As more and more businesses embrace the new age of technology, Salesforce is stepping up its commitment to AI excellence.
The CRM and software giant today officially opened its first AI center in London, marking a major step in the company's efforts to not only advance technology but also enhance skills training for new and existing employees.
Salesforce aims to close the digital skills gap for AI tools and hopes the new center will serve as an education and training hub for customers and employees across the business, with the company committing to training 100,000 developers worldwide.
Salesforce AI Center Launches
“I think every UK worker has a role to play in thinking about what AI technology can bring to their business,” Paul O'Sullivan, SVP and CTO of Solutions Engineering & UKI at Salesforce, said at the opening event attended by TechRadar Pro. “Even individual employees who may not have direct access to the technology themselves need to be aware and understand what's going on with it.”
“This is an opportunity for us to fill that gap and teach people how to apply generative AI safely and securely, contributing to real prosperity for the UK.”
The 40,000 square foot facility will serve as a central hub for the company's efforts to drive collaboration and development around AI tools, and is part of its 2023 commitment to invest $4 billion in the UK and Ireland over the next five years.
“We're serious about place,” added Lerina Burchandani, executive vice president of real estate and workplace services at Salesforce. “We want to connect people in the real world, and the UK AI Center will enable us to bring together diverse people to create new outcomes.”
Salesforce also hopes that the education and training delivered at the centres will empower employees to further drive the use of AI in the business, highlighting that a recent survey found that while more than a third are using or planning to use generative AI in the workplace, the majority (62%) say they lack the skills to do so effectively and safely.
“At Salesforce, we believe there's a big difference between consumer AI and enterprise AI,” O'Sullivan noted, “which is why it's so important to bring everyone on that journey.”
“Businesses will need to make a decision about whether consumer and enterprise AI can be used in conjunction with each other. What's important to us is that whatever decision our customers make, they do so with an understanding of all the different combinations and challenges that may exist. Remember, we're all still learning, developing and pushing the limits of this technology. This is a really exciting time.”
“When our customers succeed, we succeed,” O'Sullivan concluded. “We want to help our customers apply this technology to safely and securely improve productivity across their workforces and ultimately their success.”
