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08Jan

Einstein AI Trust Layer Explained

The Einstein Trust Layer is a secure AI architecture. It is natively built into the Salesforce Platform. Designed for enterprise security standards the Einstein Trust Layer continues to allow teams to benefit from generative AI. Without compromising their customer data, while at the same time letting companies use their trusted data to improve generative AI responses: Trusted AI starts with securely grounded prompts. A prompt is a canvas to provide detailed context and instructions to Large Language Models. The Einstein Trust layer allows you to responsibly ground all of your prompts in customer data and mask that data when the prompt is shared with Large Language Models*. With our Zero Retention architecture, none of your data is stored outside of Salesforce. Salesforce gives customers control over the use of their data for AI. Whether using our own Salesforce-hosted models or external models that are part of our Shared Trust Boundary, like OpenAI, no context is stored. The large language model forgets both the prompt and the output as soon as the output is processed. 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

January 8, 2024in Data, Enterprise, Generative AI, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud, Salesforce Einstein

09Oct

Einstein 1 is Coming

What Does the New Einstein 1 Data Cloud Mean for Your Organization? Einstein 1 is Coming One of the major announcements at Dreamforce was the exciting intro that Einstein 1 is Coming. The Einstein 1 Data Cloud is now natively integrated with the Einstein 1 Platform. This integration allows users to connect any data, create unified customer profiles, and enhance every customer experience with AI, automation, and analytics. This is a giant step for Salesforce-kind. It can revolutionize the ways businesses engage with their customers. While this announcement is exciting, what does it mean for organizations at different stages of their Salesforce journey? In this insight, we explore the announcement details, considerations for using the Einstein 1 Data Cloud in your company, and how Tectonic can assist in navigating this new offering. What’s New with the Platform? The integration of Salesforce Data Cloud and Einstein AI into the Einstein 1 Platform marks a significant enhancement. The platform integration enables companies to securely connect any data, build AI-powered apps with low code, and deliver superior CRM experiences. It unifies data across the enterprise by mapping it to Salesforce’s underlying metadata framework, regardless of how the data is structured in disparate systems. Regardless of how complex it is. What is Einstein 1 Data Cloud? The Key to Unified Data Salesforce Einstein 1 Data Cloud unifies customer data, enterprise content, telemetry data, Slack conversations, and other structured and unstructured data to create a single view of the customer. This integration unlocks otherwise siloed data and scales operations in new ways: Salesforce has announced that Enterprise Edition and above customers can use Data Cloud at no additional cost. However, organizations should consider their position on the Salesforce maturity curve before implementation. Data Cloud’s capabilities, while extensive, might not fully optimize data for organizations further along in their Salesforce journey without a thorough trial. What is the Einstein Conversational Assistant? An AI-Powered Shift Einstein now includes a generative AI-powered conversational assistant featuring Einstein Copilot and Einstein Copilot Studio. These tools operate within the Einstein Trust Layer, a secure AI architecture native to the Einstein 1 Platform that ensures data privacy and security. Why Should Organizations Consider Einstein 1? Customer data is often fragmented and siloed across disparate systems, preventing a unified view necessary for informed business decision-making. Data unification is essential for data-driven decision making and fully getting the full ROI of AI. AI is a major trend in technology, but effective AI requires comprehensive, aligned data. Without a unified data foundation, AI’s potential is limited. Einstein 1 with Data Cloud provides the solution by consolidating data, enabling the training of AI models to make optimal decisions and recommendations. How Can Tectonic Help You Transition? Tectonic brings extensive Salesforce expertise and industry-specific experience in sectors heavily reliant on data, such as healthcare, financial services, and travel and tourism. These industries face strict data regulations and often have siloed data in legacy systems. Einstein 1 helps organizations achieve a 360-degree view of their customers by unifying data. Tectonic can assist in maximizing AI on the Salesforce platform by building a robust data foundation and providing a roadmap for future scalability. While both Einstein 1 and AI Cloud are Salesforce terms that promise AI-driven capabilities, there are differences to consider. Einstein 1 Platform is a comprehensive suite that includes Data Cloud, AI tools, and automation capabilities. In contrast, AI Cloud is more of an overarching term that might encompass Einstein 1 as part of its suite, focusing on the broader application of AI across Salesforce’s entire range of products and services. Understanding these distinctions is critical in identifying which solution aligns with your organizational needs. 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

