produced and sponsored by Gearset. Learn more about Gearset.Subscribe to Gearset's YouTube channel: https://grst.co/4cTAAxmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gearsetX/Twitter: https://x.com/GearsetHQFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/gearsethqAbout Gearset: Gearset is the leading Salesforce DevOps platform, with powerful solutions for metadata and CPQ deployments, CI/CD, automated testing, sandbox seeding and backups. It helps Salesforce teams apply DevOps best practices to their development and release process, so they can rapidly and securely deliver higher-quality projects. Get full access to all of Gearset's features for free with a 30-day trial.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Agentforce and Its Impact01:47 Elements Cloud's Implementation Journey06:00 Understanding Topics and Their Importance09:59 The Role of Business Analysis in Building Agents13:56 Applying the Job to Be Done Framework17:54 Challenges in Building Agents and Organizational Readiness22:00 Starting the Fix: Documentation and Business Processes25:57 The Implementation Process of Agents28:14 Understanding AI Language and Communication33:10 The Learning Curve of AI Agents35:47 Designing Effective Prompt Templates37:57 The Role of Data Cloud in AI Implementation43:11 Return on Investment and Internal Trust51:06 Looking Ahead: The Future of AI Agents

The Future of AI and Data in 2025:  There's a lot of excitement and prototyping around AI. "People are excited that they can ask questions and get real answers instead of getting the proverbial 10 blue links. I think people see the promise of things like that. How do you make that work at scale? How do you make that work in a reliable way, and how do you make it work in a way that's not expensive?" Ramaswamy shares a recent experience in India, describing the cost-consciousness of customers and the focus on making data accessible and valuable.Shifting Priorities for Snowflake Customers:  What do customers want? Ramaswamy identifies goals including empowering business users with data faster and unlocking the value of unstructured information. In response, Snowflake is helping customers access and utilize historical information and build hybrid systems. He notes that SQL enables easier data transformations and extractions.Cultural Change and AI Adoption: Cultural change is required for companies to handle AI. Even within Snowflake, adopting AI has been a challenging process. Snowflake's engineering and sales teams are beginning to use AI tools like Copilot and Cortex, but there's a need for ongoing practice to fully integrate AI into daily operations. The Promise of AI and Data Platforms: AI has the potential to free up significant time for employees, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks. Snowflake aspires to make data platforms simple and accessible, allowing users to perform complex tasks with ease. Its consumption model has several benefits and aligns it with business goals of making more money or spending less. Companies like Siemens are using chatbots to improve efficiency and access to information.Competition and Innovation in the Data Market: Competition, Ramaswamy says, drives innovation and improves products. It only strengthens Snowflake, which stands apart due to its unified platform, tight integration, and ease of use. "If you create a chatbot with Snowflake, it will automatically obey all of the access control rules that you have set up. It will automatically obey all of the data masking that your administrator has set up." Ramaswamy discusses the challenges of balancing innovation with maintaining simplicity and efficiency in Snowflake's product offerings.Mega Trends and Challenges for Snowflake: Ramaswamy sees two mega trends for 2025: the rise of interoperable data formats and the acceleration of AI. Snowflake is well-positioned to take advantage of these trends through its end-to-end offerings and data engineering capabilities. However, there are challenges to maintaining data quality and speed while innovating rapidly. AI tools like agents must drive real utility and value for customers.Data Literacy Initiative: One Million Minds Plus One: Snowflake has a new initiative aimed at improving data literacy. Data can be difficult to interpret, and the right skills are necessary to do so. Snowflake is spearheading an ambitious program to educate over a million people in data literacy, free of charge. The initiative includes teaching concepts like data engineering, data analytics, and using BI tools and notebooks for interactive analysis.Excitement for 2025: Sridhar expresses excitement about the potential for AI and data to drive real business transformations in 2025. Snowflake will continue to play a vital role in helping customers become truly data-driven organizations. Navigating growth, competition, and innovation while maintaining simplicity and value for customers is key.

