• IBM and Salesforce partner to offer generative AI solutions for enterprises using Salesforce products and IBM consulting services.
• IBM's Data Classifier tool and Watsonx AI platform will enhance Salesforce's AI capabilities and data mapping for customers.
• Both companies will continue to invest in their own generative AI research and development while providing a comprehensive suite of products and services to customers.
IBM and Salesforce have formed strategic collaboration aimed at bolstering generative AI solutions for enterprise customers. This newly unveiled partnership encompasses various aspects of the CRM value chain, with a particular focus on integrating Salesforce products into IBM's consulting services.
IBM plans to leverage its Garage digital transformation methodology to facilitate the adoption of Salesforce AI technologies like Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud. Additionally, customers will gain access to IBM's Data Classifier tool, designed to simplify data mapping using industry-specific AI models on data generated through Salesforce. This collaboration will also enhance Salesforce's AI capabilities with IBM's Watsonx AI and data platform.
Matt Candy, Global Managing Partner for Generative AI at IBM Consulting, emphasized the aim of simplifying and streamlining the deployment of generative AI for enterprises to boost employee productivity and enhance the customer experience.
Arun Chandrasekaran, Distinguished Vice President and Analyst at Gartner Research, noted that this partnership aligns with IBM's strategy of expanding its market share beyond its own products. IBM recognizes the growing importance of generative AI and aims to assist other vendors in delivering AI solutions in a responsible and trustworthy manner. This includes developing tools for model explainability, monitoring, and bias protection.
Despite the collaboration, both IBM and Salesforce will continue to invest in their respective in-house generative AI research and development efforts. The partnership is more about providing a comprehensive suite of products and services to customers than outsourcing core development work. The joint offerings resulting from this partnership are already available to customers.
AI for CRM faces challenges, including the potential for low-quality or inaccurate outputs that require human verification, difficulty in understanding and using AI responsibly, leading to transparency and explainability issues, and the potential for ethical and social challenges such as bias, privacy, and inequality. Additionally, AI-powered automation may result in job losses in some industries. However, it enriches the CRM value chain to a great extent