Marc Benioff is writing Salesforce's annual strategy document. He shared the key details early with Business Insider.

Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, is currently drafting the company's strategic plan for the upcoming fiscal year, sharing vital insights into his vision during a recent interview. This annual document, known as V2MOM—which stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measurements—is distributed internally at the start of each fiscal cycle, set to begin in February. Historically, this document has included significant projections that have influenced the company's direction, such as last year's initiatives to cut costs and enhance profit margins, which led to a substantial surge in stock prices. As Salesforce positions itself for the future, it has made a significant investment in AI with a new offering called Agentforce. While some stakeholders harbor skepticism regarding this venture, the company's latest earnings report hinted at positive trends for the upcoming fiscal year, fostering cautious optimism. According to Benioff, the V2MOM document will consist of four key pillars for the next fiscal year. The foremost emphasis will be on establishing a robust data foundation. "None of these agents function effectively without data and context, or else you risk encountering hallucinations—erroneous AI outputs," he remarked. To bolster this foundation, Salesforce has recently acquired Informatica, a cloud data management company, for $8 billion. This acquisition will integrate with existing platforms like Mulesoft and Data 360 to enhance customer data management, aiming for a "harmonized, federated, and integrated" system that is crucial for all customers. In the current landscape dominated by generative AI technologies, the need for a strong data infrastructure is more pressing than ever. Companies are increasingly merging their internal data with AI intelligence to create innovative services and improve operational efficiencies. Given Salesforce's extensive experience in managing large volumes of corporate data, strengthening this aspect of its business is expected to empower its AI capabilities and support the Agentforce initiative. The second aspect of the strategic plan builds upon this data foundation and includes applications such as Salesforce's widely-used CRM software, Slack, and Tableau for data visualization. The third element centers around Agentforce, although Benioff chose to keep specific details about its evolution somewhat vague. Finally, the fourth component involves the development of tailored AI agents designed for individual corporate clients, such as Williams-Sonoma, as well as internal tools like Salesforce's own Slackbot, which Benioff frequently utilized during the interview. Salesforce is committed to delivering these AI services across various industries, creating specialized versions for sectors like automotive, pharmaceuticals, and government agencies. This strategic focus reflects the company's ambition to remain at the forefront of the evolving software landscape.