Michael Lewis, former vice president and general manager of Iron Mountain's (NYSE:IRM) government services unit, has joined Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) as VP of strategy and business development. He brings more than three decades of industry experience to his new position and will be responsible for Salesforce's BD efforts in the aerospace, defense and federal systems integration segments.

THIS WEEK’S TOP 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES View Weekly Contract Awards Reps. Adam Smith, Mac Thornberry Announce Bicameral Agreement Over FY 2021 NDAA House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, issued a joint statement Wednesday saying both chambers of Congress have reached agreement on …

Boston-based enterprise artificial intelligence company DataRobot has received an investment from and expanded its partnership with cloud-based data warehousing company Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) to advance product integration and go-to-market initiatives to deliver improved user experience and help customers derive insights from data using AI. DataRobot said Wednesday it also secured strategic investments from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) and Salesforce’s (NYSE: CRM) venture arm.

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has agreed to acquire professional services firm Acumen Solutions for an undisclosed sum as part of efforts to expand its platforms and service offerings to help customers advance their digital transformation efforts. Salesforce will integrate Acumen Solutions with its professional services business upon the deal’s closing.

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has agreed to purchase Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK) for approximately $27.7B in a strategy to create a unified technology platform for enterprise collaboration and communication. Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce, said the combination seeks to “shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.”

Scott Woestman, former director of federal sales at software development company Informatica, has joined Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) as regional vice president for sales. He will manage a team of professionals who market Salesforce offerings to the defense sector.

Tahera Zamanzada, director of digital strategy for the global public sector at Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), said the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted government agencies to advance digital transformation and deliver better customer service through the adoption of cloud platforms.

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has launched Government Cloud Plus, a multitenant cloud infrastructure specifically isolated for U.S. federal, state, and local government customers, contractors and federally funded research and development centers, the company announced Thursday.

Teresa Smetzer, vice president of national security programs at Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), has said the adoption of artificial intelligence could help government agencies leverage large volumes of data, allow them to free up employees to focus more on mission-critical issues and accelerate the delivery of services to citizens.

Jenny Berarducci, regional vice president of customer success at Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), has said a cloud-based tool provides government agencies the capability to improve the customer experience and earn the public’s trust, which is key to any mission. Berarducci wrote about the need for agencies to implement a flexible technology that could enable them to meet current and future needs.