Box Archives - gettectonic.com - Page 4
Competitive Landscape of Retail
04Oct

Navigate the Competitive Landscape of Retail

A shorter shopping season, the rise of Chinese shopping apps, and value-conscious consumers are expected to result in modest growth this holiday season. According to Salesforce’s 2024 holiday shopping forecast, U.S. holiday sales (Nov. 1 – Dec. 31) are projected to grow 2% year-over-year, reaching $277 billion. Global sales are also predicted to increase by 2%, totaling .19 trillion. This reflects softer growth compared to 2023, when global holiday sales rose by 3%. Challenges Ahead Salesforce warns that the 2024 holiday season may be difficult for retailers, with consumers having less spending power, a shortened 26-day shopping window between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and 43% of shoppers carrying more debt than last year. Additionally, 47% of surveyed shoppers plan to spend the same as in 2023, while 40% intend to spend less. New data from Salesforce’s Shopping Index shows that two-thirds of global consumers say price will dictate their shopping choices, while less than a third will prioritize product quality. Impact of Chinese Shopping Apps Salesforce predicts that 21% of holiday purchases will come from Chinese apps like Temu, Shein, AliExpress, and TikTok, with 35% of consumers reporting increased use of these apps. TikTok, in particular, saw a 24% increase in purchases since April 2024, highlighting the growing influence of Chinese platforms on holiday shopping. Retail Strategies To navigate the competitive landscape, Salesforce recommends retailers use strategic discounts and AI-powered tools to improve efficiency, enhance customer relationships, and boost profit margins. “This season will be competitive and focused on pricing strategies,” said Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of strategy and consumer insights. “Leveraging AI and customer data is essential to guide marketing campaigns and holiday promotions.” Key Findings Salesforce’s insights are based on data from 1.5 billion global shoppers across 64 countries, focusing on 12 key markets, including the U.S., Canada, and U.K. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
October 4, 2024in Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Automation, Salesforce Sales Cloud
Salesforce and the Customer-Centric Dealership
03Oct

Salesforce and the Customer-Centric Dealership

Building Blocks for a Customer-Centric Dealership For a dealership to thrive, it must be truly customer-centric. As a Salesforce Implementation Partner, we at Tectonic know the key to success lies in prioritizing customer needs at every step. Growth, profitability, and market expansion come from consistently putting customers at the center of your strategies. Tectonic can help you implement Salesforce and the Customer-Centric Dealership. Customers as the Ultimate Scorekeepers Your customers are the true measure of your dealership’s success. Their evaluations extend far beyond pricing—they assess every touchpoint, from your website’s ease of use to the cleanliness of your parking lot, from your voicemail system to post-sale follow-ups. Each interaction shapes their perception. A single negative encounter, such as a poor experience with a parts associate, may not drive them away, but it certainly won’t motivate them to return. Creating positive, seamless interactions is crucial. Optimizing Customer-Centric Processes Are your processes truly serving your customers? Are they complimenting your dealership’s efficiency? Take something as routine as monthly statements. While they may be straightforward for your team, have you considered your customers’ perspectives? They may not even want a statement, or they might need quicker, more accessible responses to their inquiries. As customer expectations rise due to experiences with brands like Amazon and Starbucks, your dealership must ensure its processes meet or exceed those standards. A Customer portal like Salesforce Experience Cloud can put resources at your customers’ fingertips with the click of a button. Treating Customer Data as a Strategic Asset Customer data is one of your dealership’s most valuable assets. Yet, many dealerships struggle to fully utilize this resource. Are you effectively visualizing and leveraging your customer data? This data, gathered over years of operation, can drive strategic decision-making. To maximize its potential, it’s crucial to have a dedicated role—perhaps a Chief Data Officer—focused on managing, updating, and safeguarding this information. A well-managed data strategy unlocks insights that fuel customer-centric improvements. Letting Data Shape Your Processes With Salesforce, you can use customer data to quickly identify inefficiencies and enhance processes. Streamlined operations lead to happier customers and a more engaged team. For instance, if your manufacturer can deliver most parts within 24 hours, why maintain an overstocked inventory? By analyzing your inventory data, Salesforce can help you identify which parts are essential and which are surplus, allowing you to optimize stock levels and ensure smoother operations. Aligning your inventory with actual demand ensures your dealership functions efficiently, keeping both your customers and staff satisfied. Expert Guidance in Leveraging Salesforce for Growth Adopting a customer-centric approach and utilizing Salesforce to analyze and act on your data can transform your dealership. As your Salesforce Implementation Partner, we’re here to help you integrate these solutions to meet and exceed customer expectations while driving growth and profitability. Together, we can build a dealership that not only competes but thrives in today’s competitive market. With the future of AI, the connected car, and more; there has never been a betrter time to add Salesforce to your customer-centric tool box. Reach out to schedule an introductory call and start your journey toward a more customer-centric future. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
October 3, 2024in Data, Google, Salesforce, Salesforce Experience Cloud
Agentforce to the Team
03Oct

