During Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco on September 12, 2023, Parker Harris, one of the company’s co-founders, addressed the audience in a keynote speech. This event marked the 25th anniversary of the software company’s founding.
Every year, Salesforce updates its V2MOM planning document, which outlines the company’s vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measures. CEO Marc Benioff has emphasized that this document has guided every decision at Salesforce since its inception a quarter of a century ago. However, in early 2023, a new challenge arose as the technology landscape rapidly evolved.
ChatGPT, a generative AI tool, was gaining popularity, catching Salesforce off-guard as it was not accounted for in the company’s strategy. Harris revealed in an interview with CNBC that the V2MOM lacked any mention of generative AI, marking a first for Salesforce to be blindsided by an emerging technology trend.
To stay ahead of competitors like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, as well as innovative startups, Salesforce needed to pivot quickly towards embracing generative artificial intelligence. Despite facing limitations on making splashy acquisitions due to activist investors dissolving Salesforce’s M&A committee, the company had to focus on internal development.
Harris, who has been instrumental in shaping Salesforce’s technology roadmap, took the lead in incorporating generative AI into the company’s core applications. This shift required adjustments in various areas such as sales, customer service, marketing, and commerce, while exploring advanced AI techniques like retrieval-augmented generation.
With a strategic focus on developing AI models internally and leveraging external solutions from AI startup Anthropic and OpenAI’s GPT-4, Salesforce under Harris’ guidance made significant progress in adopting generative AI. The company’s efforts culminated in a prominent showcase at the annual Dreamforce conference, where industry leaders gathered to witness Salesforce’s technological advancements.
While Harris prefers to remain behind the scenes, his impact on Salesforce’s evolution has been profound. As a key figure in the company’s journey from its early days in a one-bedroom apartment to its current status as a global software leader, Harris continues to drive innovation and transformation within Salesforce.