As Salesforce Dreamforce Kicks Off, Company Unbottles ‘Genie’

As Salesforce Dreamforce kicks off today, expect the company to talk up “the most significant change” to the CRM platform “in the company’s history.”

Salesforce’s David Schmaier

That’s the word from David Schmaier, president and chief product officer at Salesforce as he introduced Genie, Salesforce’s new data software underlying all of its Customer 360 solutions.

“It’s the future of real-time personalized experiences,” Schmaier told media on Monday.

The drivers behind Genie’s development, and the implications of its capabilities, he added, are huge.

First, consider how work has changed since the onset of COVID-19. Even though the worst of the pandemic appears to have ended, the virus brought about different models of work — remote and hybrid — that remain intact.

“We live in a very different world,” Schmaier said. “We’re never going back to the way things were.”

What that means is more data coming from more sources. Organizations have to figure out what to do with all that information so they can use it to their advantage.

“The amount of data in the world will double in the next few years,” Schmaier said. “Companies simply can’t keep up.”

Salesforce says organizations have, on average, 976 separate applications. But using Genie, they can summon data from, say, billing systems, IoT devices and websites as they type, “so you truly have a single view of the customer,” said Schmaier. Think about what that means for sales, marketing or customer service.

“The cost of not keeping up could be the loss of a customer with a high lifetime value, a meaningful drop in customer satisfaction, or a poor review on social media,” said Bret Taylor, co-CEO of Salesforce.

Genie addresses those challenges. And it’s built to work fast.

“Milliseconds matter in the new digital world we live in,” Schmaier said at Salesforce Dreamforce.

More on Genie

So far, 18 different AppExchange partners now integrate with Genie. Those include Snowflake and Amazon Web Services’ SageMaker.

Genie itself operates on every cloud under the Customer 360 umbrella. Developers can earn certification. And there’s “huge interest” from Salesforce systems integrators, Schmaier said.

“They all have data practices so they’re just loving what … Genie can do.”

So how does Genie work? The platform features connectors that bring in data from every channel (mobile, web, APIs), legacy data through MuleSoft, and historical data from proprietary data lakes, in real time. Genie then transforms that information into a customer profile record. Salesforce says that because Genie uses the company’s metadata model, everything in the customer graph is visible and actionable across the entire Customer 360, each industry solution, AppExchange and custom applications.

And what does the introduction of Genie mean for Einstein AI and Flow automation services? It means Einstein can now deliver personalization and predictions based on real-time data, Salesforce says. And Flow automation can now use real-time data to trigger actions automatically.

Finally, Genie runs on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s public cloud infrastructure.

Salesforce Genie is generally available today.

Other Announcements Coming out of Salesforce Dreamforce

Salesforce also released updates to Slack and took the wraps off its Net Zero Marketplace.

When it comes to Slack, look for Canvas and Huddles. Slack Canvas, which will be available next year, pulls in data from systems including Customer 360. It lets users save files, curate channels and implement workflows, all in one place so people aren’t wasting time searching for information.

Next, the Huddles feature now supports “lightweight” video. Previously, it only allowed for audio. There’s also multiperson screen sharing and message threads. These capabilities will roll out to all users starting Sept. 20 and lasting over the coming weeks.

Slack’s Tamar Yehoshua

“It’s a new day for work,” said Tamar Yehoshua, chief product officer for Slack.

(Here’s another Slack update billed as helpful for channel firms.)

Finally, Salesforce Dreamforce attendees will hear a lot about the company’s new Net Zero Marketplace, where organizations can buy carbon credits to help reduce emissions. Carbon credits projects have to undergo independent verifications against global standards. Projects — such as forest conservation, wind farms, solar cookstoves and so on — that pass can sell their carbon credits.

But finding these opportunities can be tough. Salesforce decided to step in, develop the Net Zero Marketplace and publish the ratings where anyone can view and purchase them.

Salesforce’s Suzanne DiBianca

“You don’t even have to be a Salesforce customer or user,” said Suzanne DiBianca, executive vice president and chief impact officer at Salesforce.

United States users get access first, starting next month. The program will expand to more markets in 2023.