Supercharged Sales and Service Excellence

When sales and service teams are seamlessly aligned, organizations can transform every service interaction into a powerful opportunity to drive revenue and build customer loyalty. By delivering contextual, personalized offers at the right time, businesses can turn each customer touchpoint into a chance to solve problems, create value, and enhance engagement. With the help of real-time data and AI, we move beyond treating customer interactions as isolated events. Instead, we focus on understanding the unique needs and preferences of each customer, whether they’re reaching out for support, visiting a store, or engaging online. Every touchpoint becomes an opportunity to deliver tailored solutions, strengthen loyalty, and increase revenue. These examples are just a glimpse of the solutions we help our clients deploy. With our deep expertise in AI implementation and industry-specific insights, Tectonic is ideally positioned to guide you through activating AI agents that build on your successes. Our extensive experience across diverse sectors enables us to identify the most impactful opportunities for AI, ensuring tailored solutions that align with your business strategy. Tectonic’s proven approach ensures AI agents are deployed efficiently and effectively, driving ROI and delivering measurable results. Agentforce: Open, Extensible, and Transformative Agentforce is designed to foster smooth interactions between agents created on the platform and external agents and applications. With integration into Salesforce Data Cloud, it enables real-time data access for better, faster decision-making. Tectonic can help facilitate this interconnectivity across various channels and platforms, ensuring seamless operations. In a society that prioritizes digital, artificial intelligence is changing sales and service tactics. Adopting AI agents is crucial for business leaders to keep ahead of the competition and develop more effective and efficient methods of customer and employee support. AI agents are not just upgrades—they are transformative forces that redefine what’s possible. They empower organizations to move from envisioning possibilities to realizing a future of enhanced sales performance, streamlined operations, and unmatched customer satisfaction, all powered by AI. Salesforce’s Agentforce: Scaling Your Workforce with Autonomous AI Agents Agentforce provides fully customizable autonomous AI agents that can integrate with enterprise data and take action across sales, service, marketing, and commerce. The Agent Builder allows users to create agents that automate any business process, in any industry, using existing Salesforce tools such as workflows, Apex code, and prompt templates. Leading companies like The Adecco Group, BACA Systems, OpenTable, Saks, and Wiley are already leveraging Agentforce Service Agents to deliver faster, more personalized customer responses while improving operational efficiency. Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the world’s #1 AI CRM, has announced the general availability of Agentforce. This new platform layer enables businesses to create and deploy AI agents that autonomously take action across any business function. Unlike traditional chatbots and copilots, Agentforce agents possess advanced reasoning abilities to make decisions and take actions such as resolving customer issues, qualifying sales leads, and optimizing marketing efforts. These agents operate independently—triggered by changes in data, business rules, pre-built automations, or external signals from APIs. Agentforce includes out-of-the-box agents that can be easily customized and deployed with low-code or no-code tools, working around the clock across any channel. The first of these, the Agentforce Service Agent, outperforms traditional chatbots by handling a wide range of tasks—from simple to complex—using pre-built topics and actions for customer support. These agents are fully customizable to serve various industries, such as retail with order management or financial services with billing and payment support. “Agentforce is redefining business possibilities, ushering in an era of AI-driven abundance and limitless workforces that enhance every employee’s capabilities, strengthen customer relationships, and fuel unprecedented growth,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce. “Built on Salesforce’s trusted, fully customizable platform—integrating enterprise data, metadata, AI models, workflows, security, and applications—Agentforce is everything AI was meant to be.” The Power of Agentforce With Agentforce, there’s no need for DIY AI. Unlike other platforms that require complex integrations and custom builds, Agentforce is natively built into the Salesforce Platform. Customers can instantly convert their existing Flows, prompt templates, Apex code, and APIs into agent actions, seamlessly connecting to enterprise data and security models. With the added power of native tools like Data Cloud, Slack, and MuleSoft, Agentforce offers a streamlined and efficient approach to scaling your workforce with AI. The new Agent Builder empowers Salesforce admins and developers to easily create AI agents with natural language instructions and guardrails, enabling even more customization and control. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
October 3, 2024in Agentforce Platform, Artificial Intelligence, Data, Enterprise, Google, Hyperforce, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud
Viewing All Hard and Soft Credits for Household Accounts
02Oct

