Latest news with #Agentforce
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
Our bottom 5 stocks for the first half of 2025 — and why we still own them
Tuesday marks the first day of trading for the second half of 2025. It was a rocky six months for the U.S. stock market and the Club's 30-name portfolio as investors weighed President Donald Trump's tariffs, ongoing geopolitical conflict and the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy decision. The market ebbed and flowed, but ultimately ended the first six months higher. The S & P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both advanced 5.5%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.6%. Not all of our Club holdings closed out on a high note. Our five worst performers — Salesforce , Bristol Myers Squibb, Apple , Danaher and DuPont de Nemours — each fell at least 10% over the period. But past performance does not guarantee future results, as the saying goes, and all of these stocks could see markedly different back halves of 2025. Indeed, with the exception of Salesforce, these bottom performers were all up Monday as the market rotated out of its first half winners like AI plays, including fellow Club holding Nvidia. Here's what it would take to get these five lagging stocks back in the green. 1. Salesforce: -18.4% Salesforce tumbled on concerns about a slowdown of its core business, adoption of its AI tools and general weakness in software names. Salesforce shares can get back on track if the company's able to show investors real signs of growth in Agentforce, its set of AI tools. That's why we're waiting until its Dreamforce conference in September, when management is expected to share more details about these buzzy offerings. Plus, the event was a key catalyst for the stock in 2024. 2. Bristol Myers Squibb: -18.2% Shares took a hit after a key growth prospect — schizophrenia treatment Cobenfy — reported a disappointing clinical trial in April. We're hoping a study later later this month will show that Cobenfy works well in treating symptoms for Alzheimer's-related psychosis and get the stock back on track. 3. Apple: -18.1% Much has weighed on this stock over the past six months: the impact of higher levies on the iPhone maker, a lackluster rollout of AI features on those devices and a Justice Department antitrust case against Google that could have knock-on effects for the company's high-margin services revenue stream. Signs of improvement in any one of those challenges would help. Plus, management needs to pull back on buybacks in order to reinvest that money back into its AI efforts. Case in point: Shares jumped Monday after Bloomberg reported that Apple is considering using AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI for the overhaul of virtual assistant Siri. 4. Danaher: -13.9% Danaher's stock has also been held back by concerns that potential tariffs and drug pricing regulations against the US pharmaceutical industry could weigh on future capital investments. Cramer has also said the management team has been ineffective. If Danaher replaces its CEO, the stock will likely run higher. 5. DuPont: -10% DuPont's China exposure has weighed on the stock since Trump's "Liberation Day" on April 2. It has also been in a spin purgatory , a common pattern where shares of a company lag ahead of a breakup of its businesses. The specialty chemicals maker will split into two-publicly traded entities in November. We're hopeful that investors will see the real value in DuPont's electronics business once that's complete. Still, the Club lowered its price target on legacy DuPont to $82 from $100 in May. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Channel Post MEA
a day ago
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
NTT DATA Announces New Service for Salesforce's Agentforce
Following the unveiling of NTT DATA's Smart AI Agent Ecosystem , a transformative enterprise-grade framework for agentic solutions, NTT DATA has announced a new service offering for Salesforce's Agentforce that will help clients accelerate the adoption of autonomous AI agents to work alongside humans. The service will be delivered through an 'EPAS' model – Evangelize, Pilot, Adopt and Scale – and will work in harmony with NTT DATA's existing data and cloud offerings, including Agentic AI Services for Hyperscaler AI Technologies . Evangelize : NTT DATA will help evangelize the use of Agentforce, identify use cases and build return on investment proposals for adopting Agentforce. NTT DATA will leverage its domain-specific leadership, digital workforce expertise, and repository of hundreds of agentic AI use cases and roadmap, classified by industry, to align with what works best in each client ecosystem. : NTT DATA will help evangelize the use of Agentforce, identify use cases and build return on investment proposals for adopting Agentforce. NTT DATA will leverage its domain-specific leadership, digital workforce expertise, and repository of hundreds of agentic AI use cases and roadmap, classified by industry, to align with what works best in each client ecosystem. Pilot : NTT DATA will support a client's initial deployment and build the first use case as a proof-of-concept implementation of Agentforce. NTT DATA will advise on opportunities to add the power of complementary end-to-end AI agent ecosystem capabilities. : NTT DATA will support a client's initial deployment and build the first use case as a proof-of-concept implementation of Agentforce. NTT DATA will advise on opportunities to add the power of complementary end-to-end AI agent ecosystem capabilities. Adopt and Scale : Once the value of Agentforce is realized, NTT DATA will build a product-oriented delivery model to support scaling and adoption of Agentforce. NTT DATA will also reuse its extensive repository of Agentforce use cases to help its client get a head