SugarCRM has unveiled a new brand identity as SugarAI, as the vendor continues its shift towards AI-driven customer relationship management (CRM).

The company said the rebrand reflects its evolving product strategy, which aims to push CRM beyond traditional data management and reporting towards proactive, AI-powered sales guidance.

At the heart of this new approach is a refined focus on “precision selling”, where AI is used to interpret signals from across an organization to help sellers prioritize the highest-value opportunities, identify renewal and reorder risks, and take the next best action for customer engagement.

In an announcement, SugarAI CEO David Roberts said the move will help address long-standing limitations in how CRM platforms are used by sales teams.

“CRM must do more than store information; it must help teams take the right action at the right time with proactive, guided execution,” he explained. “Teams don’t need more data or dashboards, they need direction; SugarAI is about turning signals into action.”

CRM as a system of action

The rebrand comes as organizations increasingly look to extract more value from their CRM investments as AI continues to drive new changes in sales and customer engagement strategies.

SugarAI’s platform is designed to connect data from across systems – including enterprise resource planning (ERP) environments – to provide contextual insights that help teams identify renewal risks, spot changes in customer behavior, and prioritize engagement across accounts.

The vendor said this approach is especially suited to complex, account-based industries with long sales cycles and large product portfolios, where understanding customer signals is critical to driving growth.

“Our customers expect Sugar to solve the 30-year-old promise of CRM – to help sellers and account managers get more value from the software than the effort they put into it,” Roberts added. “Sugar will deliver on this promise with its focus on seller experience and integration to ERP data, all powered by AI.”

A pragmatic approach to AI

At a time when many businesses are struggling to prove ROI from their AI investments, SugarAI said its pragmatic approach to the use of the technology will help organizations avoid common pitfalls in AI adoption by connecting intelligence directly to revenue outcomes.

Industry analysts have also pointed to the growing importance of combining operational and customer data to drive more informed decision-making and sales growth.

According to Cameron Marsh, senior analyst at Nucleus Research, the integration of ERP and CRM bridges the gap between customer-facing operations and internal back-office business transactions.

“Surfacing trends and correlations across transactional and unstructured data offers key signals that can be extremely valuable for salespersons,” he explained. “For example, identifying when customers have stopped placing orders or when purchasing patterns change.

“This is a pragmatic approach to AI that supercharges sales and service, and it’s exactly the kind of precision selling the industry needs.”

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Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has revealed that hackers harvested user credentials from Salesforce customers in a widespread campaign during the first half of this month.

The attacker, tracked as UNC6395, targeted Salesforce customer instances through compromised OAuth tokens associated with the Salesloft Drift third-party application.

"The actor systematically exported large volumes of data from numerous corporate Salesforce instances. GTIG assesses the primary intent of the threat actor is to harvest credentials," researchers said in an advisory.

"After the data was exfiltrated, the actor searched through the data to look for secrets that could be potentially used to compromise victim environments."

These secrets included sensitive credentials such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) access keys (AKIA), passwords, and Snowflake-related access tokens.

"The techniques used in this campaign weren’t novel in terms of exploitation. The attacker didn’t need to break Salesforce itself, they abused OAuth tokens from a widely used and trusted third-party integration to gain access," commented Cory Michal, CSO of AppOmni.

"They then used that foothold in a very disciplined and methodical way. They ran structured SOQL queries, targeted high-value data like credentials, and attempted to cover their tracks by deleting jobs."

Salesloft, working with Salesforce, has now revoked all active access and refresh tokens within the Drift application. Salesforce has also removed the Drift application from the Salesforce AppExchange until further notice, pending further investigation.

While UNC6395 demonstrated operational security awareness by deleting query jobs, researchers said logs weren't affected. As such, organizations should still review relevant logs for evidence of data exposure.

They should search for sensitive information and secrets contained within Salesforce objects and take appropriate action, such as immediately revoking API keys, resetting passwords, rotating credentials, and reviewing permissions.

Researchers also urged enterprises to carry out investigations to determine whether any secrets have been abused.

“This campaign underscores that highly permissioned OAuth and SaaS-to-SaaS integrations represent one of the largest risks and blind spots for organizations today. Once an integration is compromised, attackers can operate with the same level of access granted to that app, often bypassing traditional MFA controls," said Michal.

