Latest news with #Salesforce
Wall Street Journal
10 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Salesforce Not Taking Survival for Granted in AI Era, Top Strategist Says
Salesforce CRM -1.08%decrease; red down pointing triangle is a giant in its field, but Peter Schwartz, one of its top strategists, isn't taking survival for granted in the era of artificial intelligence. The unprecedented pace of change brought by AI is forcing the software maker to reinvent itself, or risk being put out of business, said Schwartz, chief futures officer of Salesforce.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Systems Of Execution Offer The Highest Potential Return From AI
Why Systems of Execution Offer the Highest Potential Return from AI What if the true value of AI lies not in incremental improvement, but in bold reinvention? Two and a half years since ChatGPT's commercial debut, enterprises have charged ahead with AI implementations. We've seen rapid adoption, particularly in areas like customer service, marketing, and sales. These functions have embraced AI tools to automate responses, personalize content, and augment human activity. But despite the enthusiasm and activity, most of these efforts have failed to deliver a material step-change in productivity. The reason? We are using AI to optimize what already exists rather than to reinvent how work gets done. Contact centers are filled with conversational bots. Marketing departments deploy AI to fine-tune campaigns and generate content at speed. In sales, platforms like Salesforce's Einstein now layer predictive analytics on top of traditional CRM systems to improve lead prioritization and forecast accuracy. Similarly, vendors are enhancing their software by embedding AI directly into their offerings or providing AI layers that sit on top of existing workflows. In each case, the result is a smarter, more efficient version of the current system. These are clear wins, and enterprises should continue to pursue them. But let's be honest, they are not transformational. The real potential of AI lies in disrupting, not extending, how we operate. To realize this, companies must be willing to rethink their core processes. This is where the notion of Systems of Execution becomes essential. Historically, enterprise technology has been organized around two categories. First, we had Systems of Record, databases like ERP, CRM, and claims systems that emerged during the Internet era to store and manage information. Next came Systems of Engagement, web interfaces and portals that facilitated interaction between users and these data repositories. Both types of systems remain essential, but they are fundamentally reactive. They rely on humans to interpret data and take action. They are built to support decision-making, not to drive it. Systems of Execution represent a third architectural layer. These are intelligent systems that don't just house data or provide access to it, they actually execute work. They ingest information from both Systems of Record and Systems of Engagement, and then use AI agents to drive processes forward with limited human intervention. To build a System of Execution, we must begin not with the tools, but with a top-down reimagining of the process. This is not about improving how humans currently perform a task. It's about asking: If AI were at the center of this process, how would we design it from scratch? At this point, most Systems of Execution are hybrid in nature. They combine AI agents and human workers. But as the technology matures, the human component will shrink while the AI footprint expands. This transition promises not only significant cost efficiencies, but entirely new levels of speed, consistency, and accuracy. Too often, enterprises confuse improvement with transformation. To avoid this trap, we must start by clearly categorizing our AI initiatives. Are we enhancing an existing system? Are we layering AI onto a current stack? Or are we attempting to create a new system that fundamentally changes how work is done? Many proof-of-concept projects fail not because the technology doesn't work, but because the level of investment required to overcome data debt and system complexity is vastly underestimated. By explicitly framing the nature of the change, we can allocate resources more effectively and build toward meaningful returns. Employees are already using AI. Whether through sanctioned tools or unsanctioned experimentation, they are applying AI to streamline work and improve outcomes. Leaders should stop trying to contain this behavior and instead find ways to guide and amplify it. That means offering structured training, curating approved toolkits, and putting lightweight governance in place. We've seen this before with the adoption of personal computers, the spreadsheet, and the public internet. Each of those technologies was initially disruptive, but over time they became foundational. AI will follow the same path. The relevant question is not 'Does this AI tool work?' The better question is 'Is the juice worth the squeeze?' Enterprises must assess whether the investment of time, money, and effort justifies the outcomes. When enhancing legacy systems, the return will often be marginal. When building a new System of Execution, the return can be exponential. This is not a theoretical exercise. It is a strategic imperative. AI is no longer a future-state capability. It is an immediate force reshaping how we think about productivity, process, and value. Systems of Execution represent a new order of things. As Machiavelli famously observed, there is nothing more difficult or dangerous than introducing a new order of things. It is fraught with resistance, uncertainty, and risk. But it also offers unmatched potential. Enhancing what we already have will take us only so far. To lead in the AI era, enterprises must build the systems of tomorrow, systems that do, not just support. This is where the real return lies.
