At London World Tour ‘24, Salesforce announced the latest addition to Data Cloud: the Vector Database. Salesforce describes the Vector Database as: “a new capability which will enable businesses to tap into unstructured data, without having to rely on expensive and labor-intensive manual solutions. Data Cloud uniquely harnesses the power of Salesforce metadata in the Einstein 1 Platform by linking unstructured and structured data.”
If you’re still wondering what on earth this is and how it’s relevant to you, then we’ve got you covered. Luckily, we had the chance to speak with Fayyaz Younas, EVP and Chief Growth Officer of Data Cloud. His remit is all about expanding Data Cloud from mystery to reality with his 120-strong team of specialists who not only explain the technical architecture, but also map Data Cloud technology to solve the issues organizations face. As the fastest-growing product in Salesforce’s history, this was a compelling conversation that harnessed his passion for Vector Database.
What Is the Vector Database in Data Cloud?
With the Vector Database underpinning Data Cloud, unstructured data can be processed alongside structured data. Unstructured data (not surprisingly) is the opposite of structured data, where data is organized into columns and rows – this is what a traditional database is. However, the types and amount of unstructured data have increased significantly over time – think call transcripts, emails, PDFs – all those types of information that are challenging to tap into.
Let’s look at call transcripts from service agents as a key example. There’s a wealth of insight that analyzes the customer’s sentiment during the conversation, providing both positive and negative signals.
According to IDC, 90% of customer data is unstructured. That means that organizations, until now, have only been able to fully leverage 10% of their data to generate predictions, next best actions, audience segments, etc.
The Vector Database is an “invisible” capability – users won’t be aware that they’re actually using it because it’s been launched seamlessly into the fabric of Data Cloud. All Salesforce customers, with Data Cloud enabled, can begin to leverage this straight away.
Vector Database: A Game-Changer?
It’s safe to say that the Vector Database points to a more competitive advantage for Salesforce Data Cloud – another “string to their bow” in an increasingly crowded market.
Salesforce already enjoys a strong set of unique selling points with Data Cloud, delivering activation to other modules (such as Marketing Cloud) and external services. The “open gateway” ethos means that Salesforce allows organizations to connect with other providers they’ve invested in, even offering zero-copy architecture – making data access from one platform to another more efficient, cost-effective, and as a bonus, environmentally friendly.
When reflecting on the “Next Step” field on Opportunities (a common source of unstructured data) this free-text box not only is a field that contains information sourced from unstructured data, but it also creates more unstructured data with no guaranteed reliability (i.e. the salespeople populate it as they wish without taking into consideration what the data is telling us beyond the “naked eye”). This is just one example of many that occur in a traditional CRM that can be further improved by the vector database tapping into unstructured data sources.
AI Is the New UI
AI takes these data capabilities a step further. With users having a conversational interface, they can ask questions in natural language (i.e. the way humans speak from one to another in conversation).
Salesforce’s generative AI (Einstein 1) messaging has placed importance on how organizations should “ground” AI with their own data to generate results that are situational to their company. You guessed it, with unstructured data also being tapped into ground prompts – the “missing” 90% now is useful to avoid some of the most undesirable results (e.g. hallucinations).
Summary
The Vector Database stands as a game-changer in Data Cloud’s ever-evolving landscape, allowing businesses to harness unstructured data like never before.
By maximizing the potential of Salesforce metadata within the Einstein 1 Platform, this ground-breaking capability sets a new standard for leveraging the full breadth of customer data.
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