Also in the cloud: Adobe and Microsoft announced new integrations connecting Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM to Adobe’s Marketo and Campaign products and connecting Marketo to Microsoft’s LinkedIn data. Adobe Magento will soon be available on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, joining Adobe Experience Platform (CDP) and Experience Manager (CMS).
When Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26 billion, observers suspected the justification for the price was closer connection of LinkedIn data with Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM system. Sure enough, the company has just announced a “Data Validation” feature that will automatically update Dynamics CRM when LinkedIn learns that a contact has changed companies. As Microsoft puts it quite nicely, “It’s one simple field – but with a lot of powerful uses for Sales Operations teams and users alike.”
IntentData.io isn’t giving up on third party data quite yet. They’ve just announced a new intent data algorithm that combines custom category development with high-speed activation. No mention of privacy issues but you can bet they have an answer.
Do not confuse Snow Software, which helps companies track IT costs, with Snowflake, a cloud database often used for CDP-ish solutions. Do take note that Snow has just been sold to Flexera, which also helps companies optimize their return on tech investments. It’s a helpful reminder that cost-conscious IT departments are more than happy to “help” marketers who are doing a poor job of controlling tech spend.