Considering that most of the world has no idea about what exactly AI, and these particular AI in particular are capable of, IBM and Salesforce combining their crown jewels and offering them as a single package is bound to be kind of overwhelming. However, there they are, so deal with it.
So basically, IBM will be able to leverage the partnership to sell consulting services across businesses spanning both Einstein as well as Watson. What’s more, Watson insights will be made available across Salesforce’s Intelligent Customer Success platform. Basically, the two companies will be joining their strengths to combine Einstein’s customer relationship data with Watson structured and unstructured data. Watson’s contribution wont be limited to a specific are but instead, will span across services like finance, weather, healthcare and so on.
The companies will also be rolling out APIs that will offer a Watson integration into Einstein. The two companies also presented a use case scenario wherein Einstein could provide data about customers with Watson filling the blanks in weather and broad retail industry data to cumulatively aid the company in targeted marketing.
This is of course, just a single example. There are several other integrations going on as well. For instance, IBM’s weather and broad retail industry data will be included in Salesforce AppExchange as a lightning component. What’s more, IBM’s consulting company Bluewolf will give birth to a practice unit for Einstein software and services.
Speaking on the topic, Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and chief executive officer, IBM, said:
Within a few years, every major decision — personal or business — will be made with the help of AI and cognitive technologies.
The combination of Einstein and Watson will make businesses smarter and our customers more successful. I’m thrilled to form an alliance with IBM — no company’s core values are as close to Salesforce’s as IBM’s. It’s the best of both worlds
Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive of Salesforce added.
The combined services are expected to start rolling out by the end of this very month, however, expect services making greater use of the partnership to come out sometimes near the second half of the year.