start on adoption. With the NTT DATA offering for Agentforce, clients can experience the benefits of robust solution architecture and services delivery capabilities, along with the opportunity to integrate with MuleSoft and Data Cloud. This multi-faceted advantage is rooted in NTT DATA's award-winning expertise in both integration and data unification platforms, providing clients with the comprehensive and tested scale required for global enterprises. Megan Piccininni, SVP and Global Salesforce Practice Leader, NTT DATA , commented, 'With our new service for Agentforce, our partnership with Salesforce underscores the transformative potential of agentic AI. Central to this innovation is the coordination and orchestration of multiple intelligent agents, which are essential for achieving comprehensive end-to-end automation across various platforms. Our Smart AI Agent Ecosystem, expert advisory services, depth of AI, data, and cloud talent, position NTT DATA as unique in this space with Salesforce. NTT DATA has been part of Salesforce's Agentforce Partner Network since its inception, and we are committed to deliver client success leveraging Agentforce.' Agentforce is a digital labor platform for enterprises to augment teams with trusted autonomous AI agents in the flow of work. With Salesforce's AgentExchange , a leading AI agent ecosystem for enterprises, clients have access to hundreds of ready-to-use actions, topics, and templates built by partners, and will have access to pre-validated Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, that have passed rigorous security reviews to quickly create and deploy their digital workforce of AI agents. NTT DATA's new service for Agentforce is adaptable to different use cases. Clients will be able to benefit from agentic AI and see tangible outcomes across industries. The top use case for NTT DATA's service for Agentforce is focused on Customer Service and Experience. Application Management Services Agentification includes deployment of utility agents that interact seamlessly with various observability and service management ecosystems. includes deployment of utility agents that interact seamlessly with various observability and service management ecosystems. The service for Agentforce enables Agentic Business Process as a Service across different domains such as Life Insurance-as-a-Service and Contact Center-as-a-Service. across different domains such as Life Insurance-as-a-Service and Contact Center-as-a-Service. In Health and Life Sciences , AI agents can help transform patient management and improve patient outcomes. , AI agents can help transform patient management and improve patient outcomes. Real Estate and Vendor Management task automation, such as technical support, helps address changes and vendor management operations, reducing support tickets and manual process time. task automation, such as technical support, helps address changes and vendor management operations, reducing support tickets and manual process time. Seller Community applications streamline deal validation and sales intake, reducing deal approval time. applications streamline deal validation and sales intake, reducing deal approval time. Marketing Community use cases include automating email credit management and accelerating marketing email delivery, achieving faster email processing. use cases include automating email credit management and accelerating marketing email delivery, achieving faster email processing. Faster Time-to-Hire outcomes from optimized recruitment processes with Agentforce. outcomes from optimized recruitment processes with Agentforce. Governance and Security Control offer centralized management of security and reuse, ensuring consistency and control across all deployed agents. Digital labor is already here, delivering a meaningful competitive advantage for organizations that embed it effectively across departments. To truly scale this potential, businesses need clear insight into agent deployment, how agents enhance human productivity, and secure tool usage. Salesforce's latest Agentforce release provides an enterprise-grade platform to manage human-AI collaboration, connect agents to tools via open standards, and rapidly deploy industry-ready agents with the trust, scale, and performance enterprises demand. Agentforce expands digital labor across the enterprise with new industry-specific actions to provide industry readiness out of the box that delivers a fast path to value from AI agents. NTT DATA plays a crucial role in driving an agent economy with leadership scale and expertise and guiding clients in their agentic maturity , from task automations to interoperable agents, while helping to ensure responsible innovation and global governance. Megan Piccininni further added, 'In our role as an Outsourcing Service Provider (OSP), our competence to deploy the new service for Agentforce across industries differentiates us from the rest. By merging our competencies in Salesforce, Application Management Services, Business Process Services, Data and AI Services, Cloud and Security Services, and next-generation technologies, we deliver multi-faceted benefits to our clients. This integrated approach allows us to take ownership, manage, and operate within a business outcome-focused framework.' 'Organizations need a new labor model that unlocks the full potential of humans with AI at work. NTT DATA is a critical partner for identifying and developing specific use cases with our joint customers across industries, helping to ensure tailored and effective AI solutions for scaling digital labor,' said Phil Samenuk, SVP of Global Alliances & Channels and Outsourcing Service Providers, Salesforce. 'With Agentforce constantly evolving and expanding, NTT DATA's new service demonstrates the company's commitment to empowering customers to deliver success with Agentforce.'