AI's rapid evolution is transforming the business landscape, driving efficiency, automating processes, and uncovering new opportunities. Under the leadership of CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) has emerged as a pioneer in harnessing AI to revolutionize how organizations utilize data for smarter, faster decision-making. He goes Inside the ICE House to explore AI's accelerating rise, why he views 2025 as a pivotal "adapt or die" moment for businesses, and how Snowflake is strategically positioned for sustained success in the AI-driven future. https://www.ice.com/insights/conversations/inside-the-ice-house

Join Josh Matthews and Vanessa Grant for the Salesforce Career Show's year-end wrap-up, featuring an all-star panel including Theron Stanley, Peter Ganza, Janeen Marquardt, John Sisson and Josh LaQuire. Reflecting on a transformative year in the Salesforce ecosystem, this episode delves into the challenges and opportunities of 2024 while forecasting the trends shaping 2025.This show was recorded live on LinkedIn. For video, visit https://joshforce.com/24WrapUpFrom the rise of AI and AgentForce to evolving job markets and the critical role of business analysis, the conversation highlights actionable strategies for Salesforce professionals, hiring managers, and organizations alike. Packed with expert insights, practical advice, and career predictions, this episode is essential listening for navigating the Salesforce ecosystem with confidence.They talk about:Reflecting on the challenges and triumphs of 2024 in Salesforce careers.Predictions for AI, AgentForce, and Data Cloud adoption in 2025.Practical advice for improving Salesforce implementations and avoiding common pitfalls.Strategies for job seekers to stand out in a competitive market.The growing importance of business analysis and process optimization.How hiring managers can identify top talent in the Salesforce ecosystem.Whether you're a Salesforce professional, a hiring manager, or exploring the ecosystem, this episode offers valuable takeaways to prepare you for success in 2025.

Join Frank as he sits down with Suren Reddy, co-founder and principal at Cloudely, a leading Salesforce and Conga CPQ System Integrator. In this insightful episode, Suren delves into the world of CPQ, discussing: A Diverse Client Base: Learn how Cloudely caters to a wide range of clients, from SMBs to large enterprises. Innovative No-Code/Low-Code Solutions: Discover "Config," Cloudely's proprietary solution that empowers businesses with three powerful modules: HRMS, PMS, and Quality. The Future of CPQ with Agentforce: Explore how Agentforce can revolutionize the way Cloudely's clients approach CPQ and leverage the power of data. Data Cloud Integration: Understand the synergy between Agentforce and Data Cloud, and how this combination can drive business growth. Industry Insights: Learn about industry events, including Tahoe Dreamin', which Cloudely attends. Tune in to this informative podcast to gain valuable insights into the latest CPQ trends and how Cloudely is helping businesses achieve their goals. Website: https://cloudely.com/ email: sreddy@cloudely.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suren-reddy-94735887/ 

