Salesforce invented the modern software-as-a-service model when it launched web-based customer relationship management in 1999. The platform has since grown into a family of clouds covering sales, service, marketing and commerce, extended by acquisitions such as Slack, Tableau and MuleSoft. Customers pay recurring subscriptions, and switching costs rise as their data and workflows settle deeper into the platform. Salesforce also pushes AI assistants and automation across its products to lift the value of each seat it sells.