Salesforce Acquisition of Slack Demonstrates Value of Strong Visionary Leadership and Steady Teambuilding
Salesforce has steadily evolved into a truly dominating force in the global software industry. Its latest acquisition is the newest data point in the company’s continuing ascension.
“Salesforce said Tuesday that it’s buying chat app Slack for more than $27 billion, marking one of the largest software deals in history and by far the priciest for CEO Marc Benioff. It’s Salesforce’s third massive purchase in less than three years, following the $15.3 billion deal for Tableau last year and $6.5 billion acquisition of MuleSoft in 2018,” writes Ari Levy of CNBC.
From my perspective, the success of Salesforce demonstrates the indispensable value of visionary leadership and teambuilding. “Salesforce’s market value topped Oracle’s earlier this year, another sign that primacy in software had swapped hands,” writes Levy.
An ardent opponent of net neutrality has announced that he will leave the FCC, opening the door to a shift in how the internet is regulated.
“U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he’ll leave the agency Jan. 20, eliminating the possibility of a holdover Republican majority at the agency that could have temporarily stymied changes sought by the incoming Biden administration,” writes Todd Shields of Bloomberg. “Since being elevated to the chairmanship by President Donald Trump in 2017, Pai, a Republican, has led the commission in dismantling net neutrality regulations and pushed for fast wireless broadband service.”
China on the Road to Driverless Taxis
China is making strides to become the world leader in robotaxis.
“On Thursday, AutoX, an Alibaba (BABA)-backed startup, announced it had rolled out fully driverless robotaxis on public roads in Shenzhen. The company said it had become the first player in China to do so, notching an important industry milestone,” writes Michelle Toh of CNN Business. “Previously, companies operating autonomous shuttles on public roads in the country were constrained by strict caveats, which required them to have a safety driver inside.”
This is a fascinating development, and worth watching. I’m sure that China’s progress in this area of tech is on the radar of the major auto manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia. The era of driverless taxis may be arriving sooner than we had imagined.
Amazon Joins Race to Build Quantum Computer
3d illustration of quantum computer core concept
Amazon has apparently entered the race to develop a practical quantum computer. The company is hiring scientists with the skills necessary to construct a quantum computing device, according to reports.
“Amazon … is laying the groundwork for a quantum computer, deepening efforts to harness technology that can crunch in seconds vast amounts of data that take even the most powerful supercomputers hours or days to process,” write Yaacov Benmeleh, Giles Turner, and Matt Day of Bloomberg. “Proponents of quantum computing say the technology will exponentially improve the processing speed and power of computers, enabling them to simulate large systems and drive advances in physics, chemistry and other fields.”
