Apr 22, 2026

Work in Progress: 10 Takeaway’s from our conversation with Salesforce’s Alex Wallner

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In our latest Work in Progress LinkedIn Live, TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil sat down with Salesforce’s Alex Wallner, EVP and CEO, EMEA Central, to explore how organizations can move beyond digital transformation hype and unlock real productivity gains with AI.

While companies have invested heavily into AI tools over the last several years, the conversation made one thing clear: many are still struggling to translate that investment into measurable outcomes.

Key themes from the discussion:

1. More tools, more complexity

The number of enterprise applications continues to grow, not shrink. Add AI into the mix without proper orchestration, and it can make things even more complex for employees.

2. From pilots to real impact

Organizations are moving away from endless pilots and looking for quick wins — smaller projects that prove value, build momentum, and can scale across the business.

3. It’s not just automation — it’s a completely new way of working

AI isn’t simply improving existing processes. It’s changing how work gets done, requiring employees to shift toward more complex, human-centric tasks while AI handles repetitive work.

4. Orchestration matters more than ever

With agents and AI capabilities coming from everywhere, the real challenge isn’t who builds them — it’s how companies orchestrate data, workflows, and systems so everything works together.

5. Small vs. large companies face different challenges

Smaller businesses often feel overwhelmed by the number of options, while enterprises struggle more with scaling and making sense of everything they’ve already deployed.

6. Autonomy is already possible in some areas

In functions like IT service, AI can now handle end-to-end processes — from intake to resolution — if the right guardrails are in place.

7. Human involvement depends on the context

Companies still want a human in the loop when it comes to use cases that involve customer interaction, like service, marketing and sales. However, many are becoming more comfortable with internal processes, such as ITSM and employee communication, being handled autonomously.

8. Technology alone isn’t the blocker — culture is

Many AI and agentic projects stall because companies try to apply them to existing processes instead of embracing a new way of working.

9. Open platforms and ecosystems are critical

Customers want flexibility, not lock-in. Strong partnerships and open platforms are key to managing the growing complexity of AI-driven environments.

10. Trust, data, and leadership ownership are non-negotiable

As AI becomes more central to operations, questions around data, governance, and control are moving to the C-level — and becoming a core part of business strategy.

As AI continues to evolve—particularly with the rise of agentic systems—the conversation reinforced a clear takeaway: the organizations that succeed will be those that move beyond tools and truly rethink how work gets done.

Watch the full Work in Progress recording here.