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Business Technology News: Salesforce Is Raising Prices
Close-up of Salesforce logo on the exterior of an office building, San Francisco, California, August ... More 20, 2024. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them? This Week in Business Technology News Business Technology News #1 – Salesforce preps price hike amid AI blitz. Salesforce is rolling out major pricing and product changes across its ecosystem –including Slack – to embed AI more deeply into its offerings: Slack's Business+ plan now costs $15 per user/month (up from $12.50), while a new Enterprise+ plan introduces advanced AI features like enterprise search and task management. All paid Slack plans now include access to AI agents from Agentforce, and Salesforce customers on the free Slack plan gain access to Salesforce Channels for CRM collaboration. Salesforce's core clouds (Sales, Service, Field Service, and select Industries) will see a 6 percent price increase effective August 1st. The company is retiring standalone AI add-ons and replacing them with Agentforce bundles – priced from $125 to $550 per user/month – depending on features. Analysts warn these bundled changes could lead to unexpected costs and complexity, especially if organizations aren't prepared to manage AI governance and contract transparency. (Source: CFODive) Why this is important for your business: It's a risky game. Salesforce is, without question, the CRM leader and holds the largest market share in the industry. But ask anyone and they'll tell you how it's very pricey…and that's even before these announced increases. There are many excellent CRM platforms that are available at a much lower price point and that can serve the needs of most small and mid-sized businesses. I know that you get what you pay for. But people will question whether they're being forced to overpay for the privilege of using Salesforce. Business Technology News #2 – LinkedIn CEO says AI writing assistant is not as popular as expected. LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky revealed that the platform's AI writing assistant – designed to help users polish their posts – hasn't gained the traction he anticipated. He attributes this to the high stakes of posting on LinkedIn, which he calls 'your resume online.' Users worry that AI-generated content could damage their professional credibility, especially if they're publicly called out. Despite this, AI adoption on LinkedIn is booming in other areas: job listings requiring AI skills have increased sixfold, and users adding AI skills to their profiles have surged twentyfold. Roslansky even shared that he personally uses Microsoft Copilot to refine emails to his boss, Satya Nadella. 'Every time, before I send him an email, I hit the Copilot button to make sure that I sound Satya-smart.' (Source: TechCrunch) Why this is important for your business: Here's a tip: when posting your thoughts on LinkedIn, don't use their AI tools. Why? Because it's your thoughts, not a bot. LinkedIn is excellent because people can be their (professional) selves on the platforms, sharing advice and insights. I believe that AI takes something away from that and – thank goodness – we humans can detect it. Go ahead and use the tools to make resumes or job listings better. But your thoughts are your thoughts and should always be 100 percent you. Business Technology News #3 – Walmart unveils new AI-powered tools to empower 1.5 million associates. Walmart has launched a suite of AI-powered tools aimed at transforming the work experience for its 1.5 million U.S. store associates: A new AI task management system helps prioritize and recommend tasks, cutting shift planning time from 90 minutes to just 30. A real-time translation tool supports 44 languages, enabling smoother communication between associates and customers – especially useful in multilingual settings. Walmart's conversational AI assistant is getting a GenAI upgrade, turning complex process guides into step-by-step instructions. It already handles over 3 million queries daily from 900,000 weekly users. The tools are accessible via the Walmart associate app, designed to make work more intuitive, efficient, and rewarding. (Source: Walmart) Why this is important for your business: Walmart will soon be facing what every business faces when rolling out new technology: training. These features sound great and I do believe they can add a significant amount of value to the in-store experience, both for customers and employees. But only if employees know how to use this application correctly. It'll be interesting to see how Walmart implements training company-wide. Business Technology News #4 – Employers: A cautionary tale about new cyber threats involving employee handbooks. International law firm Clark Hill is warning employers about a new cyber threat involving fake employee handbooks. Hackers are distributing what appear to be legitimate handbooks via spoofed company emails. These emails prompt employees to scan a QR code to 'acknowledge receipt,' but the code leads to a malicious website that mimics corporate login portals like Microsoft 365. Once employees enter their credentials, attackers gain access to internal systems or install malware. (Source: JD Supra) Why this is important for your business: Wow. Say what you want about hackers but that's pretty ingenious. As the article points out it's important to train