CDP Institute

Salesforce is offering a free version of its CDP-esq Data Cloud to Sales and Service Cloud customers, with the apparent goal of increasing use of Marketing Cloud.  The Data Cloud offers Marketing Cloud users a unified view of data in Salesforce clouds and other systems via no-copy access to cloud databases and Mulesoft connectors.  The company also unveiled a small business edition of Marketing Cloud.

Walmart has agreed to acquire VIZIO and its SmartCast Operating System for approximately $2.3 billion. The acquisition should accelerate Walmart’s media business, Walmart Connect, allowing it access to VIZIO’s CTV advertising solutions. VIZIO’s device eco-system featuring the SmartCast OS boasts 18 million accounts, a growth of around 400% since 2018.

The European Union has announced a formal investigation into TikTok over allegations that it has breached obligations to protect minors. Specific problems cited by an E.U. official include “addictive design and screen time limits, rabbit hole effect, age verification, default privacy settings.” TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, could be fined up to 6% of its global turnover if found in breach of the Digital Services Act.

Meltwater, a provider of media, social and consumer intelligence, announced it is partnering with Microsoft on an integrated communications insights solution. The partnership will integrate the data from Meltwater’s listening tools with Microsoft’s AI-driven capability to deliver data “as dialogue.” Microsoft will use Meltwater as its provider of global intelligence, while Meltwater has made a multi-year commitment to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform.

Meta announced that businesses purchasing boosts for their posts on the iOS versions of Facebook and Instagram will need to pay a 30% service charge to Apple. Meta represented this as required by Apple guidelines. However, Meta did confirm that boosting posts on browser versions of its social media sites will avoid the fee.

Less than a fifth of customer support teams say their tools always meet their needs, according to a survey of over 2,000 customer support professionals. Three quarters of C-level support leaders say they’re always looking for new platforms, tools, and technologies, while 65% of executives and leaders are looking at new technologies because of AI. The biggest barriers to implementing new solutions are resistance to change and budget restraints.