"The risk is compounded if organizations are insecurely storing secrets, API keys, or credentials in Salesforce objects. In those cases, if the data was exfiltrated, it’s very likely that connected systems such as AWS, Snowflake, or VPNs have already been compromised as well. That makes the blast radius of these attacks far larger than just the SaaS application itself."

The report doesn't identify UNC6395, but the sophistication of the operation implies a state-sponsored attacker, Michal said.

"What’s most noteworthy about the UNC6395 attacks is both the scale and the discipline. This wasn’t a one-off compromise; hundreds of Salesforce tenants of specific organizations of interest were targeted using stolen OAuth tokens, and the attacker methodically queried and exported data across many environments," said Michal.

"The combination of scale, focus, and tradecraft makes this campaign stand out."

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Workday has confirmed a data breach after threat actors gained access to a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) platform.

In a blog post on Friday, the HR tech giant said hackers gained access to sensitive information hosted on the affected CRM system, but insisted no customer tenants – or the data contained within – were accessed.

Information exposed in the breach primarily included contact details such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers, the company revealed.

“We recently identified that Workday had been targeted and threat actors were able to access some information from our third-party CRM platform,” the company stated in its advisory.

“There is no indication of access to customer tenants or the data within them. We acted quickly to cut the access and have added extra safeguards to protect against similar incidents in the future.”

Given the nature of the information exposed in the breach, Workday warned customers to be wary of potential social engineering campaigns in the wake of the incident.

“It’s important to remember that Workday will never contact anyone by phone to request a password or any other secure details,” the firm said. “All official communications from Workday come through our trusted support channels.”

Kevin Marriott, senior manager of cyber and head of SecOps at Immersive, said this is a typical tactic observed in the aftermath of a data breach.

“This information is then used in subsequent social engineering attempts, or combined with other data already collected to make future social engineering attempts even more personalized, using the data captured," he said.

Workday data breach the latest CRM-based incident

While Workday didn’t specifically identify the CRM system affected in the breach, the news comes in the wake of a string of Salesforce-based attacks on enterprises globally.

Threat intelligence research shows that the ShinyHunters threats group has conducted a wide-reaching campaign targeting Salesforce users in recent months.

Companies impacted in the campaign are believed to include Qantas, Allianz Life, Adidas, and several other retail brands worldwide.

Similarly, Google recently confirmed it had been attacked as part of the campaign. The discovery came after threat researchers at the tech giant investigating the ShinyHunters group realized it too had fallen victim.

The social engineering campaign involves duping employees into linking a malicious OAuth app to the target company’s Salesforce instances.

Once access to an impacted database has been achieved, threat actors are then able to access, query, and exfiltrate sensitive information from customer environments, according to Google’s blog post detailing the campaign.

Marriott noted that CRM tools are a popular target for threat actors, largely due to the volume of useful information hosted on these platforms.

“CRM tooling is often a key target for threat actors as they typically store limited, but valuable information that threat actors can either use themselves or sell on, with databases full of information that is useful such as email addresses and other personal information,” he said.

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Technology continues to be an advancing force, amplified in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing greater digital experiences into our daily lives. 

These technological innovations, with smart technology and intuitive devices appearing in our homes, as well as smarter methods of collaboration and communication in our work, have raised the bar when it comes to customer expectations.

As we move forward in this digital era, a positive digital experience is no longer "added value"; businesses should be offering this as a basic standard.  

In a survey conducted by PwC in 2022, 51% of consumers said they would switch brands based on a poor digital experience, and with customers more discerning than ever, this should encourage companies to review their interactions and focus on how to improve their digital engagement.

But what does a good digital experience look like, and why do they matter?

What is digital experience?

A digital customer experience (DCX) refers to how a customer interacts with an organization through its digital touchpoints: websites, mobile apps, or social media platforms. This also includes multiple interactions - for example, where a customer may have ordered a product online, and then spoken to the customer service team via a chatbot regarding the order.

It is very much part of the entire customer experience (CX) and it's important to consider how each individual interaction can contribute to the customer's overall perception of the organization

Why is digital experience important?