Viewing All Hard and Soft Credits for Household Accounts

Subject: Inquiry About Viewing All Hard and Soft Credits for Household Accounts What’s the best way to view a complete list of all hard and soft credits associated with a household account? I understand that the NPSP customizable rollups allow us to aggregate soft credit totals based on the Opportunity Contact Roles for each contact in a household, which is useful but can sometimes be inaccurate due to data entry errors in assigning the correct roles. Additionally, filtered opportunity-related lists on the contact page can show different soft and hard credits assigned to individual contacts. While helpful, this can be confusing for users who prefer to see all information at the household account level and may overlook the contact details. What I’m looking for is a comprehensive list at the account level that includes all opportunities linked to every contact in a household, regardless of the Opportunity Contact Roll type. Essentially, I need to see every soft and hard credit received by all household members. I came across a post by Megan Moorehead from over three years ago titled “Soft Credit Opportunities Related List on Household.” She replied to her own post a couple of months later (on September 10, 2021), but I only partially understand her solution. Before I delve deeper into her suggestions, I wanted to check if there are any simpler or more recent out-of-the-box options added to NPSP. I’m flexible regarding how to obtain this full list of all hard and soft credits related to household members—it could be through a related list or a report. I believe this is a common need among many organizations, so any suggestions on how you’re generating this type of list would be greatly appreciated. Response: You’re correct that this isn’t available out of the box. The challenge arises because opportunities aren’t always directly tagged to the household. You might consider using a screen flow to gather opportunities from household members and display them on the account page in a data table. Alternatively, you could create a custom field on opportunities (populated by a record-triggered flow) called “Household,” which would link opportunities back to the household based on the contact’s association at the time of creation. This would allow for a separate related list on the account page. One thing to keep in mind: since soft credits are only assigned via Contact Roles, if the issue is that Contact Roles are missing, then Megan’s Mass Action Scheduler solution—or any solution—won’t help. Those opportunities will not appear in the household list, except for those where someone in the household received hard credit. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more Alphabet Soup of Cloud Terminology As with any technology, the cloud brings its own alphabet soup of terms. This insight will hopefully help you navigate Read more

Read More
October 2, 2024in Data, Salesforce User Questions
AI Agents and Work
02Oct

