When John Walter started a small local newspaper in London in 1785, he couldn’t have imagined it would grow into one of the world’s most successful newspapers. But the former coal merchant and insurance underwriter saw an opportunity to use technology — in this case a patent for a new method of printing — to connect with people, and so The Times was born. Today, News International is taking The Times — now 200+ years old — and The Sunday Times to market in a new ways, including digital and mobile-specific versions. To maintain its leadership position in everything from cutting-edge journalism to light entertainment reading, the company, with help from Salesforce, transformed its business. By engaging with customers in traditional channels and on the social Web, News International is helping them faster than ever before. “Consumer behavior and consumption patterns are changing,” explains Paul Cheesbrough, CIO. “So we've got to service those customer needs in very new and different ways.” Salesforce has been key to News International’s social transformation. The company manages every interaction with customers through Salesforce — including new subscriptions, updates, and more. Salesforce automatically converts inquiries from its readers into cases that are quickly routed to customer service. Agents can easily see a customer’s subscription information and contact history, resulting in faster, more responsive follow up. “Today we're servicing customers in new and different ways,” continues Cheesbrough. “Salesforce gives us the agility to move much quicker than we could previously.”

The company also connects all of its employees from finance to sales to technology in order to boost agility and creativity in a fun working environment. Teams use an employee social network — powered by Chatter — to collaborate on projects and share product ideas, while new hires use an app built on the Salesforce platform to choose their own tools for their jobs. “Salesforce lets us focus our teams on innovation, creativity, and deploying the best product that we can into the marketplace,” Cheesbrough adds. “It's brought us real business results.”