Is the commoditization of technology ruining the customer experience? Can Artificial Intelligence be characterized as “Affectionate Intelligence” if it's designed to respect a consumer's boundaries? Louis Giagrande, CMO of LG Electronics USA, dives into these hot topics as he discusses the challenges of maintaining brand value in a market flooded with cheap alternatives. Plus, he explains what companies can do to stand out and how LG is breaking down silos and fostering collaboration to enhance customer experience.Key Moments:00:00 Introduction01:43 Human-Centered Innovation at LG03:59 Voice of Customer Program Enhancements06:04 Game-Changing Data Sources07:30 Integrating Marketing and Customer Support08:56 Challenges in Cross-Functional Collaboration10:30 Impact of Executive Alignment 11:25 The Next Phase of LG 13:24 Customer-Centered Innovation 14:47 Proactively Providing Customer Solutions16:10 LG's Philosophy and Brand Story21:37 Key to Identifying Campaign Effectiveness24:25 Basics of Integrating Customer Feedback 26:23 The Power and Purpose of LG Nova32:04 B2B Segment Focus Brings New Opportunity 34:29 Challenges in the Home Appliance Industry40:36 What We Can Learn from Chewy's Customer Service42:45 Advice Every CX Leader Must Hear–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Mazda is redefining customer experience by putting humans at the center of everything it does. On this episode, Brad Audet, CMO of Mazda Americas, shares insights on how emotional connections and personalized experiences can drive brand loyalty and business success. Plus, he explores the importance of human connection in business and how it can transform customer experiences.Tune in to hear about:Customer Experience as a Competitive DifferentiatorOmotenashi: The Concept of Radical HospitalityThe Importance of Emotional ConnectionBringing Human Connection into BusinessThe Role of Technology in Enhancing Human ExperienceThe Balance Between Technology and Human TouchListening vs. Hearing in Customer InteractionsThe Importance of Tonality in CommunicationThe Role of CMOs in Sustainable Development Goals–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Is your company truly listening to its customers, or are you just paying lip service? On this episode, Michelle Engel, Chief Product Officer at UserTesting, challenges the status quo of customer feedback and discusses the pitfalls of ignoring customer insights. She shares key strategies that top brands use to ensure their offerings resonate with real users and explains the transformative power of truly understanding your audience.Tune in to learn:How integrating human insights can transform customer experiencesWhy data alone doesn't explain customer emotions and experiencesWhy personalization is key to addressing diverse customer needsHow integrating customer insights across departments enhances strategyHow AI can significantly speed up the process of gathering insightsWays technology can transform customer interactions for the better–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Want to navigate the complexities of digital transformation successfully? In this episode, Jonathan Murray, the Chief Strategy Officer at Mod Op and co-author of Getting Digital Done, outlines a step-by-step approach to integrating AI into your customer experience strategy. He explains how to build a solid data foundation and establish governance principles that will set your organization up for success. Plus, Jonathan and Lauren discuss the disconnect between leadership and customer needs, and how to bridge that gap using data-driven insights.Tune in to learn:Why organizations often resist new technologies due to fear and uncertaintyHow AI can enhance customer interactions through conversational experiencesHow AI can help rehumanize business interactions with customersWhy organizations must have the right data infrastructure to leverage AIWhy employee experience must be prioritized to ensure successful transformations–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, Josh Birk talks to Jagan Nathan, Technical Architect with Customer Success at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about guest user anomalies and what you can do about them with the Threat Detection app. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our […] The post Key Security Best Practices for Salesforce Admins Using Data Cloud appeared first on Salesforce Admins.

In this episode of DevOps Diaries, Jack McCurdy speaks with Alba Rivas, Principal Developer Advocate at Salesforce. They discuss Alba's journey in the Salesforce ecosystem, her role in engaging the developer community, and the evolving landscape of Salesforce technologies.Alba dives in to the nuances of artificial intelligence and Salesforce's new Data Cloud. She shares insights on the differences between Agentforce and Einstein Copilot, the importance of hands-on experience, and how to effectively test AI applications. Their conversation emphasizes the need for developers to embrace new technologies, engage with the community for growth and learning, and how to submit a great session for TrailblazerDX.Learn more:- How to pick the right Salesforce DevOps solution for your needs- What is Platform Engineering and how does it impact Salesforce DevOps? - Salesforce CI/CD Pipelines that include LWC testing DevOps - Salesforce DevOps for AI Enterprise About DevOps Diaries: Salesforce DevOps Advocate Jack McCurdy chats to members of the Salesforce community about their experience in the Salesforce ecosystem. Expect to hear and learn from inspirational stories of personal growth and business success, whilst discovering all the trials, tribulations, and joy that comes with delivering Salesforce for companies of all shapes and sizes. New episodes bi-weekly on YouTube as well as on your preferred podcast platform.Podcast produced and sponsored by Gearset. Learn more about Gearset.Subscribe to Gearset's YouTube channel: https://grst.co/4cTAAxmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gearsetX/Twitter: https://x.com/GearsetHQFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/gearsethqAbout Gearset: Gearset is the leading Salesforce DevOps platform, with powerful solutions for metadata and CPQ deployments, CI/CD, automated testing, sandbox seeding and backups. It helps Salesforce teams apply DevOps best practices to their development and release process, so they can rapidly and securely deliver higher-quality projects. Get full access to all of Gearset's features for free with a 30-day trial.Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Alba and Her Role03:02 The Developer Advocate Journey06:06 Engaging the Developer Community10:00 Navigating the Evolving Salesforce Ecosystem14:23 Embracing AI and Data Cloud16:45 Generative AI: Surprises and Insights22:04 Understanding Agent Force vs. Copilot27:53 Hands-On Experience with Agent Force37:45 Testing and Evaluating AI Applications40:04 Data Cloud Innovations and DevOps45:47 Final Thoughts and Learning Recommendations