AI Agents and Work

With AI tools becoming increasingly prevalent in workplaces worldwide, the focus has shifted from their novelty to optimizing productivity and effectiveness. AI Agents and Work. At Dreamforce 2024, AI agents were a hot topic, particularly with the launch of Salesforce’s new Agentforce platform. However, Slack also made its mark in the AI space, keen to demonstrate its role in transforming the future of work. TechRadar Pro sat down with Slack CEO Denise Dresser to explore how AI is reshaping the platform and why businesses should embrace this transformation. “Work is Broken” “Work, fundamentally, is broken,” Dresser stated, explaining that many workers spend too much time on what she describes as “the work of work.” This often involves switching between disconnected enterprise apps and navigating through data silos just to access the basic information needed to perform their jobs. Dresser emphasized that AI is poised to relieve much of this burden. She highlighted the “incredible wave” of AI adoption across industries, with over 13,000 AI-powered apps built on Slack. “We’re really investing in ensuring AI works for every worker, driving more productivity,” she said, noting that we’re in one of the most significant periods of change in the workplace, full of both opportunity and questions. Slack’s AI-Powered Enhancements With the support of its parent company, Salesforce, Slack has fully embraced AI, offering a broad range of tools designed to improve productivity. Dresser pointed to Slack’s summarization tools, which streamline workflows by surfacing important items from channels and conversations—tools she finds invaluable in her own workday. In addition, Slack’s Huddles—quick, impromptu meetings—now come with AI enhancements, including a new canvas sidebar that generates summaries, notes, and action items in real-time from a live transcript. Slack AI is also integrated into Workflow Builder, allowing users to automate processes using natural language, eliminating the resistance that some workers may feel toward adopting AI. “Slack is the natural place for work,” Dresser said, explaining that the future of work will involve searching, collaborating, and taking action all within the flow of daily tasks. “That vision has never been more true, and never been more real, because this moment is here.” The Era of AI Agents AI agents represent another major step forward for Slack. Dresser noted that third-party integrations with tools like Adobe, Box, and Workday will help facilitate seamless conversations across multiple apps without the need to switch between them. “The era of agents is a big idea, and it’s happening now,” she remarked. However, Dresser stressed the importance of ensuring a smooth transition, noting that onboarding customers effectively will be key to fulfilling this vision. “We think that’s the future.” Looking Ahead: AI at the Core of Work With the technology now in place, the responsibility lies with workers and managers to leverage AI to enhance their daily routines. “What we focus on is making sure we build a product that people love,” Dresser said, adding, “there’s really no one in the world that can offer the breadth of product that can operate across your entire business at the scale we can.” Dresser concluded with optimism about the future of work: “We’re really excited about this innovation meeting this moment. I don’t think there could be a better time for us, and we’re very optimistic about what’s ahead.” Slack’s AI-powered future is designed to break down barriers, streamline workflows, and make work more efficient for everyone. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
October 2, 2024in Agentforce Platform, AI Tools, Data, Enterprise, Salesforce, Technology
Salesforce and the AI Revolution
01Oct

Salesforce and the AI Revolution

In the early 2000s, Salesforce made waves in the tech world with its bold “No Software” marketing campaign, symbolized by the iconic image of the word “software” crossed out in a red circle. While it was a bit misleading—Salesforce still delivered software, just in the cloud—the campaign invited people to rethink software delivery. This marked the dawn of the cloud era, and businesses were ready for a change. Then, enter Salesforce and the AI Revolution. Today, we’re witnessing a similar shift with AI. The word “SaaS” is the latest to be crossed out in red, as AI-native applications, where AI is the core rather than an add-on, promise to disrupt service delivery at an unprecedented speed—far faster than cloud displaced on-premise software. Even Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), a leader in identifying emerging AI trends, admits to being caught off guard by the rapid rise of AI. In its State of the Cloud 2024 report, which aptly declares “The Legacy Cloud is dead—long live AI Cloud!”, BVP highlights how even the most optimistic predictions couldn’t fully capture the pace and scale of AI’s impact. The AI Revolution: Opportunities and Disruption The AI market is evolving at breakneck speed, and entrepreneurs are scrambling to stake their claim in this quickly shifting landscape. In the early cloud era, companies like Box, Docusign, HubSpot, and Shopify found success by targeting specific business use cases with subscription-based, cloud-powered solutions. Similarly, today’s AI opportunity lies in industries where manual, repetitive tasks are still prevalent. Major AI players like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral are investing billions in building large-scale language models (LLMs), but there’s a gap in the market for entrepreneurs to focus on verticals where human labor is still largely manual—such as legal, accounting, and outsourcing services. Traditionally, investors have shied away from these industries due to their reliance on manual labor, high costs, and low profit margins. But AI changes the game. Tasks once done manually can now be automated, transforming labor-intensive processes into scalable, high-margin operations. Services businesses that were once unattractive to investors will now attract attention as AI boosts profitability and efficiency. The Shift to AI-Native Applications The impact of AI-native applications will go beyond improving revenue models; they will fundamentally change how we interact with software. In the current SaaS model, users spend hours in applications, manually entering data and querying systems for answers. In contrast, AI-native B2B applications will solve problems end-to-end without requiring human input for every step. Software will work for users in the background, allowing them to focus on building relationships and making strategic decisions. However, humans won’t be removed from the equation. AI trained on real human intelligence in specific verticals will perform better than purely machine-based intelligence. The combination of human expertise and AI-native applications will drive significant, tangible business results. Avoid the “X of AI” Hype With excitement around AI reaching fever pitch, many startups are branding themselves as the “X of AI”—for instance, the “Salesforce of AI.” These claims are often surface-level, wrapping an AI solution around an existing LLM without delivering true innovation. To identify genuine AI-native solutions, look for these key characteristics: Spotting the Next AI Success Stories The AI space is noisy and crowded, and as more AI-native startups emerge, it will become even harder to separate the winners from the hype. The true innovators will be those who bring untapped data into the digital fold and streamline workflows that have historically been manual. To succeed, founders need deep knowledge of their vertical and a clear understanding of how to implement AI for real-world results. Above all, they must have the vision and drive to realize the full potential of AI-native applications, transforming industries and redefining service delivery. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
October 1, 2024in Artificial Intelligence, Data, Salesforce, Technology
Financial Services Cloud and Core
30Sep

