Do you know your customer? To truly know your customer means to be able to see their entire journey (universe, if you will), know when and how to communicate, and anticipate their needs.
That's quite a goal. Salesforce started paving this road in 1999 when they pioneered cloud computing and they have continually innovated. Now powerfully positioned with their AI + CRM + Data messaging, Salesforce recognizes that for AI to work in the world of B2B, you must have data collected across the entire organization in the form of a CDP (Customer Data Platform).
Salesforce was recently recognized as a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Customer Data Platforms for Salesforce Data Cloud. This certainly isn’t an overnight success story. There is a lot to discuss on this topic, but I’m going to focus on the most recent years of evolution of Data Cloud with a goal of clearing up some questions I had and you may as well.
What’s in a name?
2019: Customer 360 Audiences was Salesforce’s Customer Data Platform
2021: Customer 360 Audiences was renamed to ‘Salesforce CDP’
2022: Salesforce CDP was branded as Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform
— up to this stage, ‘Data Cloud’ was linked only to Marketing Cloud—
2022: At Dreamforce, Salesforce introduced Salesforce Genie (in place of Marketing Cloud CDP). Genie stood out in the marketplace because it delivered personalized customer experiences in real-time and it activated interactions between marketing, sales, service, commerce, events and more.
In 2023, Salesforce Genie was rebranded as Salesforce Data Cloud.
This exhausting journey in nomenclature is part of Salesforce’s attempt to make the product name intuitive and self-explanatory. We hope it remains ‘Data Cloud’ for a while!
So now that we have this glossary behind us, let us examine the key differences between Genie and Data Cloud.
The Evolution of Data Cloud from Salesforce Genie:
Many questions have been raised regarding the differences between Salesforce Genie and Data Cloud. The fact is that the narrative is not about differences but rather about evolution. Genie expanded from its predecessors (mentioned above) and Data Cloud is an improved version of Genie. Here is everything you need to know -
Salesforce Genie:
Initially introduced as Salesforce Genie, this platform was designed to unify and harmonize customer data in real-time across various channels and interactions. Genie uses a lakehouse architecture, which enables it to handle both structured and unstructured data, creating a comprehensive, dynamic customer profile. This profile updates continuously as new data comes in, ensuring that all customer interactions are informed by the most current information.
Genie transforms data into actionable insights by integrating seamlessly with Salesforce's Customer 360. It supports various Salesforce services like marketing, sales, service, and commerce, allowing companies to deliver highly personalized and automated customer experiences.
Evolution to Data Cloud:
Salesforce evolved Genie into what is now known as Data Cloud. This transformation expands the capabilities of Genie by embedding it deeper into the Salesforce ecosystem through the Einstein 1 Platform. Data Cloud continues to offer real-time data integration and now supports even more robust analytics and AI capabilities, leveraging tools like Tableau for visualization and Einstein for AI-driven insights.For teams comparing Salesforce Data Cloud with broader analytics platforms, a comparison with tools like Databricks can help clarify where each solution fits best.
Data Cloud helps eliminate data silos by unifying enterprise data into a single platform, which can be accessed and leveraged across the entire organization. It integrates data from various sources, including legacy systems and real-time streams, to provide a holistic view of the customer. This data is then passed on to AI/BI tools to drive automation and decision-making, enabling businesses to create more effective and personalized customer interactions.
In summary, Salesforce Genie laid the groundwork for real-time data harmonization, which was further enhanced and expanded into Salesforce Data Cloud. This evolution has enabled Salesforce to provide a more integrated, intelligent, and real-time customer data platform, driving better customer experiences and business outcomes.