Today’s digital world is all about Big Data. The cumulative figure of data is so large that trying to prove its enormity numerically would perhaps turn futile because people would find it difficult to comprehend the numbers. Instead, naming it, Big Data could make it easier to get some idea about its size. However, for those who would still be interested in numbers, it is worthwhile mentioning that according to IBM estimates every day we generate data amounting to 2.5 quintillion bytes, which is equivalent to 1018 bytes. The most exciting aspect of the enormous data is that 90% of what is on the internet today belongs to the last two years. This gives enough hints about the stupendous rate of data growth and its future.

Add to this the flood of data from devices powered by The Internet of Things (IoT), and you could figure out well that today's numbers are just no comparison to the numbers that we are likely to handle very soon. Finding out ways to engage the data in a meaningful way throws up opportunities as well as challenges. The ability to analyze data correctly holds the key in determining emerging trends and gaining valuable insights about the way to position business decisions to take it to the next level.

Need for data analytics tools

Unless you can accumulate massive amounts of data and present it in the way it serves the purpose of business, you can never use the valuable information hidden under it. To make it happen, you need proper data analytics tools that help experts to decipher data and harness its powers for business growth. For enabling managers to take strategic decisions based on data, you need the support of competent data analysts who help to interpret the analyzed data. Unfortunately, the industry faces a shortage of competent data analysts and to bridge the gap; you have to turn to AI or artificial intelligence for assistance. Salesforce's Einstein is the technological substitute of data analysts. You must have heard a lot about Salesforce DX; now it is time to know about Salesforce Einstein.

Salesforce Einstein – what is it?

At its heart, Salesforce Einstein is AI software capable of culling massive amount of data from the IoT. The software continuously obtains data from the Salesforce CRM and IoT devices and by using the information gives directions to business managers that help to decide on the best course of action based on the available information. By applying the information in a directed way, it is possible to improve the performance in areas of sales, service, IT services, and marketing.

By using Einstein, you will be able to sell, upsell and cross-sell products to the right people at the right time. Armed with the powers of Einstein, you should be able to provide information to customers even before they feel the need for it. Moreover, you can anticipate problems before it can cause any inconvenience. The proactive measures that you take would surely make customers happy. You should be able to make the business grow and optimize customer satisfaction by positioning sales and escalating it suitably.

Einstein is not a general AI

The goal of Salesforce Einstein is not to replace humans, a notion attached to Artificial Intelligence, but to help humans focus on matters that are important for them. The philosophy behind Salesforce Einstein is to make people more productive by uncovering insights, predicting outcomes, automate manual and routine tasks, and recommend next best actions. Moving away from the traditional concept of AI that revolves around human-like perception, thinking as well as action, Salesforce Einstein is an added capability of intelligence built inside the Salesforce platform with the aim of delivering smarter CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

How Einstein can help business

If you are looking for a comprehensive AI for CRM, then it has to be Salesforce Einstein only. By using it, you will become much smarter and can better predict about your customers.

• In the area of Sales, you would be able to exceed customer expectations by being able to anticipate the next opportunities.

• Services would get a boost as you could avert problems by attending to it before it happens.

• The marketing personnel can create personalized experiences and predictive journeys that were not possible earlier.

• IT can use it for creating smarter apps for employees and customers.

Einstein is different

For using Salesforce Einstein, you need no preparation as it is built into several Salesforce products. Neither you have to manage models nor have to do any data preparation. Just putting the data in Salesforce will make it work. Since it is automated machine learning and multi-tenant, you will always find the right model fit for your organization. The best part about Einstein is that it is production ready.

Nothing to fear about data security and protection

Businesses might be skeptical about how much control they would have to the data and even have concerns about data security because of the ambiguous views about AI. They may even have questions about who has access to data. However, there is no reason to fear about data security because it is entirely safe with authorized access only. When you are using Salesforce Einstein, the data is entirely within your control without any possibilities of sharing with others.

Make it smarter

The predictions that Salesforce Einstein makes and the insights it provides are not off the cuff. As a user, you would know the reasons for the insights and predictions. Salesforce Einstein is a good learner and keeps learning as it grows. More it receives feedback from users, more it learns and becomes smarter. Therefore, it depends on users how best they can make use of Salesforce Einstein.

As soon as you import data into Salesforce, Einstein gets working so that you would automatically receive its insights no matter whether you are working marketing sales or service. Since Einstein does the heavy lifting, you receive the ready to use a version of Big Data that makes the task very easy for you.

About the author:

Sujain Thomas is working on various AI projects and passionate about the technology. Her experience in working with Flosum.com and Salesforce products comes handy in his present assignment. She finds the best relaxation in music.