Salesforce Inc. has signed a multibillion-dollar cloud deal with Alphabet Inc.’s Google as part of a larger effort to combine forces and gain corporate customers who currently use Microsoft Corp.’s productivity and artificial intelligence products.
Salesforce, which relies heavily on cloud services from Amazon, has committed to spend at least $2.5 billion over seven years on cloud computing services from Google. The agreement will now allow Salesforce customers to choose to run their customer-management software, Agentforce autonomous artificial intelligence assistants and Data Cloud products on Google Cloud.
The mentioned deal is a prime example of how large technology companies form alliances and partnerships to offer customers a broader range of products and services enhanced by machine intelligence. Microsoft, which is a first-mover advantage in generative artificial intelligence for corporations, claims that most Fortune 500 firms are already using its AI productivity tools. At the same time, it is worth noting that in some cases adoption has lagged expectations. This circumstance forms new opportunities for Google, which will now be bolstered by Salesforce’s market-leading customer management software. The two companies already have many customers in common. Firms also push for greater product integration. The corresponding statement was made by Google Cloud chief executive officer Thomas Kurian during a conversation with media representatives. Also in this context, it was separately noted that the alliance will let a corporate client use Google Workspace to write a document for a sales prospect, pull details from Salesforce customer data, and fine-tune the proposal using information from Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence model.
Thomas Kurian stated that Salesforce can host their stuff anywhere. At the same time, it was noted that the mentioned company sees the quality of Google’s technology and the growth of its customer base.
Last week, the media published information according to which Salesforce held talks with several cloud vendors. In this case, in addition to Google, Microsoft and Oracle were also mentioned.
Salesforce, which is the top seller of customer relationship management software, last year pivoted its strategy in the area of artificial intelligence. In this case, the company has focused on AI agents, virtual tools that can perform tasks such as customer support or sales development without human supervision.
Generative artificial intelligence tools are significantly more demanding than traditional apps. These digital products often require additional cloud computing capacity.
Google has stated that customers such as Wayfair and Accenture will begin moving their Salesforce apps to Google Cloud. Also, as part of the deal, Salesforce will let Agentforce customers use Gemini models.
Salesforce chief executive officer Marc Benioff has repeatedly criticized Microsoft’s efforts in the area of artificial intelligence, including in the context of the development of Copilot AI assistants, which, in his opinion, are inferior to similar virtual products from the company he heads. Mr. Benioff said that the way Copilot has been delivered to customers is disappointing. He posted a message of relevant content in October on the social media platform X. Microsoft’s public relations chief Frank Shaw fired back, noting that it was all about marketing, less about truth or substance.
This week, Salesforce will publish a report on earnings. This information will be closely monitored by investors, who have recently shown a high level of interest in the impact of new artificial intelligence tools on the dynamic of financial performance. Currently, it is already an obvious fact that the process of integrating machine intelligence into various workflows has an economic dimension. As the relevant process scales, artificial intelligence is likely to become a kind of platform for economic advancement. In this context, it is worth noting separately that AI can not only increase the productivity of existing mechanisms but also be an independent working tool. Against the corresponding background, it is likely that artificial intelligence may eventually become a new means of production. The implementation of this scenario, which is still a potential possibility, will have a transformative impact on the economy on a large scale.
Last month, Marc Benioff announced that his company would sign thousands of Agentforce deals in the current fiscal quarter.
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