Salesforce have recently announced that they have been named as a top provider of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) in an IDC MarketScape report. This follows a high CDP rating from Gartner’s Magic Quadrant last year – an impressive feat with Salesforce only acquiring their CDP certification in the summer of 2023.
The report evaluates CDPs for business in both B2B and B2C markets, with Salesforce ahead of competitors such as Oracle and Adobe in both categories. The CRM giant has been lauded for its artificial intelligence capabilities, data governance, and Data Cloud integrations within Salesforce.
Data Cloud and Agentforce
The CDP market has faced struggles in recent years – consumers now expect more highly personalized experiences when they interact with businesses. People expect brands to recognize their preferences and respond to them in real-time.
This means that companies now require more advanced technology to collect and use customer data effectively to meet these demands.
With the emergence of AI and automation, Salesforce have positioned themselves well in the CDP market thanks to Agentforce. Agentic AI now has a much larger role in CDPs in general, and Salesforce’s Data Cloud – working alongside Agentforce – is capable of analyzing data automatically, suggesting actions, and offering those personable experiences that customers need in the modern market.
“Data Cloud provides unified customer data to Agentforce, enabling generative AI agents to operate with context and automate manual or repetitive tasks, delivering agentic AI experiences.”
According to IDC, Salesforce shares the leadership position in the B2C market with several other companies, including Oracle, Adobe, and ActionIQ. However, in the B2B market, the competition is more exclusive, with only Salesforce, Oracle, and Adobe recognized as leaders – and Salesforce taking the top spot.
Companies such as The Adecco Group, FedEx, and Air India all use Data Cloud to support their workforce and have echoed the sentiments of IDC’s report: “Our business customers expect us to know everything about their needs and relationship with us,” said Mark Columbo, Senior Vice President, Solutions and Sales, FedEx. “We work really effectively now across sales and marketing, and Data Cloud has enabled us to do that.”
Summary
With Agentforce and Data Cloud, Salesforce is keeping pace with modern-day customer demands while elevating what is possible with agentic AI.
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