What does it take to truly win over customers in today's fast-paced digital landscape? Join us as Danny Pozo, Cisco's VP of U.S. Commercial Customer Experience, shares his unique perspective on customer experience at Cisco. From the importance of emotional intelligence to the role of AI in CX, this episode dives deep into the strategies that can make or break customer relationships. Are you ready to rethink your approach?Tune in to learn:Why customer experience is about winning a customer, not just a transactionThe importance of emotional intelligence and why it will never be replaced by AIHow to effectively engage with customersWhy you need to build a strong internal culture in order to succeed in customer successHow AI can help predict customer behavior and improve serviceWhy personalization in customer service enhances loyaltyHow taking risks can lead to innovation in customer experience.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Are we relying too much on technology in customer success? Sarah Parker, the SVP of Customer Success at BetterUp, discusses the balance between automation and human touch in customer relationships. Is it possible to scale customer success without losing the personal connection? Join us as we explore this critical debate in the industry.Tune in to learn:Why data is essential for driving customer success at scale.The importance of AI readiness for organizations today.How understanding customer business context enhances service delivery.Why engagement strategies must focus on the end user experience.Why standardization in processes allows for better automation.How AI can enhance the capabilities of customer success teams.How proactive engagement can prevent churn and improve satisfaction.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

On this episode, Monica Trivedi, VP of Global Client Experience at JLL Technologies, discusses the importance of client experience in driving revenue growth and the strategies she employs to enhance customer success. She emphasizes the need for understanding client ecosystems, managing a global team, and fostering cross-functional relationships. Monica also shares insights on leveraging AI to improve efficiency and the significance of creating moments of delight for clients.Tune in to learn:Why client experience should be a 24/7 focus for leaders.How building relationships with product teams enhances collaboration.How AI can streamline customer support and engagement.The importance of meeting with your CX team.How to foster a customer-centric mindset–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

On this episode, Amanda Teder, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Generac, discusses the company's evolution from a generator manufacturer to a total energy solutions provider and she highlights the importance of customer experience and how Generac is adapting to changing consumer needs. Amanda and Lauren also dive into the role of AI in customer service, the significance of sustainable energy solutions, and the strategies for gathering customer insights.Tune in to learn:Trends in the energy spaceProactive customer engagement strategiesThe role of AI in customer serviceBalancing marketing and customer experienceStrategies for gathering customer insights and feedbackAdvice for customer experience leaders–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

On this episode, Gina Hardy, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at Chamberlain Group, discusses the evolution of customer experience in the digital-first world. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer and their needs, using data to anticipate needs, and effectively communicating complex products to consumers. Gina shares her experiences in marketing, including her role in shaping myQ's product journey and successful campaigns with LeBron James and Serena Williams for Tonal. Plus, she highlights the power of storytelling in creating memorable brand experiences.Key Insights:Understanding the customer and their needs is crucial in creating a great customer experience.Data can be used to anticipate customer needs and create personalized experiences.Effectively communicating complex products to consumers is a challenge that requires concise and compelling messaging.Storytelling is a powerful tool in creating memorable brand experiences.Creating a memorable customer experience requires balancing intrigue with informative content and understanding the customer journey.Fostering a culture of innovation and prioritizing the employee experience are key to building a successful brand.Feedback is crucial for growth and should be encouraged and acknowledged in order to create a safe space for ideas.AI can enhance customer care and marketing, but it requires continuous iteration and data-driven decision-making.Opinions and assumptions should be validated through customer research and feedback to ensure that products and marketing efforts meet customer needs.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Australia's Dave Norris joins us in exploring the cutting-edge techniques of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and hybrid search methods. We delve into the limitations of traditional keyword searches in the face of unstructured data like PDFs and emails, which make up a significant portion of enterprise data. By using Data Cloud and hyperscalers like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, Dave shows how to transform chaotic data into intelligent search engines.  The discussion highlights the role of context in AI-generated responses, illustrating this with the challenge of summarizing meetings without enough information. The episode also examines the potential of hybrid search technologies such as Agentforce and vector search, emphasizing the importance of prompt engineering in refining data retrieval.  Through examples from Dreamforce and fictional companies, listeners gain insights into how these technologies enhance user experiences by combining semantic and keyword searches, showcasing the advanced potential of modern search innovations. Show Highlights: Discussion on the limitations of traditional keyword searches in data retrieval. Insights into the use of Data Cloud for managing unstructured data via hyperscalers like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Examination of hybrid search techniques, including Agentforce and vector search technology. Focus on the importance of prompt engineering to enhance AI responses and prevent hallucinations. Introduction to hybrid search, combining vector and keyword search for improved precision and relevance. Links: Using Retrieval Augmented Generation in Data Cloud — https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.c360_a_rag_overview.htm&type=5

