There is less than a week until Dreamforce…. and the announcements have started already! This week we have seen two new product launches with Quip Slides and Einstein Voice. And although not specifically Salesforce news, Marc Benioff & his wife have announced they are buying Time Magazine. So let’s jump on in…
Salesforce introduces Einstein Voice (watch out Alexa!)
Roll on Dreamforce…. If this is the scale of announcements we can expect to hear! (pardon the pun)
Salesforce has announced the new Einstein Voice app for use dictation and navigation.
Have a look at the video to see it in action, shared by Salesforce on Twitter.
The video shows a voice memo being captured, including a note and some action items. Then Einstein gets to work, and analyses the words and tries to correlate it to data within your Salesforce (such as updating a opporutnity amount and close date).
So simple, yet very very effective. And after all, isn’t that what AI and ultimately Salesforce Einstein is all about… I mean that and world domination #helloSkyNet
The announcement before Dreamforce could have been as a response to Microsoft’s recent Dynamics 365 AI announcement. But I do hope it is a taster of a number of exciting products announcements next week!
Read more about this over at VentureBeat.
Quip launches Quip Slides…
Salesforce’s Quip has just completed the Office ‘trifecta’, by announcing the launch of Quip Slides.
In a move which allows users of Quip to now create collaborative slide decks using the new product.
If you haven’t used Quip previously, the power of platform is how it drives collaboration on the documents teams use regularly.
You can follow documents, get alerts when updated, prepare/update the document as a team and even chat about the document/project/etc in a team feed (similar to Chatter). And the power of your CRM (Salesforce obviously) can easily be pulled in to these documents automatically.
Previously you could create documents and sheets. And now, firing a shot across the bow of Microsoft (and Google), slides and presentations are included!
Here is a demo video of the new feature in action:
Read more, over at GeekWire or visit the Quip Slides site.
Benioff’s buy Time…
Although not specifically Salesforce, the Benioff’s have announce they are buying Time Magazine. Now there is a lot of news announcing this acquisition into the personal assets of the Benioff’s – one article in particular caught my eye.
Over at the NYTimes, they had an interesting take on the Benioff announcement to buy Time. Specifically relating to how the personal fortunes of CEOs, when mixed with media and politics – can cause tension in the current US political regime.
Regardless of your political persuasions, it is an interesting read and covers how the purchase personally of a media organisation may complicate things for the company’s board/shareholders.
Read move, over at NYTimes (or read about the acquisition via the BBC).
Dreamforce, is almost here!
And finally, in case you have been hiding under a rock, Dreamforce is almost here! Kicking off next Monday 24th Sept. 
It is another sell-out this year, and you can read all about 9 tips to survive Dreamforce here.
Additionally, all announcements from the week will be showcased on this site – so stay tuned…