Salesforce has made one of the biggest tech acquisitions ever of our friends and customers at Slack in a $27.7 billion megadeal. The tech industry, specifically software, hasn’t seen a purchase of this size (or anywhere near it) during the 2020 pandemic.

The numbers for the entire tech industry (and its executives) have been booming. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth from March to June 2020 rose by an estimated $48 billion, the founder of Zoom grew his by over $2.5 billion, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's increased by $15.7 billion. So, what does it all mean?

Digital transformation remains an imperative

These numbers and this newly announced acquisition are a sign that the new normal we’ve all had to adjust to this year might be our permanent normal. The importance of digital transformation within businesses of every industry will continue to be a number one priority going into 2021.

The remote workforce that has developed due to this pandemic has made different software products (like Slack) a core function of their businesses. We’re proud to see many of our customers experience amazing growth during these times including, Twilio valued at $50 billion, and Snowflake with a market cap of nearly $90 billion, less than three months after going public.

At this point, many of us could not run without our digital counterparts. Every department from Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, Product, and Finance are having to use tech products in some way to get their jobs done from home efficiently and effectively. As we go into 2021, we can look at tech products that go beyond—helping us to now work smarter and do our jobs even better.

Digital transformation within finance

Arguably the most turned to department during 2020 was Finance. Preparing for the global pandemic was nearly impossible, and understanding cash flow throughout the year proved trickier than ever. Cash is still king. CFOs, FP&A teams, and AR & Collections teams all had to work harder than ever on the frontlines of the pandemic to collect as best they could, and forecast as accurately as possible, to prepare their entire organization for the unknown ahead.

A McKinsey & Company article from 2018 said it best, “Memo to the CFO: Get in front of digital finance—or get left back.” During 2020, we have all been forced into digital finance—paper checks and dunning letters are things of the past. Humans are not in offices to receive or send them. Now, we rely on the evolving technology that has saved many jobs and businesses by giving them the capabilities they had in their offices with digital alternatives at home.

What’s next?

It’s time to connect with each other. The next step in digital transformation is the combination of machine learning with real human behavior. The result is a unified organization ready for any crisis, stronger and far more predictable cash flow, better and faster business decisions, and healthier relationships.

Tesorio has created the first automated transaction-driven cash view of your business. Traditional cash flow forecasting proved insufficient during these times of uncertainty where nothing was expected, nor could be predicted. Tesorio Cash Flow Direct leverages artificial intelligence to replace traditional forecasting with a dynamic, real-time, collaborative workspace that connects finance teams with data, each other, colleagues across their businesses, and their customers and vendor partners.