Salesforce.com is touting a new platform which it says can help companies take advantage of “data science” to deliver better customer services.

Called the “Intelligence Engine” for its Service Cloud, the platform is designed to leverage the increasing amounts of data being fed into organizations by the Internet of Things, and deliver a more rapid and accurate customer service.

“The Service Cloud Intelligence Engine harnesses the power of data science to improve workflows, business processes and deliver seamless customer service across any channel,” said Mike Milburn, GM of Service Cloud for Salesforce. “Now companies are prepared to exceed their customer’s increasingly high expectations for smarter service.”

The Intelligence Engine works by routing sales and support services to the most capable agent within the organization – for example, it will automatically direct high-value customers or those with specific technical needs to the person most qualified to assist them. The software is intelligent too – it knows if a certain staff member is about to go on a scheduled break, or if they’re currently unavailable.

The intelligent routing also chooses the best way to contact a particular person, be it via phone, email or video conferencing, ensuring that sales and support staff can be contacted wherever they might be.

Salesforce’s Intelligence Engine doesn’t sound all that different from the unified communications and workforce-management solutions offered by vendors like Avaya and Cisco Systems Ltd., which have both offered skills-based routing services for years. But where Salesforce says its system differs is that it’s tied into its main CRM system, and supports all possible interaction channels – be it chat, email, phone, mobile or social.

“Salesforce is also an integration platform, so we’re seeing a lot of customers integrating with the back-office applications,” Michael Ramsey, vice president of Service Cloud product management, told InformationWeek. “We’re taking any business event, whether that’s part of a [service] case record, a qualified lead or opportunity [in CRM], or a custom, non-Salesforce-native process exposed through back-office integration, and we’re routing that where it needs to go.”

Salesforce’s main argument is that as more devices become connected to the Internet, the need for data science and a smarter customer service will only grow more apparent. With the Internet of Things set to snowball in the next few years, the demand for a rapid-fire customer service will increase signficantly, and that’s what Salesforce intends to deliver – by preparing for more channels and devices to be used as customer support avenues.

“I see these devices being customer support points,” Sarah Patterson, vice president of Service Cloud product marketing told ZDNet. “Some of these tickets could start as automated cases from a connected point such as a car and then switch to another channel such as email, live chat or voice.”

Salesforce says itsIntelligence Engine will be released later this year as an add-on to its Service Cloud, with pricing to be announced at a later date.

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