Salesforce to Rebuild All of Its Technology to Become Slack-First

The acquisition of messaging app Slack Technologies, which will cost almost $30 billion, will consolidate the cloud company to become "a key leader in the future of work", says Mark Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.

After taking a short break from his digital detox this summer, Benioff has resurfaced and made an announcement, stating that the Salesforce technology will be rebuilt to adopt a "Slack-first" approach. This decision, as he stated, will assist people to work anywhere as we enter a dynamic work environment. According to Benioff's Twitter bio, he is "intentionally offline" until 1st of August.

Integrating Slack improved Salesforce's Service Cloud case close rate by 26%. The integration also helps Salesforce customers be more connected with their customers in a new way, while also resolving customer service issues even faster. Slack expedites the whole process.

Benioff also stated that Slack acts as a "central nervous system for the new world", as he believes the messaging platform will be incorporated into the lives of every worker and enhance productivity of Salesforce products. Benioff believes Slack will be a deciding factor in changing the nature of jobs after the pandemic is over, as more companies offer options for employees to flexibly work both on-site and remotely.

The CEO stated that Salesforce had a fifth of its workers at home pre-pandemic. He expects that population to increase to about 50%, although there is going to be a large percentage in the office. Benioff also aims to build a Salesforce ranch which will serve as a training and cultural immersion facility to onboard employees and welcome their families.

Benioff founded Salesforce in 1999, and since then, it has become one of the top enterprise software companies in the world with a market cap greater than $218 billion. The company recently delivered its best first-quarter earnings results ever, bringing in revenue of $5.96 billion, a huge improvement from a year ago. Salesforce expects to generate $26 billion in 2022, with plans to reach $50 billion in 2026.