Financial Services Cloud and Core

Remember When Salesforce First Launched Financial Services Cloud in 2016? The managed package introduced a standardized data model that transformed how banks, credit unions, and implementation partners utilized Salesforce. It was a game-changer! But Salesforce hasn’t stopped innovating. Since 2019, they’ve been enhancing the core platform to meet demands for greater performance and flexibility. Now, in 2024, Salesforce has rolled out its biggest core release yet: Financial Account Management Standard Objects. This strategic update could redefine how financial data is managed within Financial Services Cloud (FSC). Understanding these updates is essential for all FSC users. The introduction of standard objects signals a major shift in the platform. Staying informed ensures that your institution remains innovative and fully leverages Financial Services Cloud. Let’s explore what’s changing and why it matters. 1. A New Era for Financial Accounts Say goodbye to limitations and hello to flexibility! The core platform introduces a modern way to manage financial accounts: The elimination of financial account triggers is a huge win for performance. Salesforce’s new data model is designed to handle real-time integrations, which can be a game-changer for many institutions. But real-time integration isn’t necessary for everyone. Depending on your organization’s needs, you might find that a combination of batch integration, on-demand integration, and data visualization works best. If you’re dealing with slow nightly batch data loads due to financial account triggers, exploring the new standard objects could be the solution to your performance woes. 2. Core Offers Benefits for Everyone 3. The FSC Managed Package is Still Supported Salesforce has reassured customers that the FSC Managed Package will continue to be supported. However, with Core advancements, Salesforce is re-evaluating its long-term strategy to provide more streamlined and scalable solutions. While migration to Core isn’t mandatory, Salesforce’s ongoing focus on this new architecture suggests that aligning with the core platform may offer increasing benefits over time. To stay ahead of the curve and access the latest features, it’s wise to explore the potential advantages of migration. Tectonic can help assess your current environment, weigh the benefits of moving to Core, and develop a strategy that aligns with your business goals. 4. Exciting Core Enhancements Core introduces powerful new features that simplify financial data management, such as: 5. The Future Is Core, and You Need the Right Partner to Chart Your Course Salesforce’s shift toward Core highlights the platform’s future direction. While the managed package remains relevant for now, Core offers a more modern, flexible solution for managing financial data. To make the most of these changes and ensure a smooth transition, partnering with an experienced team like Tectonic is crucial. Transitioning to Core requires careful planning. Here’s a roadmap to guide you: Ready to Explore the Power of Core? Contact Tectonic today to learn how we can help guide your transition to Core and capture the full potential of these new features to drive your business forward. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 30, 2024in Data, Salesforce Financial Services Solutions, Salesforce Implementation Services
Data Governance for the AI Enterprise
27Sep

Data Governance for the AI Enterprise

Salesforce Introduces Data Governance for the AI Enterprise Salesforce this month unveiled Data Governance for the AI Enterprise, a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help IT teams navigate the growing regulatory landscape surrounding generative AI. Why it matters: As governments worldwide work to implement stricter rules governing the use of AI, like the EU’s AI Act, data governance has become a top priority for businesses. According to Salesforce research, ensuring robust data security and governance is now the leading concern for Chief Data Officers. Cloud Data Security & Privacy SolutionsExplore the new suite: How Salesforce’s Data Governance for the AI Enterprise Can Help: Salesforce’s latest solution is designed to help companies proactively address both current and future regulations. Built on the Salesforce platform and integrated with Data Cloud, the suite offers advanced data management, enhanced security, and privacy features: Salesforce’s perspective:“Data governance is a top priority for every organization deploying AI, especially given the complexity of the regulatory landscape,” said Alice Steinglass, EVP and GM for Salesforce Platform. “Our Data Governance for the AI Enterprise suite equips businesses to tackle these challenges.” Customer success story:“Data encryption is essential to our data governance strategy,” said James Ferguson, Principal Security Architect at AWS. “With Salesforce’s flexible encryption solutions, we can maintain top-tier security while delivering innovative customer experiences.” Availability: For Data Cloud users: Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 27, 2024in Data, Enterprise, Generative AI, Hyperforce, Salesforce, Salesforce Shield
Unique Form Links With Jotform
23Sep

