Salesforce and SharePoint Integration: Seamless Synergy Via CloudFiles
Our client, Aegis, wanted to automate various business processes, thereby saving time and effort spent on repeating operational tasks. They adopted Salesforce as their CRM and complemented it with Sharepoint for storing their files and folders. Their main goal was to make a complete transition into Salesforce, where they could store, access, and edit customer data with ease. That is when they got in touch with Brysa, and we carried out a flawless implementation of the ideal solution. How Brysa fulfilled Aegis’s streamlining goals? First and foremost, Brysa audited the existing tech stack and the workflows of Aegis. Using this research, they came up with two buckets – an “as is” stage and a “to be” stage. “As is” stage: Aegis utilised Sharepoint and created separate folders for their customers, with files and subfolders within them holding key sales documents. These documents were often shared internally after access controls were set up. “View only,” “Comment,” or “Edit” access were given to employees within the organisation. Edits in these files were made on Sharepoint. A majority of files were also uploaded on Salesforce to access from that platform. “To be” stage: Aegis’s Salesforce and Sharepoint to be integrated to cut down the time wasted in switching tabs (Sharepoint tab and Salesforce tab). Leverage Sharepoint’s storage space to overcome the challenge associated with Salesforce’s limited free capacity. Integrate Salesforce and Sharepoint in such a way that files could be edited in one platform with changes simultaneously reflecting in the other. Continue the access checks that the client had within the organisation. To reach the “to be stage”, Brysa smartly utilised CloudFiles to link the Sharepoint library and Salesforce. CloudFiles, an application native to Salesforce, gives access to various Sharepoint files to the right object in Salesforce. For starters, Brysa devised a two-way link. Any changes to existing files or additions/deletions of files and folders in Salesforce were immediately reflected in Sharepoint and vice versa. This integration helped Aegis move towards a Single Source of Truth, which is often the first step towards complete automation. Brysa utilised several other smart functionalities of CloudFiles to improve the overall efficiency of the team at Aegis. File sharing through hyperlinks is one such example. It enabled the Aegis team to set strong access controls on the files without compromising the end-user’s experience. There was also a chat window made available on these links, which was used for quick resolutions internally or with customers. This eliminated the need for exchanging multiple back-and-forth emails. An additional benefit is analytics (data on the number of downloads, the total and unique views, total time spent), which was used for making data-driven decisions. About Brysa At Brysa, we aim to future-proof enterprises and increase their shelf life with AI integration. Salesforce, with its multi-dimensional capabilities and access to over 4,500 apps, is the tool we use to achieve this. We have rich experience in providing cutting-edge solutions to organisations across geographies and sectors. We have leveraged our change management expertise in designing an AI Readiness Quiz to measure how prepared you truly are for seamless AI adoption within your systems and processes. The 10-minute free quiz with its customised results is inventive and is the first step you take to meet the challenge of automation head-on.
Boosting Sales: How Salesforce-ChatGPT integration increased RevOps effectiveness by 100%
Our client, operating in the UK market as a publisher with multiple classes of media assets had a critical RevOps problem. Their media@company.com email was used by legacy advertisers and by the partner channels for sending in inquiries about the prices and availability of media assets. With increasing interest in the market to advertise on assets owned by our client, the volume of queries coming into this inbox increased dramatically over a period of time. Also, since the partner channels were also forwarding on queries they received, there were different types of email queries coming into the inbox. The increase in volume of email queries and the proliferation of types of interest created a volume and a data problem for the client. The client’s RevOps team used to handle the emails coming into the inbox manually, at a time when the volume was still manageable. As the business grew, so did the team size and it soon became obvious that deploying people to tackle the inbox not only compounded the problems but also created new problems. Firstly, the RevOps team had to jump from window to window to check the emails and then to move the deals on in Salesforce. Next, they had to ensure the data is rekeyed correctly before processing. Then there was the problem of classifying the various types of queries to ensure correct analysis and continuous improvement. The solution of having more people handle the volume did help to an extent; however, the problems continued to exist and cause pain to the team. We intervened technologically by deploying ChatGPT which is a very simple application of the AI tool’s capability. The solution design was straightforward: as soon as an email lands in the client’s inbox, it gets forwarded to a Salesforce or email generated by the relevant Email Services. The Email Services will receive this email, parse it and hand it over to the next step in the flow which is to structure the