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Salesforce Extends Relationship With National Broadcasting Leader Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), the world's #1 AI CRM, today announced it is extending its relationship with Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), one of the nation's leading diversified media companies and the country's largest owner of local television stations. Salesforce also announced that Nexstar has selected Salesforce Media Cloud to enhance and streamline its local advertising sales operations, and Agentforce to assist Nexstar in building and deploying AI agents that automate tasks, reason, decide, act, and drive outcomes 24/7 without human intervention. As advertisers increasingly prioritize digital platforms for their reach and targeting capabilities, Nexstar turned to the Salesforce Platform to help support digital growth and transformation across its national broadcast and cable networks, more than 200 owned and/or partner local television stations, and 1,600+ advertising sales personnel. Nexstar will deploy Media Cloud to help manage day-to-day sales operations and activities, providing sellers with near real-time visibility into campaign delivery, enabling them to understand ad fulfillment and accurately forecast against committed and booked ad spending. 'Nexstar is a leading force in the media industry, committed to delivering engaging content across its linear and digital platforms for millions of viewers,' said Jeff Amann, EVP and GM, Industries at Salesforce. "With Agentforce for Media, we're helping Nexstar enhance operational efficiency, streamline sales processes, and unlock new market opportunities to fuel company growth.' Nexstar will also implement Agentforce for Media, which will enable the company to quickly deploy AI agents that will augment its sales team with agentic AI that can independently execute manual, time-consuming tasks. Agentforce for Media provides a growing library of pre-built agent skills and actions, including Advertising Proposal. Data Cloud will bring structured and unstructured data together to ground Agentforce's responses in accurate and timely information. This agentic AI solution will help Nexstar streamline the advertising sales process by automating proposal creation, enhancing product discovery and enabling ad sales representatives to more efficiently find the right products and generate new opportunities or create customized pitch decks. This will reduce the time spent on manual tasks, allowing advertising staff to focus on building stronger relationships and closing sales. 'AI and intelligent agents are reshaping the future of ad sales and operations — empowering us to move beyond incremental gains toward transformative change,' said Brett Jenkins, CTO at Nexstar. 'By uniting our deep local expertise with aggregated data, insights, and workflows on the Agentforce platform, we unlock unprecedented scale and intelligence to deliver smarter, faster, and more impactful solutions for our advertisers and our business.' Nexstar also is expanding its deployment of Salesforce's CRM Analytics, Revenue Cloud, all built into the Salesforce Platform. By consolidating onto a single, deeply unified platform, Nexstar will eliminate siloed applications and data, giving its sales team a unified view along with near real-time, AI-powered insights to help close deals faster and more efficiently. Learn more: About Salesforce Salesforce helps organizations of any size reimagine their business with AI. Agentforce — the digital labor solution for enterprises — seamlessly integrates with Customer 360 applications, Data Cloud, and Einstein AI to create a limitless workforce, bringing humans and agents together to deliver customer success on a single, trusted platform. Visit for more information. About Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) is a leading diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms, including more than 316,000 hours of programming produced annually by its business units. Nexstar owns America's largest local television broadcasting group comprised of top network affiliates, with more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people. Nexstar's national television properties include The CW, America's fifth major broadcast network, NewsNation, our national news network providing 'News for All Americans,' popular entertainment multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network. The Company's portfolio of digital assets, including its local TV station websites, The Hill and are collectively a Top 10 U.S. digital news and information property. For more information, please visit
Business Upturn
a day ago
- Business
- Business Upturn
Mastek launches ADOPT.AI suite to accelerate enterprise AI adoption
By Aman Shukla Published on June 19, 2025, 16:11 IST Mastek, a digital engineering and cloud transformation company, has launched a new suite of AI-driven solutions and services designed to help businesses implement and scale artificial intelligence across their operations. The suite supports enterprises throughout the AI adoption journey, from early experimentation to mature deployment across departments. covers three focus areas—technology, business applications, and data. Within the technology scope, Mastek integrates proprietary tools like AI Amigo and Mastek ITSM Agent with established platforms such as GitHub Copilot. The goal is to enhance software delivery by improving productivity and streamlining development processes. For business transformation, the suite introduces a structured AI framework that embeds AI into enterprise applications. This includes automation of workflows and domain-specific AI agents designed for functions such as legal, marketing, customer service, HR, ERP, and finance. A growing library of AI solution blueprints supports faster implementation across different industries. In workforce development, the Mastek AI Academy has certified over 3,600 employees in AI competencies ranging from foundational knowledge to advanced skills on platforms like Oracle, Salesforce, AWS, and Microsoft. This initiative aligns with the company's broader strategy to enable an AI-ready workforce. Mastek has also established an AI Engineering Center of Excellence (CoE) focused on AI consulting, integration, and development of AI agents and industry-specific use cases. Collaborations with Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce enhance Mastek's ability to integrate AI into core business systems. Additionally, Mastek has entered strategic partnerships with NVIDIA and Open Ana to access advanced AI capabilities and deliver scalable, secure solutions to enterprise clients. Through Mastek aims to support organizations looking to unlock value from AI and embed it into critical aspects of their operations. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall Street deals in 2025? AI rules.
