Salesforce and AWS extend partnership

Set to be a part of Salesforce‘s Service Cloud Voice, the integration will aim to decrease expenses for sales agents’ customer service tools.

The platform will combine phone data with that of digital channels and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems in order to resolve customer calls quicker and more often.

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Calls to agents using the software will be routed to the agent’s workspace, and the call receivers can deliver services not only over the phone, but also over email and instant messaging.

Amazon Connect, meanwhile, will offer AI technology in the form of Amazon Transcribe, Amazon Translate, and Amazon Comprehend in order to provide sentiment analytics.

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Information generated by those programs will be sifted through by Salesforce Einstein, before it provides customers with advice regarding their queries.

Bret Taylor, president and chief product officer, Salesforce, said that the new deal is “fuelled by a shared commitment to customer success“.

“Together, we’re making it easier for companies to deploy powerful AI and voice technologies to deliver smarter and faster customer service experiences,” he added.

“With AWS content now on Trailhead, we are creating a path for everyone to skill up for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

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The AVP Shared Services Contact Center at John Hancock, Tracy Kelly, said: “At John Hancock we are focused on making decisions easier and lives better for our customers, and part of how we achieve this mission is through our interactions with them in the contact centre.

“With the integrated Salesforce Service Cloud and Amazon Connect solution we can handle millions of calls annually, delivering the personalised and frictionless service our customers expect.”

Aside from sales-related capabilities, the next phase of the partnership will see AWS be made available on Salesforce’s educational platform, Trailhead. This will allow users to train themselves to use the cloud efficiently.

This integration will take place via AWS’ Cloud Practitioner Essentials, and will address the tech skills gap.

“We are delighted that Salesforce has chosen Amazon Connect as its preferred contact centre technology,” said Ariel Kelman, vice president of AWS.

“By bringing AWS content onto Trailhead, we are continuing to enable businesses to leverage the full power of both platforms to provide world-class customer service.”

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Aaron Hurst

Aaron Hurst is Information Age's senior reporter, providing news and features around the hottest trends across the tech industry.