Salesforce Data Cloud Rising with Innovations and Adaptations: Bringing Trusted Data to Agentforce

Businesses seek to run the course for the long-term duration and customers provide them the means to sustain. It signifies that the more satisfaction a company offers, the more customers it will have. 

This rise in demand for higher customer satisfaction or experience is sighted using unified data across different Salesforce platforms, most importantly Agentforce, its autonomous AI agents. This is the exact opportunity and Salesforce made the best out of this by announcing the biggest news ever in its history of AI innovations. 

Why did Salesforce launch this?

Though they rely on data, companies face a challenge: ‘acquiring information and putting it to their advantage.’ Then again, businesses can tap into any platform or source to reach it, but will it be trusted or factual? Or what if the sources are so many that you start losing count, and eventually face data loss?

After studying the problem, Salesforce introduced Data Cloud, which brings data under one roof. However, like everything else, it requires new adoptions or innovations, an opportunity that Salesforce sought to utilize.

With the new additions, businesses can utilize Data + AI more fluently, enhancing customer service capabilities. A sneak at these innovations include:

• Addition of unstructured data including Audio & Video Content (Webinars, Calls) for deeper insights.
• Organized semantic data structures to help Agentforce AI agents and humans study and understand the data streams.
• Enhanced research capacity to speedily discover customer information.
• Delivering real-time customer insights to help agents respond to customers changing needs and queries.
• Preventing data exposure and unauthorized access through additional data security and governance measures.

Due to its rapid success and growing popularity, famous businesses like Aston Martin, Air India, Kawasaki Motors Corp, and FedEx have also shown high reliability in improving customer relations, and productivity.

Data Cloud + Customer 360 + Agentforce: Trident of Innovation

Data cloud transfers trusted and authentic data banks to customer 360 applications, Agentforce, and analytics for several purposes lined up below:

• Develop a base for personalized customer experience and real-time analysis
• Enables business actions based on informed decisions.
• Providing a secure AI framework for all Salesforce applications.

Using Zero Copy technology and Mulesoft connectors, it is easy for Data Cloud to study and assess various sources to acquire data. Moreover, its efficient built-in vector database quickly converts formats – PDFs, texts, calls, voicemails, and others containing about 90% of customer data – into readable formats.

Also, it helps structure the collected data to develop extensive customer profiles stored as metadata in a centralized data bank. Since it is a Salesforce-integrated platform, the data flows seamlessly giving companies a 360 view of the customers. 

This reliable customer data helps Agentforce and its AI agents understand the ground reality customers face, making them more knowledgeable, educated, and aware of consumer needs.

Additionally, Data Cloud’s hybrid search can quickly identify relevant knowledge articles based on the specific query, enabling the agent to provide accurate and timely information. When a customer seeks a resolution to his problem, Data Cloud can guide the agent with the next-best actions, such as suggesting follow-up questions or escalating the issue to a supervisor if necessary. Lastly, Tableau Semantics ensures that the AI and the human agent use the same definitions and understanding of the data, facilitating a seamless and efficient customer experience.

Innovations and Enhanced Capabilities in Data Cloud

With the latest updation in the working capacity of Data Cloud, customers can now avail of several benefits including:

• Accurate Unstructured Audio & Video Content Data Analysis:

Since these sources contain much customer data, the innovations allow businesses to read and study this unstructured data from previously inaccessible sources like webinars, customer calls, training sessions, and voicemails. With the provided access, businesses can now have an in-depth knowledge of customer profiles, revealing the reason behind preferences and their needs.

• Offering an Expanded Data Cloud Connectivity Ecosystem:

With the latest innovation in Data Cloud, businesses can now add their data using Dala Cloud pre-build connectors for various applications like Splunk, Square, and more that specify its rapidly growing ecosystem supporting data sheets, warehouses, and third-party platforms. It gives businesses access to sources like Google Drive, or Microsoft Sharepoint, disclosing that data can be acquired from a place where customers interact with the brand.

• Enables Real-Time Customer Datastream Access:

Real-time data helps businesses present competitiveness in the market and make decisions using the real-time data across the Salesforce platform. Moreover, it empowers Einstein AI capabilities now equipped with Data Cloud functionality, supports companies to make more informed decisions, and delivers better and highly personalized services.

• Offering Secured Network and Governance for Data & AI:

The innovations in Data Cloud prevent unauthorized data exposure, secure operational tasks, or imply governance in its operations. The new features help businesses manage, and securely share the data to AI applications and across the platform.

• Offering a Tableau Semantic Data Model to Businesses:

The Data Cloud innovation helps businesses create a systematic organization of their customer data based on the meaning and relationships to help understand, utilize, and act upon the data, regardless of its origin.

• Collect Highly Relevant Information Using Hybrid Search:

By utilizing the semantic capabilities of vector search, businesses can acquire the most relevant and useful customer information for their business decisions. It helps companies deal with specific aspects like product names or abbreviations. It quickens the process to find details across any platform whether PDFs, texts, pictures, audio, or videos.

• Solitary Data Cloud Platform to Access Customer Information:

The new update allows companies to connect various cloud organizations that work and operate isolated across different departments. It also helps extend Data Cloud capabilities on all Salesforce servers, where organizations operate, using a no-code or point-and-click setup. It presents a single platform for all organizations that perform actions like automation or depth research and is treated as a source for data creation.

• Expand Knowledge with New Datablazer Community:

A new adoption also includes the innovations list which is the Datablazer community. This new online platform connects IT departments, business icons, developers, and data cloud experts. This connecting ability helps them to share broad insights, and stay updated with the latest trends in the industry.

New Data Cloud Innovations: General Availability 

With the new enhancements in Data Cloud, customers are looking forward to building and implementing capabilities that will uplift the overall strength of their Salesforce CRM and business. 

Here is the schedule for the general availability of these updates: 

Features Available and Ready-to-access Now:

• Customer Managed Keys
• MuleSoft Driect for Data Cloud. Must haves: Anypoint Platform License (available in late September 2024)
• Sub-second real-time layer which is enabled through sub-second real-time profiles add-on consumption SKU.
• A suite of pre-built connectors and its beta version are available in the Data Cloud Connectors Directory.

Features That Will Roll out in October 2024:

• Data Cloud One
• Support to process unstructured audio and video content (currently in pilot)

Features to Expect in November 2024:

• AI tagging and classification (in Beta)
• Policy-based governance (in beta) 
• Hybrid Search will be generally available.
• Private Connect For Data Cloud will also be available for users.

• Tableau Semantics, currently in pilot, will be generally available in February 2025.

The Final Take

The popularity and reliability of the Data Cloud make it the brains and the brawn of the Salesforce platform. With the latest announcements and updates, the vision Salesforce has with Data Cloud implementation specifies its role in Agentforce.

The innovations will add more value to the Data Cloud and help businesses cater to customers in a more personalized way. So, with this latest innovation, companies can expect a new wave of customer service.