On this episode, Diya Sikka,  Director of NPSx, a start-up at Bain & Company, discusses the third wave of customer experience and the shift from surveys and insights to predictive analytics and data-driven value. She emphasizes the importance of not relying solely on a single metric like Net Promoter Score and highlights the need to connect CX to key value metrics. Diya also discusses the challenges of organizing and utilizing data for CX and recommends starting with use case driven approaches and leveraging existing technology.Key Insights:Relying solely on a single metric like NPS is not the right approach; it should be connected to key value metrics.Organizations should start with use-case-driven approaches and leverage existing technology to organize and utilize data for CX.Evaluating CX maturity can be done using the CX global standards framework, which assesses capabilities in culture, capability, and execution. Data management is a critical area that companies often overlook in creating a strong customer experience.CX leaders should go beyond surveys and understand sentiment across the entire customer base to unlock value.The role of the CX leader is to be a master coordinator and facilitator across teams, driving customer-centricity and connecting the dots.Recognizing and empowering employees is crucial in creating a customer-centered culture.Creating a closed-loop feedback system and actively listening to employees' suggestions and ideas is essential.Best-in-class companies prioritize the customer in executive meetings and leaders actively engage with customers.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

On this episode, author and advisor Tiffani Bova shares her journey of understanding the impact of technology on customer experience and the need to consider employee experience as well. Tiffani emphasizes the need to reduce effort for both customers and employees, as many companies have shifted the effort from customers to employees. She highlights the importance of considering the employee experience in order to improve customer experience and achieve growth.Tune in to learn:Balancing employee experience with customer experience is crucial for business growth.Reducing effort for both customers and employees is essential for improving their experiences.Ownership of employee experience is often fragmented across different departments.Collaboration between departments is necessary to create a holistic approach to experience.Considering employee experience is key to achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Tracking employee effort is as important as tracking customer effort in order to improve the overall customer experience.The customer effort score is a useful metric for measuring employee effort and identifying areas of improvement.CX leaders should influence the executive team by journey mapping customer experiences and collaborating with IT to find solutions.Focusing on the employee experience is crucial for enhancing both employee and customer experiences.AI can be a powerful tool for improving customer experience, but it requires clean and reliable data.Human connections and great customer service can make up for shortcomings in other areas of the customer experience.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

In this episode, we dive into the latest innovations and updates unveiled at Dreamforce 2024 with Philippe Ozil. We explore the refreshed Lightning Design System (SLDS2), which enhances accessibility and themability without disrupting customizations. Discover the game-changing Local Development (beta), offering real-time component updates and seamless page state maintenance. We also highlight new mobile capabilities, including native feature plugins and the empowering AgentForce suite designed for specialized AI agents. Learn about significant advancements in Salesforce tooling, the benefits of local development without deployment, and the introduction of Core Cloud, a new sample app rich with educational resources. Don't miss insights from the latest developer keynote and future trends in Data Cloud and Data Graphs. Show Highlights: Deep dive into Lightning Web Components Local Development version 2. New mobile capabilities and native feature plugins. Advancements in Salesforce tooling, such as local development benefits without deployment to an org and hub module reloading. Exploration of Core Cloud, a new sample app for developers focusing on agents, prompts, and Data Cloud. Overview of Data Cloud features, new color themes, and future trends Links: Developer Keynote: Build the Future with the Platform - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80reYTg9xXI LWC Local Development Server (Beta) - https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/sfvscode-extensions/guide/lwclocaldev.html

In this episode of the Six Five Podcast Enterprising Insights, host Keith Kirkpatrick discusses the key highlights, areas of emphasis, and takeaways from Dreamforce, Salesforce's annual user conference. He discusses Agentforce, enhancements to Data Cloud, and the Salesforce Foundation program, among other announcements from the show, and closes out with his weekly Rant or Rave segment.   

