Analyzing The Analytics
In 2013, Salesforce acquired EdgeSpring, a business intelligence startup that had only recently come out of stealth.
That deal provided the technological foundation for what became Salesforce Wave Analytics, a data visualization and business intelligence platform that later evolved into Einstein Analytics.
That latest iteration upgraded Wave with more algorithmic data analysis and advanced machine learning capabilities pulled from the Einstein AI platform.
But "the general consensus is that Einstein Analytics, while providing some reporting lift, has not met lofty expectations," said Phil Weinmeister, vice president of product management at 7 Summits, a Salesforce integrator based in Milwaukee, Wis.
At the same time, it's not entirely clear how important native analytics capabilities are in driving enterprise buying decisions.
"Like with many platform providers, it was unusual for our clients to come to us talking about acquiring Salesforce specifically for their analytics, although the package was decent," said Darren Stordahl, vice president of sales and marketing at FMT Consultants, a Salesforce partner based in Carlsbad, Calif.
Many Salesforce customers are happy to use third-party solutions, including Tableau, Stordahl told CRN.