Unique Form Links With Jotform

Create Unique Form Links with Jotform Once you’ve set up Salesforce Prefill, you can generate unique form links for your customers, automatically populating forms with their specific data. This helps minimize errors and ensures the data collected is accurate and consistent. Steps to Create and Send Personalized Links Each recipient will receive an email with a link to their prefilled form. If you prefer to distribute the links manually, you can download them using the Download option at the top. Unique Form Links With Jotform for Salesforce are an easy solution for your Salesforce org. Need assistance implementing Jotform? Contact Tectonic today. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 23, 2024in Data, Salesforce
Salesforce Email Deliverability Settings
20Sep

Salesforce Email Deliverability Settings

Salesforce Email Deliverability Settings: Managing Communication in Sandboxes Salesforce provides administrators with control over the types of emails that can be sent from their environments, especially within sandbox environments used for development and testing. These email deliverability settings ensure that sensitive or erroneous emails don’t reach actual users during development. Below, we’ll dive into the details of these settings and explain their impact. Email Deliverability Settings in Salesforce Where to Find Deliverability Settings: Note: If Salesforce has restricted your ability to change these settings, they may not be editable. Three Access Levels for Email Deliverability Salesforce offers three key deliverability settings that control email access in your organization: The Importance of the “System Email Only” Setting The System Email Only setting is particularly valuable in sandbox environments. When testing workflows, triggers, or automations in a sandbox, this setting ensures only critical system emails (e.g., password resets) are sent, preventing development or test emails from reaching real users. New Sandboxes Default to System Email Only Since Salesforce’s Spring ’13 release, new and refreshed sandboxes default to the System Email Only setting. This helps prevent accidental email blasts during testing. For sandboxes created before Spring ’13, the default setting is All Email, but it’s recommended to switch to System Email Only to avoid sending test emails. Example: If you’re testing a custom email alert in a sandbox for a retail company, this setting allows you to safely test without worrying about sending emails to actual customers. Bounce Management in Salesforce Bounce management helps you track and manage email deliverability issues, particularly for emails sent via Salesforce or through an email relay. Key Points for Managing Bounces: Creating Custom Bounce Reports in Lightning Experience If the standard bounce reports aren’t available in your organization, or if you’re using Salesforce Lightning, you can create custom reports using the Email Bounced Reason and Email Bounced Date fields. To create a report in Lightning: By configuring Salesforce email deliverability settings and managing bounces, administrators can ensure smooth, secure communication across their organization—especially when working in sandbox environments. These tools help maintain control over outbound emails, protecting users from erroneous communication while providing valuable insights into email performance. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 20, 2024in Salesforce
Agentforce Advances Copilot and Prompt Builder
20Sep

