Salesforce vs SAS

Salesforce AI's ADLC: Building AI-Native Product Teams

In a podcast episode, Salesforce AI's head of engineering, Jayesh Govindarajan, discusses the AI Development Lifecycle (ADLC), which replaces the traditional SDLC to accommodate continuous model updates and agent drift. He emphasizes continuous iteration, the importance of evals and observability, and the need to rebuild AI features frequently. The episode also covers how Salesforce transforms its 700-person product team into an AI-native one, including allowing teams to choose their own AI tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code) rather than mandating winners. Govindarajan highlights the use of Agent Script for deterministic answers and stresses hiring for high agency, craftsmanship, and the ability to define 'what good looks like'. The discussion is part of a podcast recorded at Dreamforce, with a link to a Senior Agentic Product Manager role.

• Salesforce AI's Jayesh Govindarajan leads the Agentforce organization.
• Govindarajan proposes replacing the SDLC with an ADLC (AI Development Lifecycle).
• The ADLC is a continuous iteration process: observe, build, test, evaluate, deploy.

Salesforce Agrees to Acquire Cresta, Which Offers Automated Calls and Real-Time Coaching

Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, an AI voice agent company specializing in automated calls, real-time coaching, and interaction analysis. Customers include Marriott and Comcast. The acquisition aims to integrate Cresta's conversation understanding with Salesforce's CRM data, enabling AI to handle interactions and update customer records seamlessly. While the deal price was not disclosed, Cresta will continue to support existing contact-center and telephony platforms post-close. This marks Salesforce's third acquisition in about two weeks, following Braze and Rune Technologies, as part of its broader Agentforce strategy. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 of fiscal 2028, pending regulatory approval.

• Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, an AI voice agent company serving clients like Marriott and Comcast.
• The acquisition price was not disclosed.
• Cresta's AI voice agents handle customer calls end-to-end and guide human representatives in real-time.

Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Cresta

Salesforce announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, a major M&A move.

B2B Marketers Connect Signals to Decisions

At LinkedIn's B2Believe event, a panel featuring SAS, HubSpot, and Dentsu discussed how B2B organizations are turning customer signals into actionable decisions. The panel, moderated by Kyle Poyar, explored the need for precise signal definition, the rise of the dark funnel, and the role of AI in joining qualitative and quantitative data. Key takeaways include HubSpot's two-axis demand mapping (fit and intent), SAS's investment in brand and 'share of prompts', and the importance of speed-to-lead and multichannel engagement. SAS's new measurement framework focuses on reach, relationships, and revenue, using LinkedIn's clean room data to show that brand exposure increases deal size and velocity. Dentsu emphasized moving beyond proxies while acknowledging their necessity. The consensus is that the signal is already there, but the system to connect data, teams, and decisions is the missing piece.

• SAS found that deals exposed to brand and thought leadership activity were 24% larger and closed 13% faster, based on LinkedIn's clean room data.
• HubSpot now maps demand on two axes: fit and intent, and uses LLMs to identify signals from chat conversations.
• SAS rebuilt its measurement framework around three pillars: reach, relationships, and revenue.