In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, simply keeping up with the pace of transformation isn’t enough for businesses that want to thrive. Success in this era means staying a step ahead of the game and quickly turning new technologies into business growth. Thanks to its infrastructure, its development of these new technologies and its talent, the UK has built an enviable technology sector that is helping businesses across the country do just that.
Today, at our sold-out Salesforce World Tour London event ‒ with more than 12,000 registered attendees ‒ customers, partners, Salesforce executives and other experts will share how they’re embracing digital change to put the customer front and centre and drive growth for their business.
A partner in UK growth
Salesforce is deepening its partnerships with UK businesses and providing more support as our customers push for expansion. This week we opened more employee space in Salesforce Tower in London, as well as the new Salesforce Innovation Centre. With this extra space, we now occupy nine floors in Salesforce Tower, with plans to for a new Ohana Floor that will be open to members of our community next year. We’ll also be expanding our data centre capacity in 2019 with a second UK data centre. This increased footprint will further support our rapidly growing UK customer base.
Customer-focused organisations are driving UK growth
British and Irish companies of all sizes like Ulster Bank, British Airways and Rated People are driving a customer service revolution and setting themselves up for success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Thanks to Salesforce, we’ve changed the culture and the way our employees interact with customers,” says Jim McCormick, Head of Commercial Excellence and Strategic Analytics, Ulster Bank. “The Salesforce platform has given us a 360 degree view of our customers, generating insights to develop our business. This has enabled us to enhance customer relationships, deliver greater business efficiency and increase sales revenue, moving us far ahead in the banking market.”
Pushing for innovation and small business growth
Small businesses and startups are a vibrant and critical part of the UK’s economic success. Successful firms like Rated People are using Salesforce to rapidly scale their business while ensuring they remain tightly focused on the customer.
Salesforce’s passion for innovation and entrepreneurial success is behind our startup competition, Dreampitch. Today at World Tour London, we are holding the first London:Dreampitch for startups in the UK and Ireland. Three startups will pitch to a panel of elite business judges and compete for a £100,000 investment from Salesforce Ventures.
Today we’re also delighted to share that Salesforce Accelerate - a 4-month programme for startups - will be coming to the EMEA market for the first time. Salesforce Accelerate is designed to provide the insights, learning and support that startups need to strategically align with Salesforce and accelerate their time-to-market with AppExchange. As a participant of the programme, companies will benefit from regular virtual programming and in-person workshops at key points in the journey. Salesforce Accelerate EMEA will be accepting applications for the first EMEA cohort starting today through June 30, with a particular focus on supporting Fintech and Insurtech companies.
A partner in trust
As we approach the GDPR deadline, customer trust is more important for businesses than ever. World Tour London also offers sessions for marketing and IT teams that are affected by the new regulation.
“Trust has always been a core value at Salesforce and the GDPR is very much aligned to that,” says Lindsey Finch, Senior Vice President, Global Privacy and Product, Legal at Salesforce. “As part of our commitment to privacy, we're also partnering with customers to help them to comply with the new regulation. For many of our customers, GDPR is an opportunity to become truly customer-centric and can spearhead a fundamental change in the business and deliver a competitive advantage.”
Upskilling for the future
Salesforce research launched today reveals that many UK workers see the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but want businesses to move to lifelong learning models of training. Workers want to learn the skills that will help them adapt to the rapid pace of technological change ‒ 63% believe that developing tech-specific skills would make their company more efficient.
Online learning platforms like Trailhead offer free, flexible courses providing the skills needed for the future of work. These courses are accessible to anyone to learn, at a time and place that suits them, in easily digestible, bite-sized chunks. More and more people are turning to our platform to refresh their skills. To date more than 250,000 Trailhead badges have been awarded in the UK alone.
Giving back to our communities
But it’s not all about growth. We believe that businesses serve a higher purpose that brings together employees and their communities. Salesforce UK employees have volunteered more than 46,000 hours in the past year with local projects, including STEMettes, School 21 and Apps for Good. As part of this, today at World Tour London, we will host students from East London’s School 21, giving them the tools to become citizen scientists and learn how to reduce plastic pollution in the River Thames.
World Tour London showcases our commitment to the UK and what we believe we can achieve - together with our customers, partners, employees and our communities. Join us online to take part and see the keynote sessions at World Tour London 2018.