Agentforce Advances Copilot and Prompt Builder

Agentforce was the highlight of the week in San Francisco during Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference—and for good reason! Agentforce Advances Copilot and Prompt Builder and that is truly exciting. Agentforce represents a groundbreaking solution that promises to transform how individuals and organizations interact with their CRM. However, as with any major product announcement, it raises many questions. This was evident during Dreamforce, where admins and developers, eager to dive into Agentforce, had numerous queries. Here’s an in-depth look at what Agentforce is, how it operates, and how organizations can leverage it to automate processes and drive value today. Agentforce Advances Copilot and Prompt Builder Many Dreamforce attendees who anticipated hearing more about Einstein Copilot were surprised by the introduction of Agents just before the event. However, understanding the distinctions between the legacy Einstein Copilot and the new Agentforce is crucial. Agentforce Advances Copilot and Prompt Builder. Agentforce Agents are essentially a rebranding of Copilot Agents but with an essential enhancement: they expand the functionality of Copilot to create autonomous agents capable of tasks such as summarizing or generating content and taking specific actions. Here are some key changes in terminology: Just like Einstein Copilot, Agents use user input—an “utterance”—entered into the Agentforce chat interface. The agent translates this utterance into a series of actions based on configurable instructions, and then executes the plan, providing a response. Understanding Agents: Topics A key difference between Einstein Copilot and Agentforce is the addition of “Topics.” Topics allow for greater flexibility and support a broader range of actions. They organize tasks by business function, helping Agents first determine the appropriate topic and then identify the necessary actions. This topic layer reduces confusion and ensures the correct action is taken. With this structure, Agentforce can support many more custom actions compared to Copilot’s 15-20, significantly expanding capabilities. Understanding Agents: Actions Actions in Agentforce function similarly to those in Einstein Copilot. These are the tasks an agent executes once it has identified the right plan. Out-of-the-box actions are available right away, providing a quick win for organizations looking to implement standard actions like opportunity summarization or sales emails. For more customized use cases, organizations can create bespoke actions using Apex, Flows, Prompts, or Service Catalog items (currently in beta). Understanding Agents: Prompts Whenever an LLM is used, prompts are necessary to provide the right input. Thoughtfully engineered prompts are essential for getting accurate, useful responses from LLMs. This is a key part of leveraging Agent Actions effectively, ensuring better results, reducing errors, and driving productive agent behavior. Prompt Builder plays a crucial role, allowing users to build, test, and refine prompts for Agent Actions, creating a seamless experience between generative AI and Salesforce workflows. How Generative AI and Agentforce Enhance CRM GenAI tools like Agentforce offer exciting enhancements to Salesforce organizations in several ways: However, these benefits are realized only when CRM users adopt and adapt to AI-assisted workflows. Organizations must prioritize change management and training, as most users will need to adjust to this new AI-powered way of working. If your company has already embraced AI, then you are halfway there. If AI hasn’t been introduced to the workforce you need to get started yesterday. Getting Started with Agentforce With all the buzz around Dreamforce, it’s no surprise that many organizations are eager to start using Agentforce. Fortunately, there are immediate opportunities to leverage these tools. The recommended approach is to begin with standard Agent actions, testing out-of-the-box features like opportunity summarization or creating close plans. From there, organizations can make incremental tweaks to customize actions for their specific needs. We have all come to expect that just as quickly as we include agentic ai into our processes and flows, Salesforce will add additional features and capabilities. As teams become more familiar with developing and deploying Agent actions, more complex use cases will become manageable, transforming the traditional point-and-click Salesforce experience into a more intelligent, agent-driven platform. Already I find myself asking, “is this an agent person or an ai-agent”? The day is coming, no doubt, when the question will be reversed. Tectonic’s AI Experts Can Help Interested in learning more about Agentforce or need guidance on getting started? Tectonic specializes in AI and analytics solutions within CRM, helping organizations unlock significant productivity gains through AI-based tools that optimize business processes. We are excited to enable you to enable Agentforce to Advance Copilot and Prompt Builder By Tectonic’s Solutions Architect, Shannan Hearne Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 20, 2024in AI Tools, Data, Einstein 1 Platform, Einstein Insights, Generative AI, Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Marketing Automation, Salesforce Optimization
Salesforce AI Tools for Healthcare
18Sep