email as part of a GPT prompt. The prompt itself was created as a custom metatag to ensure iteration and improvement is easily executed. We did not go down the Prompt Library route (as such we’re eagerly waiting to get our hands on SalesforceGPT templates/ libraries) since the use case didn’t demand an array of prompts but rather to solve just this one scenario: structuring the unstructured email query. Once the email and the prompt are packaged, we opened a session with ChatGPT through REST API connections and supplied the prompt. ChatGPT typically responded within a few milliseconds for standard length prompts and took a little while longer for complex, multi-forwarded emails. The prompt was structured to ensure various scenarios (forwards of forwards; direct; wrongly addressed emails etc.) to be covered. Also, ChatGPT was prompted to return the response in a jquery format with necessary field names for easy processing. Image 1: ChatGPT prompt as a Custom Metadata Type Record This ChatGPT response is processed by the Apex in Salesforce org. The response is parsed and a new record created with necessary lookups and field populations. Though we had the option of creating a lead directly, the use case involved a human to process to record before lead creation (to control the quality further). Hence, we created what we called a pre-lead record that could be converted to a lead by a simple click thus, populating all the critical lead information automatically. As an aid to the user processing the pre-lead, the original email chain was attached to the record so they can peruse this information without leaving Salesforce and opening the inbox. Image 2: a record created from ChatGPT structured data output Image 3: Conversion of the interstitial record to a Lead In the first month of the launch, the team were able to handle 100s of emails coming into the company as inquiries and orders without leaving Salesforce leading hours of saved time and increase in revenue from this channel. The accuracy of data collection improved dramatically leading to better analysis and right deployment of resources. The team continues to use this on a daily basis now.
Amplifying i-media’s Digital OOH Efficiency
In the UK’s Motorway Services Area (MSA) sector, i-media stands out with its transformation in out-of-home advertising. Moving from static displays to dynamic digital screens, they’ve made significant strides in the OOH space, powered by strategic technological partnerships. According to a survey by MAGNA and Rapport, digital roadside billboards continue to dominate the OOH sector. i-media, having screens across the UK’s MSA network, is a testimony to this trend, given the rapid growth of its digital assets. However, scaling from 50 full-motion D48 screens to an inventory of 650 screens within a short span brought its own set of challenges. Managing campaigns on spreadsheets became a mammoth task, prompting the shift to the Broadsign platform for better automation. The challenge then arose: how to integrate i-media’s CRM, Salesforce, with Broadsign seamlessly? Enter Brysa. Recognized for our expertise in system integration, we were approached to bridge the gap. Tapping into Broadsign’s API, we integrated Salesforce with i-media’s campaign management workflow. This move eliminated the need for manual scheduling, and campaigns created in Salesforce reflected instantaneously in Broadsign. This integration reduced the operational workload significantly, leading to a 40% increase in i-media’s operational efficiency. More than just the automation, the integration empowered the sales team with real-time insights into inventory availability. This transparency bolstered trust and reduced response times to advertisers and agencies, enhancing overall client relationships. Our collaboration with i-media is a testament to Brysa’s commitment to providing tailored solutions in the OOH landscape. We pride ourselves on understanding and addressing specific challenges, offering solutions that not only solve immediate concerns but also add long-term value. As i-media continues to expand in the digital OOH sector, they can rely on a robust technology stack that evolves with their needs. With partners like i-media, we look forward to more such opportunities to drive efficiency and growth in the industry. A version of this case study appeared as an article posted at broadsign.com published on 18-Oct-2023
Mapping 1.8m postcodes in Salesforce: decreased admin time and increased sales
One of our clients owns multiple advertising assets across 137 locations in the United Kingdom. The sales team works on maximising the occupancy of brands in these advertising assets. This means they need to be talking as much as they can to multiple stakeholders: local and national, to effect more sales of ad spaces on these assets. Typically, in order to make best use of the ad space, the brands ask to advertise based on a rule: usually within x miles or within x hours drive from their outlet. To provide options to the brand, our client used an outdated on-premise software that had the UK postcodes pre-loaded and offered limited functionalities of search. The tool only allowed for restricted number of queries to be run at a certain time and had limited export functionalities. Also, it was standalone with no integration to the list of assets our client owned. All these factors meant that multiple sources of the same data had to be maintained and a lot of manhours had to be wasted executing a simple task such as ‘give me the number of ad spaces we own within 5 miles radius of