On this episode, author David Avrin discusses the importance of being easy to do business with and reducing customer friction in order to stay ahead in a competitive market. He emphasizes the shift in customer drivers from quality and commitment to speed and convenience, plus, he highlights the common mistakes businesses make, such as assuming what works well for them works well for their customers. He also addresses the sources of friction in the customer experience, including perceived time wasted and scripted empathy without resolution. Tune in to learn:Businesses often assume what works well for them works well for their customers, but the drivers of customer choice have shifted to speed and convenience.The most common source of friction in the customer experience is the perception of time wasted.Companies should focus on resolving issues quickly and providing a positive experience to avoid negative online reviews and customer complaints.Being easy to do business with and minimizing customer friction can be a competitive advantage in a market where everyone is good.Businesses should understand customer preferences, address issues promptly, and be the safe choice to leverage customer experience as a competitive advantage. Customer experience is the new marketing, and organizations need to focus on how customers feel.Leaders should have a finger on the pulse of customer expectations and be forward-thinking in their approach.There is a difference between customer experience and customer service, with customer experience encompassing every touchpoint and interaction with a brand.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

In this episode, we dive into the future of digital commerce with Kelly Thacker, CMO of Commerce Cloud at Salesforce. Kelly shares her journey and passion for e-commerce, emphasizing how Salesforce has been instrumental in helping businesses across various industries navigate the digital shift post-pandemic. She highlights innovative tools like Salesforce Checkout and AI and Data Cloud integration to enhance customer experiences. Kelly also discusses her side hustle, Banalco, a nonprofit supporting human trafficking survivors.  This episode offers valuable insights into the power of AI and data in revolutionizing the shopping experience, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to stay ahead in the digital commerce game. Show Highlights: The impact of the pandemic on digital strategies and how Salesforce has assisted non-traditional commerce sectors in establishing online presences. The importance of delivering seamless, hyper-personalized experiences across various touchpoints. Introduction of the innovative Salesforce Checkout feature and its applications in unconventional settings. The new pricing model of Salesforce making Data Cloud accessible to all customers and enhancing AI capabilities. Exploration of future AI applications in commerce, including autonomous agents and headless checkout experiences. Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Join the Commerce Cloud Community: http://sforce.co/commercecrew Learn more about Commerce Cloud Innovations, go here: https://www.salesforce.com/commerce/innovations/  Would you like to be on the podcast, or do you know someone who should? Check out the nomination form: http://sfdc.co/podnomination  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

On this episode, Shane Beardsley, Vice President of Guest Experiences and Communications at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, discusses the ever-changing landscape of convention centers and the importance of creating a great event experience. He highlights the importance of understanding the needs of different event demographics and being adaptable to meet those needs and emphasizes the value of consistency, listening to clients, and building strong relationships to ensure repeat business.Tune in to learn:Why Aggressive customer service and attention to detail are key in creating a great event experience.Why understanding the needs of different event demographics and being adaptable is crucial.The importance of consistency, listening to clients, and building strong relationships to ensure repeat business.How the Javits Center aims to provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for all attendees. Methods for tracking success of an event.Why leading by example and creating a positive on-the-ground experience are crucial for customer experience leaders.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

