The News: On September 12 at Dreamforce 2023, Salesforce announced the launch of the Einstein 1 Platform, a new service that natively integrates Einstein AI and Data Cloud.
Einstein 1 Platform is an evolved approach to Salesforce’s legacy vision for metadata – to easily bridge data across applications. Salesforce’s original metadata framework helps companies organize and understand data across Salesforce applications – the equivalent of having a common language so that different applications built on the core platform can communicate with each other.
Einstein 1 Platform leverages metadata and creates a unified view of the data across an enterprise regardless of how that data is structured in disparate systems. It does so by mapping the data to the Salesforce metadata framework. This functionality allows organizations to customize every user experience and leverage their data using low-code platform services, including Einstein for AI predictions and content generation, Flow for automation, and Lightning for user interfaces. These customizations are instantly available to the rest of the organization’s core applications without having to write costly and brittle integration code.
Read the full Press Release on the Einstein 1 Platform on the Salesforce website.
Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform Provides Native AI Integration
Analyst Take: The Einstein 1 Platform is the latest example of how Salesforce has leveraged AI over the past 10 years – form follows function. For Salesforce, AI is a technology tool that serves the company’s business goals, and the company has largely stayed clear of developing AI as a technology looking for a solution, but rather, thinking about the challenges that AI might address.
In this case, Einstein 1 Platform furthers the 25-year premise Salesforce has chased. Parker Harris, co-founder and CTO at Salesforce, said, “We pioneered the metadata framework nearly 25 years ago to seamlessly bridge data across applications. It is the connective tissue that fuels innovation.” The goal of Einstein 1 Platform is to simplify access and application of all the data Salesforce customers have exposed to Salesforce Data Cloud. Simplified access and simplified AI tools, thanks to generative AI capabilities, could explode the use of Salesforce applications. If those applications prove to be useful to customers, the customers and Salesforce win. It is reasonable to assume this roadmap can translate to increased revenue for Salesforce.
Blueprint for Operationalizing AI
Back to my point about Salesforce’s vision for AI. Any company seeking to operationalize AI can learn from Salesforce’s example. The rationale of Einstein 1 Platform serves the longtime Salesforce goal of bridging data across applications. If you look at the company’s nearly 10-year journey with AI, it looks something like this:
- Leadership said go explore AI technology, we think in principle it has the potential to serve our business. Someone within the company understood basic principles of AI, mainly that its fuel is data. They also recognized that a company with a lot of proprietary data in theory can benefit from AI.
- Teams explored what AI does and what it can do.
- Teams experimented in applying AI to Salesforce products. Teams learned about AI lifecycle and cost structures.
- With AI incorporated into products, Salesforce learned what not to do with AI. More specifically, it learned AI risks and how to manage those risks.
- Salesforce built frameworks and organization to manage AI risk.
- Generative AI explodes on the marketplace and Salesforce has the structures and expertise in place to leverage it.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Salesforce Q2 FY 2024 Reaches $8.6 Billion, Driven by Data Cloud
Einstein Studio: Salesforce Introduces No-Code Model Integration
Salesforce Announces General Availability of Embedded Generative AI Tools
Author Information
Mark comes to The Futurum Group from Omdia’s Artificial Intelligence practice, where his focus was on natural language and AI use cases.
Previously, Mark worked as a consultant and analyst providing custom and syndicated qualitative market analysis with an emphasis on mobile technology and identifying trends and opportunities for companies like Syniverse and ABI Research. He has been cited by international media outlets including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and CNET. Based in Tampa, Florida, Mark is a veteran market research analyst with 25 years of experience interpreting technology business and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida.
