Salesforce has agreed to acquire Waii, a natural language-to-SQL platform provider.
Waii offers technology that translates everyday language into powerful SQL queries, removing the need for data scientists and engineers.
Its software benefits businesses as most store data in complex databases requiring SQL access. Waii allows non-technical users to extract data.
For instance, a service or sales rep may ask: "Which customers in region A are up for renewal?" From there, Waii generates an SQL code allowing the rep to retrieve the answer.
Alongside that capability, Waii has built a self-learning metadata knowledge graph. Think of it as a smart map of data that adapts to the business’s unique structure.
With Waii, Salesforce hopes to make the data stored on its platform more accessible and relevant to everyone in the business, regardless of their technical know-how.
Raveendrnathan Loganathan, EVP of Salesforce Data Cloud, doubled down on this. He said: "The future of business isn’t about having the most data; it’s about making that data speak a common language.
Our vision is to empower every employee, from the boardroom to the frontline, to have a trusted conversation with their data.
"At Salesforce, we know that a deep understanding of metadata is the key to this future," continued Loganathan. "With Waii, we’re not just augmenting our stack; we’re acquiring the catalyst that makes this vision a reality for our customers."
As Loganathan suggests, increasing data accessibility by taking away the need for specialized SQL skills is the principal driver for this acquisition.
However, it may also enhance Salesforce’s AI posture, allowing Agentforce agents to understand and extract data that may kickstart enterprise-wide automations.
Additionally, Waii inserts a unique capability into the CRM mix, which continues to be a critical aim for Salesforce as it justifies its position as a premium software option.
Yet, Gunther Hagleitner, co-founder & CEO of Waii, reiterated the possible benefits for Agentforce.
"Waii’s metadata knowledge graph will create a unified semantic layer, enabling users and AI agents to understand and communicate with any data source while removing technical barriers to critical insights," he said.
We built Waii to close the gap between what people want to ask and what their data systems can understand.
"Joining Salesforce will allow us to bring that mission to millions of users, powering the next era of trusted, intelligent systems," concluded Hagleitner.
Upon the acquisition closing, Salesforce plans to integrate Waii into Data Cloud and transform the customer data platform (CDP) into a conversational solution.