In brief, customers are demanding more. They're much more savvy when it comes to prices and products and where to get the best deals, so to stand out from the competition, it's the digital experience that needs to be the reason customers return.

A report from PwC found that 73% of customers rated their digital experience as the most important factor in their buying decisions, surpassing price and product quality, and Smith.AI cites that companies offering better experiences can gain 17% more growth than competitors.

Long-term, better customer experiences equate to higher customer retention, higher lifetime customer value, and greater brand equity, with consumers prepared to pay a 16% premium for a better service.

The costs of bad digital experience

But what happens if you don’t make digital experience a priority?

It’s important not to cut corners when it comes to creating the seamless, personalized experiences every customer expects, particularly when your customers are the whole reason your business exists in the first place.

And in an experience-driven market, you have to compete to stay afloat. According to Invesp, 89% of customers who are leading the way in customer retention and loyalty say it's down to the experience they provide.

And when 63% of customers will stop doing business with brands that don't get it right, the focus needs to be on enhancing those personal digital connections. UK brands that don't risk losing nearly £15 billion a year if they don't.

What are customers looking for in a good digital user experience?

Now that we’ve weighed the advantages and disadvantages of digital customer experience transformation, let’s take a closer look at what you should be trying to achieve with your transformation.

How customers perceive interactions with your brand is everything. You want them to come away feeling that they had an easy, frictionless, and delightful experience.

Interactions need to be consistent across all channels, whether physical or virtual because people perceive these various interactions as one experience. For this reason, it’s also important that each engagement is based on earlier ones rather than siloed, taking into account previous activity and purchases. This personalization is essential, with customers saying that ‘being treated like a person’ is important to winning their business.

Ensure that your interactions are also immediate and conversational. Don’t let too much time lapse after a sign-up, a purchase, or an email before you engage with your consumer in a real way. No one wants to feel like just another number, so make sure you have a comprehensive view of each customer to show them that they matter.

Your digital experience shouldn’t stop at how you interact with customers. Besides personal, seamless experiences to show customers they matter, you might take a look at what your business offers. Customers prefer brands that are constantly innovating, so consider how your company could find new ways to meet customer needs.

Next steps in your digital experience transformation

Despite increased expectations, about half of customers report that these expectations aren’t being met. The opportunity is there for the companies that are willing to jump into transforming their digital user experience and standing out in a crowded marketplace.

Now that we’ve broken down the reasons why you should consider this transformation, take a look at this quick guide on digital transformation quick-wins – simple steps that every business can try to quickly overhaul their operations, and their customers' experience.

For the modern enterprise, there are few apps as heavily relied upon as the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) suite. In most cases, this is likely provided by Salesforce, although other good options are increasingly appearing on the market.

Helping keep track of customers, ensuring a business is proactively attentive to their needs, and providing a way to interact with users all in one place is something all businesses can, and should, benefit from.

At its core, CRM suites combine tech, processes, and data to gain a deep understanding of customer behaviors, preferences, and needs. Salesforce and other CRM makers can help with everything from automating routine tasks to aligning sales and marketing efforts.

CRM definitely isn’t the sexiest of industries and apps, but it ranks as one of the most vital, especially for a business that wants to successfully scale without leaving customers feeling that things used to be better and more engaged. Given their power, some CRM systems can be confusing to navigate and difficult to understand.

What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

In a nutshell, a CRM suite helps a business track all communications with their customers (whether cold, warm, or hot leads), to help understand how their relationship is developing.

The software includes details about the person in question, what kind of relationship the company has with the individual, notes about their lifestyle that could be used as conversation starters, who in the business owns the relationship, how the organization may be able to solve their challenges, and so on. If that seems like a lot, it’s because it is: CRM software is very complex and powerful, a single tool capable of work that would have required a full team just a decade ago.

Customers in 2024 are increasingly expecting a more tailored service, whether they're buying from a large corporation or small business, and a CRM will provide the information and insight to be able to sell more effectively, making communication more likely to result in a sale or the retention of a customer.

Typically, a CRM system requires a database and a large amount of storage to hold customers' information, and can also include communication channels and track and store business-client conversations. Many big companies will pay hundreds of thousands to build out their databases, pay for CRM, and harness the insights.