employees on email security using this scam as a case study; clarify how handbooks are distributed and acknowledged; strengthen IT defenses with multi-factor authentication and anti-malware tools; ensure HR portals and third-party vendors follow strong security protocols. It's a sharp reminder that even routine HR documents can be weaponized in sophisticated phishing attacks. Business Technology News #5 – The best email marketing software: Expert tested. ZDNet's 2025 roundup of the best email marketing software highlights how AI has transformed the landscape. These tools now do much more than just send emails – they help craft content, optimize timing, personalize messages, and adapt in real time based on user behavior. Here are their top picks: -Mailchimp: Best overall for its simplicity and robust features. -HubSpot: Ideal if you want CRM integration and advanced automation. -MailerLite: Great for creators and small teams focused on automation. -Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Best for multichannel campaigns. -Klaviyo: Tailored for e-commerce automation. ZDNet tested these platforms for ease of use, AI capabilities, automation, and pricing –making them suitable for everyone from solo entrepreneurs to large marketing teams. (Source: ZDNet) Why this is important for your business: No surprises here. One other important thing to note: if you're sending bulk or mass emails it's important to use a good e-mail marketing service like the ones listed above. Their job is to get your emailed delivered and they'll put you through due diligence to make sure you're abiding by their best practices. That's a good thing. Each week I round up five business technology news stories and explain why they're important for your business. If you have any interesting stories, please post to my X account @genemarks
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Salesforce's Goes All-In on AI Internally
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is leaning heavily on AIshifting 3050% of its own workload to intelligent agentseven as its shares slide 20% this year. CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg that Salesforce now uses AI for everything from customer service inquiries to augmenting software engineering, freeing employees to tackle higher-value projects. The company laid off roughly 1,000 staff in February but simultaneously beefed up its AI sales force around products like Agentforce. Meanwhile, Data Cloud and Agentforce annualized recurring revenue has topped $1 billion, up 120% year-over-year, with 4,000 paying customersevidence that Benioff's internal AI playbook is resonating externally. Practicing what it preaches gives Salesforce a credibility edge as enterprises hunt proven AI use cases. With peers like ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) reporting dramatic efficiency gains16 lead-to-sale conversions and 86% task deflectionSalesforce's in-house experience could be a key differentiator in a crowded CRM market. Despite a tough stock performance, strong AI-driven revenue growth and internal efficiency wins may help Salesforce regain momentum. Investors will be watching upcoming earnings for signs that scale and cost savings translate into renewed top- and bottom-line strength. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Canva now works directly inside ChatGPT with new integration: How it works for users
Design platform Canva has announced two major product updates aimed at integrating its tools directly into artificial intelligence ecosystems. The company has rolled out a deep research connector for ChatGPT and introduced the Canva Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, allowing AI assistants to access and generate designs using real-time user context. The deep research connector links Canva accounts with ChatGPT, enabling the AI assistant to pull from a user's existing design materials, such as presentations, brand documents, and reports. This allows for content analysis and generation within the same conversation, eliminating the need to switch between platforms or manually input references. This functionality targets professional users across industries. Marketers can extract messaging from campaign materials; business users can analyse planning documents; sales teams can prepare proposals using prior customer data; and educators can incorporate previous lesson content into new teaching material. In parallel, Canva has launched the MCP Server, a backend infrastructure that allows AI assistants to access a user's full design workspace, including templates, charts, and historical content. It supports features like generating on-brand visuals, resizing templates, importing PDFs via URL, and filling charts with formatted data generated by AI. These integrations are compatible with platforms including ChatGPT and Salesforce's Agentforce, with more expected to follow. According to the company, the tools are designed to operate within existing AI environments, turning Canva into a directly pluggable design component in broader digital workflows. The company said that the new features are secured under its internal AI safety framework, Canva Shield, which governs data access and privacy for users interacting with external AI tools. Notably, the launch comes as Canva continues to expand its AI offerings, which now include Canva AI, Canva Code, and AI-powered features in tools such as Canva Sheets.
