When IT Leads, IT can more effectively foster a company culture that embraces AI’s emerging AI Thrives capabilities when it also has a greater share of platform responsibility. Who understands the benefits of AI? 39% 28% Companies where IT Companies where IT owns Salesforce does not own Salesforce A reactive approach to innovation is a losing strategy to keep pace with customers’ expectations in the digital business era. Today, IT is facilitating business transformation as an internal innovation partner to foster better customer experiences with data-driven insights. Business units are increasingly relying on IT to integrate speed, agility, and the competitive advantage of AI-powered capabilities into how they deliver customer experiences. 16% more employees understand the opportunity for AI to benefit their business if IT is at the helm of their Salesforce org. While much of IT’s work goes unseen, they’re now at the forefront of driving customer interaction through tech-based initiatives, such as improving data management capabilities for proactive customer engagement and leveraging Salesforce data through advanced analytics. 44 IT The State of Salesforce