#quote-to-cash

#quote-to-cash

Parker Harris stated that they want everyone to be able to use Slackbot and that they don't want to lock it behind a gate. In its current form, it's only available to enterprise customers, who receive unlimited access to Slackbot.

Efficient business practices boost bottom lines, and finding the right balance begins with using the right productivity software tools. For entrepreneurs and small-business owners, time spent searching or navigating different tools could be better spent growing your company. Having the right productivity software in place isn't just convenient, it's essential for operational efficiency. The challenge many entrepreneurs face is balancing software costs with functionality.

The technology underpinning retail operations is under scrutiny in 2026 as fashion executives look to streamline systems with the aim to unlock efficiency, cut costs and meet consumer expectations for speed and personalisation in the shopping journey. At the retail event Lightspeed Edge on 12 January, Lightspeed - the unified point-of-sale (POS) and payments platform for SMEs such as Apricot Lane Boutique and Neal's Yard Remedies - convened industry leaders to explore the strategic imperative for integrated technology ecosystems over siloed systems.

When staff resort to copying data between spreadsheets, keeping shadow systems in Excel, or doing repetitive tasks that feel like they should be automated, something is wrong. These workarounds creep in gradually; a quick fix here, a temporary solution there, until suddenly your operations depend on a patchwork of manual processes. Workarounds rarely stay small. What begins as a simple spreadsheet to track information your CRM cannot handle eventually becomes a document that multiple team members depend on.

Cimulate develops technology that responds precisely to this need. The company has built a so-called "intent-aware context engine," a system that analyzes both real and simulated customer experiences to better understand what a shopper is looking for. This enables online stores to display more relevant search results and make personalized recommendations throughout the purchasing process. By integrating this technology into Agentforce Commerce, Salesforce wants to make it easier for consumers to discover and compare products in real time.

The clock is ticking for companies using SAP ECC. The transition to S/4HANA must be completed by 2027. However, the reality is proving difficult. Figures from early February from research firm ISG show that nearly 60 percent of SAP migrations are delayed and exceed their budget. Underestimated complexity, scope expansion, and internal capacity constraints are identified as the main causes.

Managing AI spending has become commonplace. Two years ago, 31 percent of organizations managed AI spending; today, 98 percent do. This is according to research by the FinOps Foundation. It shows that FinOps has definitively shifted from pure cloud management to broad technology value management. AI cost management is now a top priority, while AI value management is the most sought-after skill within teams.

Many organizations, Gans suggests, resemble public airports - full of people waiting for phones to ring, managing buffers, absorbing uncertainty.

Lead management in B2B has evolved into a systems challenge that spans teams, platforms and the entire revenue lifecycle. It is a complex engineering discipline that requires a holistic, lifecycle-driven approach rather than a simple marketing-to-sales handoff. In a recent strategy session, we examined what it takes to build a lead management engine today. We concluded that many organizations are still attempting to solve 2026 problems with a 2010 mindset.

Start by mapping overlapping capabilities and data flows across your marketing, advertising, and sales systems, then integrate around shared outcomes such as pipeline contribution or revenue influence. Focus on interoperability, not consolidation. Keep best-in-class tools where specialization matters - like attribution, lead scoring, or programmatic - but unify data, identity, and performance reporting layers.

Intent arbitrage means capturing a buyer's interest before they even start evaluating competitors - and thanks to AI, this capability is available to every business. AI detects emerging intent by processing millions of data points and continuously monitoring intent signals, letting companies respond faster than traditional, reactive demand-generation methods. Turning early intent signals into a competitive advantage requires leadership buy-in and coordination between marketing, sales and product teams.