- Salesforce’s MuleSoft has made some big announcements, including new no-code tools that utilize Salesforce Einstein and a plan to upskill 100,000 Integration Trailblazers
Last year, Salesforce bought MuleSoft for $6.5 billion last year. And this year at Dreamforce, MuleSoft announced tools, pre-packaged connectors, and learning modules powered by Salesforce’s Einstein AI. These tools were built for integrating data and delivering personalized customer experiences without having to write any code.
MuleSoft utilizes the power of Salesforce Customer 360 by unlocking data across any application, source, or device wherever it resides within Salesforce or outside.
Now anyone can become an Integration Trailblazer and can easily connect data sources wherever that data resides, accelerate integration with automated and intelligent data mapping powered by Einstein, and learn about the power of API-led connectivity.
Every company is undergoing digital transformation to put customers at the center and integration has never been more strategic. And according to the Connectivity Benchmark Report, enterprises have 900 applications on average, but only 29% are integrated together. So valuable data is trapped in silos and they create disconnected customer experiences. As a result, the future of connected experiences requires integrating systems and unifying data with APIs.
In order to further democratize integration, new tools built on MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform will enable anyone to integrate systems without writing a single line of code. As part of this new experience, users are able to focus on building interesting experiences by reusing APIs instead of running and managing the integration. And then the IT department can focus on governing, securing, and monitoring these APIs across the organization through Anypoint Platform.
Some of MuleSoft’s new tools include Flow Designer and Accelerators. And the company also announced new features for MuleSoft Accelerator for Service Cloud and MuleSoft Accelerator for Commerce Cloud. Plus the company also launched the Anypoint API Community Manager.
Flow Designer enables users to easily create integrations and automate business processes faster than ever before without writing a single line of code. With this tool, anyone can create smart integrations with Einstein automatically providing AI-powered data mapping recommendations. And Flow Designer removes the complexity of managing servers, logs, and infrastructure. This provides companies with the opportunity to unlock innovation while IT maintains security and control.
The new MuleSoft Accelerators codify integration best practices and distill them into pre-built integration templates. This way companies can deliver connected and personalized customer experiences at a faster pace.
The MuleSoft Accelerator for Service Cloud provides service agents with order history, status, and update data to quickly resolve customer issues. And Accelerator for Service Cloud provides integration templates to connect ServiceNow and Jira into Service Cloud and create tickets directly from Service Cloud.
And MuleSoft Accelerator for Commerce Cloud ensures consumers have accurate and up-to-date product data by integrating inventory and catalog data directly into Commerce Cloud.
With the Anypoint API Community Manager, the full lifecycle API management, personalization, forums, chat, support case management, and engagement analytics come together in API Community Manager to cultivate digital ecosystems. And organizations can easily share APIs with internal and external developers and Integration Trailblazers. Some of the new updates include the ability to browse APIs, content articles, cases, forum posts, and client applications through keywords and categories with API Catalog and Integrated Search thus ensuring communities can easily find the API resources they need.
These new features are made even more powerful with Anypoint Exchange, which is MuleSoft’s marketplace for pre-built APIs and integrations. And Anypoint Exchange enables users within a company to collaborate and reuse integrations and APIs across their entire organization, which drastically increases their speed and agility as they continue to digitally transform.
“By understanding the power of APIs and integration, anyone can accelerate digital transformation from wherever they sit within their company and dramatically increase the clockspeed of innovation. Integration is the missing link to digital transformation and every member of an organization must understand how API-led connectivity can power connected customer experiences. By delivering best-in-class products and skilling up the workforce of the future, MuleSoft is uniquely positioned to propel companies forward in this digital age,” said Simon Parmett, CEO and GM at MuleSoft.
Upskilling 100,000 Integration Trailblazers In The Next 5 Years
Integration Trailblazers include Salesforce admins, developers, integration architects, or someone in a business function like marketing or operations who want to learn more about the potential of APIs and integration. And they are looking to grow their careers and transform customer experiences.
IDC is projecting that Salesforce and its ecosystem are going to create 4.2 million jobs through 2024 — which underscores the need for skilling up the workforce of the future with an understanding of APIs and integration.
“At Ashley Stewart, we believe that by skilling up our employees on integration and APIs, we not only help them thrive in their career but also help our business thrive for the future. API-led connectivity is the most critical skill and concept to learn to create connected customer experiences and bring new innovations to market. As we broaden the Integration Trailblazers within our team, we will be able to accelerate our digital transformation initiatives, particularly as we expand our SaaS solutions,” added Eileen Provost Rizzo, CIO and SVP of IT at Ashley Stewart.
MuleSoft is committed to upskilling a total of 100,000 Integration Trailblazers over the next five years to ensure that this foundational skill set can be found across the enterprise. And so MuleSoft is partnered with companies like Accenture and Deloitte to make this happen.
“We’re bridging the divide of legacy and cloud by combining MuleSoft’s API-centered integration platform with our unique digital decoupling architecture patterns. Unlocking the trapped value of data in the enterprise is a key priority for our clients and MuleSoft’s low-code approach will help enable ‘citizen integrators’ to accelerate this journey. Accenture is excited to commit to create 5,000 Integration Trailblazers in our organization. They will work with our global team of certified MuleSoft Developers and Architects who are imagining and creating the boundaryless and adaptable integration solutions needed for Future Systems,” explained Adam Burden, chief software engineer at Accenture.
MuleSoft has developed new learning journeys that are tailored to organizational roles and learning goals. For example, the Trailmix is available today on Trailhead — which is Salesforce’s online learning platform and including topics on API basics, API creation, API ROI, and API ecosystems.
“Integration Trailblazers are uniquely positioned to drive real change and value for their organizations and customers by leveraging their individual perspective on the business and combining it with critical integration skills. As part of this pledge, we are targeting to develop thousands of our consultants as Integration Trailblazers in the next few years. We are excited to join MuleSoft in skilling up the workforce to drive digital transformation with API-led connectivity and help these Integration Trailblazers grow their career for today and the future,” commented Paul Clemmons, Global Salesforce Practice Leader at Deloitte and principal at Deloitte Consulting.
