IBM and Salesforce have joined forces in a collaborative effort to help businesses worldwide enhance their customer relationship management (CRM) through the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). This partnership aims to revolutionize customer, partner, and employee experiences while ensuring data security.
To accelerate business transformations with generative AI, IBM Consulting and Salesforce are assisting shared clients in adopting and deploying Salesforce’s AI technologies. IBM Consulting, with its industry expertise and innovative delivery models, such as the IBM Garage methodology, will guide clients through this process. The approach focuses on efficient integration across Salesforce’s AI technologies, including Einstein, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Slack.
In addition to deployment, IBM Consulting can complement Salesforce’s generative AI tools with IBM watsonx, an enterprise-ready AI and data platform that embraces open standards. Watsonx can unlock and utilize data stored in backend systems, enabling the creation of dynamic user and employee experiences.
Through IBM Consulting Managed Services for Salesforce, shared clients will gain access to a suite of AI experience and implementation accelerators. This delivery and management model enables customers to deploy, scale, and enhance Salesforce effectively. For instance, IBM Data Classifier, an AI-powered application trained on industry-specific data models, reduces the data mapping process.
Matt Candy, Global Managing Partner, Generative AI, IBM Consulting, highlighted the exponential increase in the need to enhance employee productivity while simultaneously elevating the customer experience. Through this collaboration with Salesforce, IBM aims to support enterprise clients in scaling and accelerating the adoption of generative AI to meet their business needs.
IBM Consulting adopts an open and collaborative approach in working with a diverse AI partner ecosystem. This approach aims to plan, build, implement, and operate generative AI solutions that embrace multiple models on multiple clouds, leveraging industry leaders. By defining the right models and architectures, this ecosystem helps clients achieve their desired outcomes.
IBM itself has utilized generative AI through Salesforce, Slack, and IBM watsonx for its own transformation journey. This has resulted in a 360-degree customer experience, allowing IBM’s client service and sales organizations to have a holistic view of the client journey. Teams across the globe collaborate on a single platform, providing fast and data-driven engagement tailored to meet customer needs. Salesforce’s open API architecture facilitated the integration of IBM Watson Assistant into Salesforce Customer 360.
Steve Corfield, EVP and General Manager, Global Alliances and Channels at Salesforce, emphasized the transformative journey businesses are embarking on with generative AI. He acknowledged the vital role of partners like IBM Consulting in helping businesses effectively utilize Salesforce’s AI, data, and CRM technologies to connect with customers on a new level. Corfield believes that the combination of Salesforce and IBM innovations will transform the way companies deliver personalized and engaging experiences.
To support its clients’ business transformations with enterprise-grade AI, IBM Consulting established its Center of Excellence for Generative AI. This center comprises over 1,000 consultants with specialized generative AI expertise, ready to accelerate clients’ transformations using technology from Salesforce, IBM, and other partners. IBM Consulting’s existing global AI and Automation practice, consisting of 21,000 data and AI consultants, works alongside this center.
IBM Consulting’s approach includes methodologies like the IBM Garage for Generative AI, where consultants collaborate comprehensively with clients to fast-track innovation in foundation models for generative AI. This methodology covers rapid use case ideation and prioritization, an open and multi-model approach to selecting architectures and training, as well as scaling models to meet unique business needs.
With its deep industry expertise, spanning strategy, experience design, technology, and operations, IBM Consulting accelerates business transformation through hybrid cloud and AI technologies. The company’s open ecosystem of partners allows it to provide reliable and secure modernization solutions for complex systems. With 160,000 consultants who embrace an open way of working, IBM Consulting leverages its proven co-creation method, IBM Garage, to turn ideas into outcomes.