Wall Street's hopes that 2025 would be a banner year were abruptly cut short after the deals market froze up in April. But as the first half of the year winds down, the mergers and acquisitions market looks not as bad as investors feared. Bankers can thank AI for that. Corporations and private equity firms aren't letting up on their push to capture the artificial intelligence wave, and it's not expected to slow down. "Anything that's sheltered from tariffs in a shifting and evolving sector is where you're going to see the activity right now, and AI is somewhere with that, where there is an absolute race," Lucinda Guthrie, head of data provider Mergermarket, told Yahoo Finance. Between the beginning of January and June 17, the number of US-targeted mergers and acquisitions is down by roughly 18%, according to Dealogic. But the total value of all of this year's deals is up 10% compared to the same period in 2024. Much of that added volume is coming from AI-related deals where "the traditional tech giants all now need to do something," Guthrie said, adding that "although not necessarily clear-cut," these same firms have been anticipating a smoother approval process from antitrust regulators. From Meta's (META) $14 billion acquisition of Scale AI last week to the $8 billion purchase agreement Salesforce (CRM) struck with AI-powered data platform Informatica (INFA) in late May, some of the biggest recent deals have been AI-focused. But that was the case even before the Trump administration rolled out sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2. In fact, seven of the 15 largest US M&A deals so far this year have been about positioning for AI, according to Dealogic data. The two biggest came in March with Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) all-cash acquisition of New York-based cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion and Japanese firm SoftBank's (9984.T) agreement to lead a $40 billion fundraiser of ChatGPT maker OpenAI. It hasn't just been software companies either, according to a first-half deals report from PwC. Companies in industrials, utilities, and even private equity are doing AI deals. "Whether it's the advent of AI and the whole ecosystem behind AI, not just the technology and the language models, but the data centers, the energy, getting the energy to the data centers, all the [telecommunications] that goes around that, there's a tremendous amount of change," PwC US deals platform leader Kevin Desai said in a Friday press briefing. Following Constellation Energy's (CEG) $16 billion merger agreement with Calpine Corporation in January, Houston-based NRG Energy (NRG) made moves last month to double its energy capacity with a $12 billion announcement to buy 18 Texas and East Coast natural gas power plants. Both power suppliers pointed to forecasts for rapidly growing demand for energy of all kinds as companies build out their AI tools and services. Constellation framed its deal as "creating the right company at the right time." NRG CEO Larry Coben said in a May press release that the US is "in the early stages of a power demand supercycle." It's far from rosy in other corners of the M&A market. Smaller companies can't as easily forecast or absorb the potential costs of President Trump's tariffs, making it far trickier to justify a deal. About 30% of companies said they paused or revisited pending deals due to tariffs, according to a PwC executive survey from late May. Some of Wall Street's biggest investment banks weighed in earlier this month about their expectations for second quarter investment banking results at a Morgan Stanley conference in New York. Their feedback was mixed. The second quarter did start "slow, really pausing in a big way," Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told investors, adding, "I do think investment banking, specifically, is a tale of two quarters." "Look, there is a lot of anxiety," Citigroup head of banking Viswas Raghavan said. Citigroup expects its second quarter investment banking fees to be up in the "mid-single digits" compared to the same period last year. But big AI deals, at least, aren't showing signs of slowing. And that may be the saving grace for dealmakers. David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