M60 7RA that has male washroom assets and D48 assets’. Something had to be done. Image 1: The on-premise legacy tool used (illustrative) We began by understanding the use cases and the goals the sales team users wanted to achieve. The primary goal was to put the mapping functionality to increase sales revenue. Subsequent goals included ease-of-use, quick turnaround and unified data access. The sales team needed the functionality to search by postcode, town, county, region, country and by uploading a CSV file of all of the above. We gathered that, the use cases and goals, if implemented, will help the sales team provide better value to the brands they served. After consultation, we scoped the project to run in two phases: the immediate priorities will be covered in phase one, in which we proposed to use Salesforce’s native mapping functionality and in phase two, we suggested we will have API integrations with Google Maps. Though this approach involved losing some existing use cases (e.g. ability to get a route from location A to location B), the benefits of moving to a Salesforce solution outweighed the setbacks. We proceeded with implementing the solution and used ONS postcode data API to ingest more than 1.8 million UK postcodes into client’s Salesforce org. We optimised the data usage by creating custom objects that reduced the querying time when the tool is used. We also built a custom Aura component with sophisticated search functionalities that allowed the user to search by different variables and search by uploading CSV files. At client’s request, we implemented CSV export functionality that provided information about the locations the search returned and the types of assets available in those locations. Image 2: Landing page with search functionality Image 3: Search results tabulated and exportable Image 4: CSV upload functionality The rolled out phase one immediately enhanced the sales team’s ability to self-service with up to 75% of time saved compared to the legacy solution. Now, the sales team could use the mapping tool to understand and present various options available to the brands they were selling to. This increased the trust the brands had with the sales team and led to better close rates. In a matter of days, the sales team fully adopted the Salesforce, single-source-of-truth solution we built and have made it part of their sales toolkit. Currently, it’s being used every day to add better value to the brands they serve.
Click-based opportunity to accounting: eliminating gaps between sales performance and financial accountability
Our client runs a sales-focused organization where the sales team are incentivized (through commissions) based on the closed sales achieved on a monthly basis. It’s a fast moving environment with aggressive targets and a results-oriented culture turning over around £1m pounds every month. The finance team of the organization were three in number and faced downstream challenges of ensuring the sale numbers recorded by the sales team are indeed the right numbers hitting the books. The FinOps team used Sage50 and unsuccessfully tried Sage200 to streamline the finance processes. Among other challenges they faced, the most important one concerning the sales team was the time it took to complete the month-end accounting. This lengthy latency – which the finance team couldn’t help though they were working very hard – left all parties frustrated. The senior management had to wait to get a pulse of the business performance, the sales team weren’t sure about their commissions and the finance team were stressed. The finance director and the controller consulted us on the situation and after assessing the AS IS state of the org suggested the finance team to consider bringing the accounting system inside Salesforce establishing a single-source-of-truth. The change was scary since the team had to move away from the comfort of the known and into the realms of unknown. However, the leadership knew that all change is uncomfortable and implementation of a finance system within Salesforce will lead to long-term growth and will relieve short-term pain points for the organization. We considered FinancialForce, Accounting Seed and Sage Intacct (which had integrations to Salesforce) as potential solutions. FinancialForce was ruled out on price and Sage Intacct on the grounds of the need of API integration to Salesforce (which is another potential point of failure) and the client selected Accounting Seed. Image 1: Accounting Seed system natively within the Salesforce org The implementation process involved reorganizing the client General Ledger Accounts and slightly restructuring their Accounting Processes. It also involved extensive work on data migration which we helped the client with by managing the templatized ETL process. There were a few gaps in the reporting functionalities that the client had gotten habituated to. However, since Salesforce offers flexible build capabilities we build custom reporting functionalities within the system for the FinOps team to get their reports through clicks. Many rounds of build demos and adoption training were provided to the client with Brysa’s team of certified chartered accountants who were experts in Accounting Seed. The system changes that the sales team faced were negligible. They continued on following their sales opportunity processes withing Salesforce as normal. Once the implementation was completed, the FinOps team ran the finance and accounting processes in the outgoing Sage and incoming Accounting Seed systems in parallel for a few