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Workday, Salesforce to integrate data with AI by year's end
Workday, the first SaaS provider in the Salesforce Zero Copy Partner Network, will integrate data with Salesforce, allowing AI-driven queries across HR, financial and CRM platforms.
Workday and Salesforce applications collect a lot of data, but in separate systems. However, this is about to change. By the end of the year, customers of these applications will be able to query and analyze data from Workday's HR and financial tools alongside Salesforce's CRM platform. Even though the data will be in different applications, it will be treated as if it is on a single platform.
A common data foundation will utilize an AI agent that accesses the data and answers user queries without copying the data. It will incorporate a method where data is shared without duplication via a common data platform that improves data security and consistency by ensuring users access the same, up-to-date information, according to the two companies.
David Somers, chief product officer at Workday, and David Schmaier, chief product officer at Salesforce, provided several use cases in a joint interview about the new system set to launch by the end of the year. If, for example, a sales professional needs specific training on a product, the AI agent can automatically enroll that individual into the relevant training sessions. The system is using data and Salesforce's CRM and Workday's HR system to provide a training path. In another scenario, Workday financial data can be integrated with CRM data from Salesforce, creating a comprehensive view of financial performance and customer interactions.
Workday is now part of the Salesforce Zero Copy Partner Network and is the first SaaS provider to join, Schmaier said. "We see this as the future where these apps are not silos but come pre-integrated at the data level," he said.
Salesforce, Workday and Slack
Additionally, there will be integration with Slack, which will act as a conversational interface for users to access financial and HR records. Workday already has an integration with Slack, and Schmaier said that users can, for instance, onboard employees through Slack.
"People, AI and automation can all come together in Slack," he said.
R "Ray" Wang, an analyst at Constellation Research, noted that, "In many companies, these systems don't talk together unless you buy from one vendor." But under the Workday and Salesforce agreement, they are "doing the work of integration" and the "hard work of integrating data and business processes."
With the AI agent, Wang said that users should be able to ask questions such as: Which campaign provided the most profitability? Which service requests affect manufacturing operations the most? What hiring trends are improving customer satisfaction?
Somers added that the partnership focuses on delivering personalized AI-powered agents, with the first of these agents targeting employee self-service for tasks such as onboarding, health benefits and enrollment in career development.
Patrick Thibodeau is an editor at large for TechTarget Editorial who covers HCM and ERP technologies. He's worked for more than two decades as an enterprise IT reporter.
