Salesforce has withdrawn from discussions for the potential takeover of Informatica, according to sources close to the matter. The reports claim that the two tech firms have been unable to agree on terms, with an unidentified Bloomberg source stating that the disagreement is due to price. The apparent breakdown in talks comes just over a week after news broke that Salesforce was deep in discussions to acquire the global data integration platform provider. At the time, Informatica’s shares were trading at $38.48, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Salesforce was aiming for a price in t ..read more

So, how do you use CRM? In simple terms, it involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.  At the core of CRM software is a centralized database that allows teams across different departments to access up-to-date information about customers at any time. Armed with this comprehensive view of a customer’s journey with the product or brand,  organizations can tailor their interactions for more personalized experiences.  CRM Glossary: Terms You Need to Know to Use CRM Effectively  Understanding the fo ..read more

According to Gartner, 90 percent of businesses will leverage CPaaS platforms by 2026. In 2022, the figure stood at just 30 percent. That represents an extraordinary uplift for the market. But what is driving it? The integration of generative AI (GenAI), expansion of developer tools, and heightened focus on personalized engagement. These are all possible examples. Yet, we wanted to dig deeper. So, for this month’s roundtable, we rounded up a panel of eight industry experts to lead us through some of the most disruptive market trends. They are: Mauro Carobene, Head of Customer Interactions Suit ..read more

According to new research from Cavell, almost half of consumers (44 percent) believe that customer service has gotten worse over the past three years. Cavell’s Voice of the Consumer Report 2024 illustrates several other eye-catching trends, including that one-third of customer service interactions were considered unsatisfactory in the last year and that over one-third of consumers want AI and automation to reduce wait times. Of those respondents who said customer service had gotten worse were a combination of those who reported feeling “much worse” (16 percent) and those who indicated feeling ..read more

In another busy week for the CX sector, Salesforce is reportedly on the cusp of acquiring Informatica, Microsoft Dynamics’ product prices are going up while Vonage’s revenue is going down, and Zendesk has announced a number of AI-powered advancements. Here are the extracts from some of our most popular news stories over the last seven days. Salesforce Is Close to Acquiring Informatica, Reports Salesforce is on the brink of snapping up Informatica, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. The latter publication even suggested that the two companies could reach a deal ..read more

Zendesk has announced new collaborations with AWS and Anthropic at the company’s flagship global conference, Zendesk Relate 2024. With a focus on AI, the CRM and helpdesk provider believes that the partnerships will enhance the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of its AI offerings. The collaborations will see Zendesk leveraging Amazon Bedrock, AWS’ solution for building and scaling generative AI (GenAI), to bring new GenAI use cases to market. Where Anthropic is concerned, the belief is that its Claude 3 family of LLMs will provide its customers with more choice and flexibility in the models the ..read more

Zendesk has announced new collaborations with AWS and Anthropic at the company’s flagship global conference, Zendesk Relate 2024. With a focus on AI, the CRM and helpdesk provider believes that the partnerships will enhance the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of its AI offerings. The collaborations will see Zendesk leveraging Amazon Bedrock, AWS’ solution for building and scaling generative AI (GenAI), to bring new GenAI use cases to market. Where Anthropic is concerned, the belief is that its Claude 3 family of LLMs will provide its customers with more choice and flexibility in the models the ..read more

Microsoft has announced sizable price hikes for its Dynamics solutions, with some rising by as much as $30 per month. The new costs will come into effect from October 1, 2024, marking Microsoft Dynamics’ first price change in five years. The average price increase across all Dynamics products will be 12.6 percent, with the biggest increases prevalent across Finance, Commerce, and Supply Chain Management – all of which will see a $30 or 16.7 percent rise. At the other end of the scale, the product least impacted by the changes will be Microsoft Relationship Sales, where users will still experie ..read more

Yamini Rangan, CEO of HubSpot, was reportedly paid a total of $25.9m in 2023, making her one of the highest-paid women CEOs in the world. This marks a 120% increase on the $11.8m that she received in 2022, highlighting the success that the CRM stalwart has enjoyed in recent times. The figures – released in the firm’s proxy statement last week – reveal that the bulk of Rangan’s remuneration came from shares, with the CEO receiving approximately $22m in stock awards. The statement also confirmed that in 2023 Rangan had voluntarily elected to receive a base salary of just $1, as well as refusing ..read more

Watch on YouTube CX Today’s Charlie Mitchell hosts Liz Miller, VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation Research and Rebecca Wetteman, CEO & Principal Analyst at Valoir. In this engaging session, we delve into the latest buzz surrounding Google Alphabet’s potential bid for CRM powerhouse HubSpot. We share insightful perspectives on: Evaluating the validity of the rumors straight from seasoned analysts Assessing the probability of Google’s move towards acquisition Unpacking the strategic rationale behind Google’s interest in HubSpot Thanks for watching. If you’d like more like this, do ..read more