weeks. This was challenging since it involved the team stretching beyond their BAU – however, the excitement and the promise of a more streamlined system meant the team morale was high and they learned the new system quickly. The sales team were also advised on the impending finance changes. Though their processes changed little they were looking forward to quicker validations of their numbers from the finance team. Image 2: Ability to create Invoice from an Opportunity by one click The adoption of the system in the production org to run the day-to-day finance lead to immediate efficiencies. The FinOps team no longer had to get extracts of sales information. They could see everything in the same system. They also needn’t recreate account records in the finance system which saved them time. The team estimated that more than 30% of their time doing repetitive, avoidable tasks were saved because of the new system implementation. Image 3: Real-time P&L statement made possible by single-source-of-truth A simple illustration of this efficiency involves the process of raising an invoice. Where the team used to do multiple keystrokes in the past, they can now simple click a button in the opportunity record (invisible to the sales team) to raise a fully templatized, customized invoice and email it to their client finance contact from within the system. Not only that, the finance team could also now post the entries into the correct ledgers with clicks that made it possible to get accurate, real-time P&L and customer statements. This led to a collaborative approach between the sales and finance teams ensuring the sales team’s data input increased in accuracy and in return the finance team were able to provide validated numbers back to the team quicker.
Simplifying the workflow of team management: interactive calendar within Salesforce
Our client had a team of personnel who were placed in various locations across the country and were working various shifts. The coordination of these personnel and allocation of tasks to them were happened through manual processes using WhatsApp and Phone calls. As the team of personnel grew, so did the burden of coordination on the admin and managerial team members leading to employee burnouts. The management had the option of hiring more people as a short term fix or deploy technology to streamline the processes. We understood that the situation demanded immediate intervention to relieve the pain points of the coordination team. Lots of comfort were derived from habitual ways of working; however, since everyone was at a breaking point, the team was eager to have a technology solution that will save them time and effort and also prevent mistakes from happening. Through our consulting process involving de-risking, we narrowed the findings to simple actions: implement a tool that will give central visibility of personnel availability from shift-to-shift, bulk upload shifts and holidays and provide simple ways to manage the day-to-day operations. We assessed a few options and zoned in on isimio calendar, a 3rd party Salesforce AppExchange app that provided basic calendar functionalities needed but most importantly, provided the ability to customize the solution to fit the need of the client. Image 1: High-level Calendar view to manage multiple personnel in one place We implemented the solution in an agile manner, ensuring that the team who will be adopting the solution were comfortable and were taken along in the journey every step of the way. After every sprint or some time two sprints, we would demo the work-in-progress build and gather feedback from the client management and the admin team. This prevented any shock or surprise the team may have faced and also made them feel invested in the solution, thus making it their achievement rather than something handed top-down. Technically, the implementation involved onboarding the 3rd party app into client’s Salesforce org, creating flows between the custom app objects and the client org objects to ensure the right trigger actions are achieved, creating custom alerts and notifications, implementing validations to ensure the required restrictions are effected (e.g. prohibit a personnel on holiday to be assigned a task) and customizing the views to suit the use cases of the client user. Image 2: Customisation on Calendar to embed into the client org’s workflow Once deployed into production, we bulk-uploaded shifts data and the personnel information and assisted the client admin users to adopt the solution. The adoption was challenging and involved implementing some change requests for the users. As with many solutions, the adoption throws up it’s own, sometimes unforeseen challenges. However, since we work in an agile fashion, we were able to consider and implement these change requests immediately to tap into the momentum the release had created. Thus, with the teething troubles ironed out, the client admin team began using the solution in earnest. Image 3: Multiple types of tasks in one view showing utilisation The interactive, drag-and-drop real time calendar functionality within Salesforce immediately freed up more than 50% of the admin team’s time. No longer had they the need to use WhatApp to get to know what task the team personnel were working on. They could now do this by simply looking at the system. The solution also helped them drastically cut down on errors since the system restricted them from mis-allocating resources to tasks. The team uses the interactive calendar functionality every day to manage task allocations to team’s personnel.