In this episode, we welcome back Mohith Shrivastava to delve into the groundbreaking features of the Salesforce Winter '25 release. We discuss Agentforce, Salesforce's innovative AI agentic solution that leverages tools like Flows, Apex, and Prompt Builder to autonomously execute tasks. The episode also highlights advancements in Agent Builder (fka Copilot Builder) for creating assistive and autonomous agents, and the introduction of Agentforce for Developers. Further, we explore significant updates in Salesforce Data Cloud, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities, vector search, and the much-anticipated beta release of Data Cloud sandboxes. Finally, we touch on the new local development feature for Lightning Web Components (LWC) that provide real-time previews and rapid iterations.  Tune in to learn how these Winter '25 updates can elevate your Salesforce development and data management capabilities. Show Highlights: Enhancements to Copilot Builder with new topic-based action categorization for assistive and autonomous agents. A chat agent for Salesforce developers to explain code, write test cases, and generate documentation. Upcoming features like Data Cloud sandboxes for secure testing and new dependencies between Data Cloud and Salesforce platform packages for ISVs. Lightning Web Components (LWC) advancements, including local development for real-time previews and rapid iterations. New Apex feature preventing collection modification during iteration to enhance code stability and consistency. Links: The Salesforce Developer's Guide to the Winter '25 Release - https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2024/09/winter25-developers

On this episode, Sofya Pogreb, the Chief Operating Officer at BILL, discusses how BILL instills a customer-first mindset throughout the organization, the importance of customer support and experience, and how data is used to optimize customer experiences. Sofia also emphasizes the need for cross-functional collaboration and the role of the COO in championing customer focus. Tune in to learn:How to instill a customer-first mindsetThe role of the COO in championing customer focusWhy you should be measuring customer effort and employee effortThe ROI of having a customer-focusThe importance of empathy in customer experience–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

On this episode, Josh Ives, SVP of Customer Experience Operations at FanDuel, discusses the customer-centric strategies and innovative approaches that have contributed to the success of FanDuel in the highly competitive sports betting industry. He emphasizes the importance of building customer trust, protecting customers through responsible gaming programs, and creating personalized experiences. Josh also highlights the significance of partnerships in expanding the reach of FanDuel and enhancing the customer experience.Tune in to learn:Why building customer trust is crucial for success in the sports betting industry.Why responsible gaming programs and customer protection are key strategies to drive loyalty.How personalization and understanding customer preferences create engaging experiences.How partnerships play a significant role in expanding reach and enhancing the customer experience.Why consistency is key in delivering great customer experiences.How recovery from service failures can be an opportunity to build trust and loyalty.Why integrating tools and technology can enhance both the customer and employee experience.–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, Futurum Group Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick provides a preview of his fall conference schedule, focusing on the events he will be attending, the key items he hopes to learn, and how these developments may impact the enterprise applications market. He will then move to the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.  

On this episode, , discusses the importance of storytelling in marketing and how it can create an emotional connection with consumers. She shares examples of how Campari brands like Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier use storytelling to honor their rich history and engage consumers, and she talks about the balance between art and science in designing customer experiences and the importance of personalization and data-driven decision-making.Tune in to learn:How to create experiential moments and partnershipsThe importance of connecting with Gen Z through authenticity and experiencesWhy you should be balancing art and science in designing customer experiencesHot to think about personalization and data-driven decision-making–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

 On this episode, Meghan Hatalla, Senior Customer Experience Researcher at Veritas Technologies, discusses the use of machine learning and natural language processing to enhance user research and improve customer experience. She highlights the importance of data analysis, sentiment analysis, and personalization in understanding user behavior and needs, and talks about the challenges of implementing AI in customer experience.The role of machine learning and AI in processing large data sets and identifying patterns in user behaviorThe importance of qualitative research in understanding user experiences and problem-solvingHow to Implementing AI in customer experienceHow to build trust and emotional connections for a positive customer experienceKey Components of Effective Customer InterviewsThe Role of User Research in AI–How can you bring all your disconnected, enterprise data into Salesforce to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer? The answer is Data Cloud. With more than 200 implementations completed globally, the leading Salesforce experts from Professional Services can help you realize value quickly with Data Cloud. To learn more, visit salesforce.com/products/data to learn more. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.

Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Chris Zullo, Global Practice Director of Customer 360 and Marketing at AllCloud. Join us as we chat about integrating Marketing Cloud and Data Cloud and how you can do more with your data. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways […] The post Enhancing Customer Engagement with Salesforce Data Cloud appeared first on Salesforce Admins.