INTERVIEW: Salesforce Japan to Focus AI Investment on Data Management

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Salesforce Japan Co., a customer relationship management software company, plans to step up investments in artificial intelligence, focusing on data management, to help Japanese companies deploy AI effectively, Chairman and CEO Shinichi Koide said. “Data management is particularly important within the AI business,” Koide said in an interview with Jiji Press last week. He said that Japanese companies often operate fragmented information technology systems in which data is scattered across departments, making it difficult for AI applications to access and use information efficiently. “To make AI immediately usable, data needs to be integrated,” Koide said. As an example, he pointed to Japan’s relatively high reliance on legacy mainframe computers that continue to support mission-critical business systems. Data on such systems is often split across accounting, transaction-processing and information-management functions, creating data silos that can hinder AI adoption, he said. Better-integrated data would allow AI agents, which are capable of autonomously performing tasks traditionally performed by humans, to support systems reform and migration projects more effectively, Koide said. Salesforce Inc., the California-based parent of Salesforce Japan, announced plans last year to acquire U.S. data-management company Informatica Inc. for about 8 billion dollars. “The segment is expected to expand,” Koide said. “Japan presents greater growth opportunities than many other markets.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]