How does CRM change business processes?

At a basic level, CRM works by collecting and organizing customer information from various sources (think: emails, social media, phone calls), which is then stored in a centralized system, where it can be accessed by sales, marketing, customer service, and other teams.

The system helps businesses understand customer needs, personalize interactions, and manage relationships, while also automating routine tasks, like sending follow-up emails. To your customer, it will seem like your employees are working over-time.

Automation

Automation is a key component of a CRM suite. Tasks like sending automated emails, scheduling follow-ups, and updating customer records are managed without manual input, thus saving your employees time and removing repetitive work. For example, the sales teams can use CRM to automatically move prospects through the sales funnel, triggering actions based on certain criteria configured when setting up the CRM.

As you might imagine, AI – or perhaps more accurately Machine Learning (ML) – is a big focus of Salesforce, with its Einstein AI, and other CRM makers at the moment. AI can analyse customer data to predict behaviors, segment audiences, and recommend actions, such as which customers are most likely to make a purchase and then suggest offers specific to each customer. Human oversight is still needed to ensure AI doesn’t misunderstand or make mistakes, but the ability to analyse data en-masse is powerful for businesses of all sizes.

Analytics

Analytics is also a big part of any CRM suite, given the fact that it has already digested a huge amount of data to work. Most CRM software will be able to generate insights into customer behaviors, sales trends, and campaign effectiveness, as well as many other areas specific to your business. The resulting reports can then be matched with KPIs.

Efficiency

Paper-based customer records are incredibly inefficient and almost impossible to quickly search through or to derive quick insights from. CRM, on the other hand, makes looking after clients and selling to them much easier, helping businesses prioritize what they contact those customers about. To do so involves monitoring clients' historical transactions, the types of products they have enquired about, and even any adverts that they have clicked on. All of this information builds up a customer profile that businesses can use to personalize their communications.

Customers could end up feeling neglected if firms bombard them with irrelevant messages and products. Drawing on data taken from customer interactions, CRM platforms ensure that each customer's experience is tailored to them when they access company websites, contact customer services, or want to keep up to date via social media.

Centralization

That said, CRM isn't just a system that lets companies improve sales channels. CRM also offers a central hub where they can manage processes across the business. Many CRM services can handle human resources (HR), marketing, finance, and supply chain management. SAP, for example, offers software that brings together business departments.

Without CRM, employees typically end up spending more time trying to generate business leads, close deals, and maintain client relationships. By investing in this tech, companies can speed up these processes and focus their attention on less mundane tasks. They can identify and target new customers, too. Many CRM platforms work with third-party services such as MailChimp and Google Apps, further boosting productivity.

Pros and cons of CRM software

As with all technology, leaders need to assess what is right for their business and what investments will help them achieve their objectives.

Pros

In one fell swoop, getting a CRM suite is very likely to improve your customer relationships while reducing the amount of work your outward-facing staff have to complete. Timely emails, automatic promotions based on user activity, and the ability to track a client relationship over months and years from one dashboard is a potential game changer.

Automation features – which most top CRM suites have – streamline routine tasks, such as data entry, follow-ups, and reporting, to help your team focus on high-value activities like strategy and relationship building.

CRM systems can also help grow your business, and can be customized to fit individual needs, making it a scalable solution as your customer base expands.

Cons

CRM software can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses that are just getting started, or even mid-size businesses. There are costs associated with buying, implementing, and maintaining the system, and there may also be fees for subscriptions, customization, and training.

Implementing a CRM system will require a handful of employees and could easily take a long time, especially if the source data – i.e. the data on customers, clients, and so on – isn’t in an easily readable format. Your staff could also face a steep learning curve unless you hire someone with previous CRM experience, which is likely to be expensive.

Data centralization also carries its own risks: putting everything about your clients and customers in one place makes the job of a malicious actor much easier if they were to breach your system. An over-reliance on these systems may cause issues down the line, too, and especially if your CRM software goes down for any length of time.

Overall, CRM is fairly easy to adopt, and many of the top vendors offer incentives for companies looking to make the switch. We’ve written extensively about how CRM can help businesses, from reducing the workload of employees to keeping track of thousands (or tens of thousands) of customers - without your hair going grey.