CRM

Salesforce (CRM), IBM Team Up to Enhance AI and Data Ecosystems

May 23, 2024

29 3 minutes read

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Salesforce CRM and International Business Machines IBM have announced an expanded strategic partnership, integrating IBM’s watsonx AI and Data Platform with Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Platform. This collaboration aims to offer customers greater flexibility in AI and data deployment, empowering teams to make informed, data-driven decisions directly within their workflow.

Partnership to Address AI & Data Integration Needs

The partnership between the two tech giants focuses on the bidirectional integration of data, large language model (LLM) flexibility, prebuilt actions for CRM solutions and a commitment to responsible AI development. The integration of IBM watsonx with Salesforce will allow customers to choose the LLMs that best meet their specific business needs through the “Bring Your Own Large Language Model” strategy. This will enable customers to integrate their LLMs with IBM’s watsonx.ai platform and Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Studio, a collection of low-code AI builders.

IBM watsonx helps enterprises build, scale and govern custom AI solutions with a choice of AI models from various providers and ability to tailor them with their own data. IBM’s Granite models, known for their high performance and data governance standards, will be accessible to joint customers. These models, when integrated with Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Platform, can be used for diverse applications such as industry content generation, field summarization and classification.

Pre-configured prompt templates and copilot actions powered by IBM data and services will be available in Einstein 1 Studio, allowing faster ROI for enterprises utilizing IBM Granite models.

IBM, leveraging its industry expertise through IBM Consulting, is developing industry-specific prompt templates and copilot actions for Salesforce applications, including Einstein Copilot. These pre-built actions are expected to be available later this year, starting with public sector use cases. The aim is to help industries such as automotive, energy, utilities, financial services and the public sector connect with their constituents more effectively.

Salesforce Inc. Price and Consensus

Salesforce Inc. price-consensus-chart | Salesforce Inc. Quote

Enhancing Capabilities

IBM has joined the Salesforce Zero Copy Partner Network, enabling secure, bidirectional zero copy integrations with Salesforce Data Cloud. This integration allows customers to access IBM data via watsonx.data from within Salesforce Data Cloud, simplifying security management and minimizing risks. Zero-copy integration ensures data remains in its original location while being accessible for analytics and AI, reducing the need for complex data pipelines and custom integrations.

Salesforce has joined the AI Alliance, supporting the mission to develop AI collaboratively and transparently, with a focus on safety, ethics and societal benefits. The AI Alliance comprises more than 100 leading organizations from various sectors, working together to promote open, responsible AI development.

The expanded partnership between IBM and Salesforce represents a significant step toward enhancing AI and data ecosystems. By combining their strengths, they aim to provide customers with more flexible, secure, and efficient AI and data solutions, fostering an environment of innovation and responsible AI development. This collaboration is poised to deliver substantial value to businesses, enabling them to harness the full potential of their data and AI capabilities.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Salesforce and IBM each carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of CRM and IBM have risen 7.8% and 6%, respectively, year to date (YTD).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are NVIDIA NVDA and CrowdStrike Holdings CRWD, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVIDIA’s fiscal 2025 earnings has been revised 11 cents upward to $24.36 per share in the past seven days, which suggests year-over-year growth of 88%. The long-term estimated earnings growth rate for the stock stands at 30.9%. The NVDA stock has soared 92.6% YTD.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2025 earnings has been revised upward by 2 cents to $3.90 per share in the past 60 days, which calls for an increase of 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for the stock is pegged at 22.3%. CRWD shares have risen 36.8% YTD.

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