Salesforce AI Tools for Healthcare

Salesforce to Launch Pre-Built AI Tools for Healthcare in October Salesforce is introducing a new library of out-of-the-box AI tools specifically designed for healthcare operations, available through its Health Cloud. These generative AI features aim to streamline time-consuming tasks by integrating directly into clinician workflows, enhancing both the quality and efficiency of patient care. Key Features and Benefits Part of Salesforce’s broader initiative to address operational challenges across 15 industries, these healthcare-specific AI tools are embedded in each of its industry clouds. The Einstein Copilot, for example, will allow healthcare providers to generate patient summaries in natural language, leveraging new data management capabilities. This could enable care coordinators to view comprehensive patient summaries—such as care plans, prescriptions, and prior authorizations—before appointments. According to Salesforce, these AI-driven services, powered by Einstein prompts, are integrated within Health Cloud’s member accounts, simplifying administrative tasks like sending referrals and booking appointments. Data privacy and security remain a priority, with Einstein’s data masking and zero data retention layer ensuring patient information is protected. Beyond patient care, the new AI features will support business operations, including verifying insurance coverage, determining out-of-pocket costs, and ensuring eligibility—all designed to reduce administrative burdens and improve operational efficiency. Why It Matters Healthcare organizations often lack the resources to build and train their own AI models, a process that can cost upwards of 0 million. Salesforce’s pre-built AI capabilities provide an accessible solution, allowing organizations of all sizes to adopt AI tools tailored to their specific needs. By automating administrative processes, healthcare providers can focus more on patient care, with faster approvals and fewer manual tasks. Salesforce is positioning these tools to help organizations streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and ultimately improve the patient experience. The features will be generally available in October, with pricing based on specific implementations. Industry Impact and Larger Trend The release of these healthcare-specific AI tools is part of Salesforce’s broader push into industry-specific AI. In March, Salesforce launched the Einstein AI Copilot within its Einstein 1 Platform, designed to leverage healthcare organizations’ unique data within its Health Data Cloud. New capabilities, such as patient services and benefits verification, aim to reduce platform switching, enabling faster approvals and supporting clinicians in real-time patient record updates. Salesforce’s investment in industry-specific AI comes at a time when many healthcare organizations are grappling with the rising costs of technology and labor. At the HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum in Boston, leaders echoed the challenges of managing expansive technology footprints while balancing the need for AI-driven transformation. Operational workflows, particularly back-office processes, offer a low-risk area for AI deployment, as noted by Lee Schwamm, chief digital health officer at Yale New Haven Health System. On the Record “Organizations of every size and budget can now easily get started with practical AI tools that were purposefully designed to solve their unique challenges,” said Jeff Amann, executive vice president and general manager of Salesforce Industries. Salesforce’s new AI use case library, featuring more than 100 AI capabilities embedded across 15 industry clouds, underscores the company’s commitment to developing industry-specific solutions. For healthcare, these tools include automated patient matching for clinical trials, AI-generated prescriptions, and pre-visit summaries—helping organizations accelerate time to care and improve clinical outcomes. In addition, a new auto-matching tool for life sciences will assist in identifying eligible clinical trial participants, using both structured and unstructured data to reduce assessment time. These features allow healthcare CIOs to easily deploy AI capabilities designed to address their organization’s unique needs. Looking Ahead Salesforce’s latest AI tools for healthcare represent a significant step in the company’s strategy to bring industry-specific AI to market, with healthcare, life sciences, financial services, and retail among its top priorities. By offering pre-built, customizable solutions, Salesforce is making AI accessible to a broader range of organizations, enabling them to deliver value quickly while navigating the complexities of modern healthcare operations. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 18, 2024in Einstein 1 Platform, Generative AI, Salesforce Development Services, Salesforce Einstein, Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Optimization
New Slack Innovations
13Sep

New Slack Innovations

Salesforce Unveils Innovative Slack Updates Ahead of its Dreamforce conference in San Francisco later this week, Salesforce has introduced several groundbreaking updates to Slack, designed to consolidate company knowledge, data, agents, apps, and automation into a unified, agent-powered work operating system. New Slack Innovations. The latest enhancements to Slack include: Denise Dresser, CEO of Slack, commented on the updates: “Slack’s agent-powered work operating system is transforming productivity by seamlessly integrating purpose-built AI, customer data, and automation into the everyday workflow. This innovation isn’t just about improving how work gets done—it’s about unlocking new levels of productivity to drive business success across every team and department. In a complex work environment, true productivity demands a future-ready work operating system, and Slack is leading the way.” For more information on these updates and how they can benefit your organization, stay tuned for further details from Dreamforce. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 13, 2024in Data
Winter 25 Release Announcements
13Sep

Winter 25 Release Announcements

Important Information for Winter 25 Release The 5-minute release window applies only to major release upgrades to non-hyperforce orgs. System maintenance windows haven’t changed. ResourcesFor easy reference to this information, bookmark status.salesforce.com. To learn more about our new Winter ’25 features, see Winter ’25 Preview Release Notes and Release Notes Changelog. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

Read More
September 13, 2024in Hyperforce, Salesforce

Subscribe to our mailing list. Join our mail list to receive our newsletter

We'll keep you up to date with our latest news, insights, free resources, and much more.
Don't worry, we won't spam you.
gettectonic.com