IBM and Salesforce have come together for a significant partnership that can change the face of cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). The two giants of tech world have entered into an agreement that will integrate both their artificial intelligence platforms, i.e., Watson and Einstein.

Besides their AI platforms, both the companies also plan to align some of their software services and components. In addition, IBM has offered to deploy Salesforce Service Cloud in its internal system, as a sign of goodwill of an expected lasting partnership. Specifically, both the companies plan to tap into each other’s machine learning capabilities to deliver more in-depth knowledge about customers to their end-clients. Furthermore, Watson’s API will be introduced to Salesforce CRM-enhancing AI platform, thereby allowing Einstein to make the most of IBM’s work in the area of cognitive computing.

This agreement also includes adding IBM’s Weather Company assets to Salesforce’s app development platform called Lightning. From this, both the companies plan to make weather data a potent tool for predicting customer behavior, and even for driving many of customer preferences. Also, by the end of March, IBM’s Application Integration Suite will be able to provide data from different third-party sources to Salesforce CRM.

This partnership is obviously significant for both the companies, as it can help IBM to turn around its fortunes and at the same time, help Salesforce to meet its ambitious growth plans. But more than the companies, it can have a big positive impact on the industry as a whole.

Imagine what happens when two of the world’s best AI systems come together? It can create the next level of applications, provide the deepest possible insights, and do just about anything else that the tech industry wants. Also, with IoT and the Wearable industry blooming, this move can completely alter the fortunes of companies engaged in both these areas. The existing clients of both the companies though will be the greatest beneficiaries as they can get deeper insights into their customers’ behavior, that can in turn, help them to devise better strategies to boost their sales and revenue.

Both the companies estimate that 2017 will be the year when AI will hit the world on a large scale, and they want to be in a position to drive this industry. Also, IBM expects almost a billion people to be touched by Watson in one way or another, and with Salesforce also joining hands, the possibilities are endless. The CEOs of IBM  and Salesforce are positive about this partnership and even believe that this is the beginning of a long and exciting journey together.

If you’re wondering why these two companies, it’s because they’ve been associated with each other for years. Though IBM is based in Armonk, New York and Salesforce in San Francisco, California, both the companies have worked together. In March 2016, IBM acquired Bluewolf, a product considered to be one of the oldest implemntation of Salesforce. Since then, many interactions have happened between the two companies, and this of course, is the big step that can take their partnership to new heights.

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