October 9, 2023in Einstein 1 Platform, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud, Salesforce Einstein

13Sep

The Crucial Role of Data and Integration in AI at Dreamforce

Understanding The Crucial Role of Data and Integration in AI at Dreamforce At this year’s Dreamforce, AI is the star of the show, but two essential supporting actors are data and integration. Enterprises are increasingly recognizing the importance of unifying their diverse data sources for effective analysis and swift action, and the race to harness AI makes this integration even more critical. Integration is key not only for merging data but also for automating end-to-end processes, enabling organizations to move faster and deliver better outcomes to customers. Crucial Role of Data and Integration in AI at Dreamforce. It’s no surprise that MuleSoft, acquired by Salesforce five years ago, is now a major contributor to Salesforce’s growth. Brian Millham, President and COO at Salesforce, highlighted this during the company’s recent Q2 earnings call: “In Q2, nearly half of our greater than $1 million deals included MuleSoft. As customers integrate data from all sources to drive efficiency, growth, and insights, MuleSoft has become mission-critical and was included in half of our top 10 deals.” Breaking Down Silos Param Kahlon, EVP and General Manager for Automation and Integration at Salesforce, recently discussed the investments customers are making in data and integration. He emphasized the importance of breaking down operational silos: “We are in the business of breaking silos across systems to ensure that data can travel seamlessly through multiple systems and people for processes like order-to-cash or procure-to-pay. Our technology connects these dots.” The surge in AI interest has increased the urgency to act, as Kahlon explained: “Creating data repositories for AI algorithms requires real-time data across silos, driving significant demand for our integration solutions.” Consolidating Data Enterprises have long struggled with data consolidation due to monolithic application stacks with separate data stores. This has been a challenge even within Salesforce’s own products. Last year, Salesforce introduced a Customer Data Platform (CDP) called Data Cloud, which includes a real-time data layer named Genie. Kahlon elaborated on its significance: “Data Cloud’s strength lies in its understanding and storage of Salesforce metadata. This native integration allows for real-time actions within Salesforce, enhancing the ability to aggregate, reason over, and act on data.” For example, when a customer contacts a bank, Data Cloud can compile their ATM usage, website interactions, and recent support cases, providing the agent with a comprehensive view to better assist the customer. Leveraging Metadata for AI Salesforce’s metadata layer, which has been fine-tuned over two decades, gives it a distinct advantage. Kahlon noted: “This metadata-based architecture allows us to create meaningful AI algorithms that are natively consumed within Salesforce, enabling visualization and action based on real-time data.” This is crucial for training the underlying Large Language Model (LLM) accurately, ensuring generated content is contextually grounded and trustworthy. Kahlon emphasized: “The trust layer is essential. We need to ensure no hallucination or toxicity in the LLM’s responses, and that communications align with our company’s values.” Real-Time Data and API Management Data Cloud’s ability to connect to other data sources like Snowflake without duplicating data is a significant benefit. Kahlon commented: “Duplicating data is not desirable. Customers need real-time access to the actual source of truth.” On the integration front, APIs have simplified connecting applications and data sources. However, managing API sprawl is crucial. Kahlon explained: “Standardizing API use and publishing them in a centralized portal is essential for reusability and consistency. Low-code platforms and connectors are becoming increasingly relevant, enabling business users to access data without relying on IT.” Automation and AI The demand for automation is growing, and low-code tools are vital. Instead of integration experts being overwhelmed, organizations should establish Centers for Excellence to focus on creating reusable connectors and automations. Kahlon added: “Companies need low-code tools to involve more business users in the transformation journey without slowing down due to legacy applications.” In the future, AI may further ease the workload on integration specialists. MuleSoft recently introduced an API Experience Hub to make APIs discoverable, and AI might eventually help monitor execution logs and manage APIs more effectively. Kahlon concluded: “AI could help developers find and use APIs efficiently, enhancing security and governance while simplifying access to data across the organization.” 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

September 13, 2023in Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Einstein, Snowflake

20Aug

Big Data and Data Visualization Explained

Data Visualization: Turning Complex Data into Clear Insights Data visualization is the practice of converting information into visual formats, such as maps or graphs, to make data more accessible and understandable. The primary purpose of data visualization is to highlight patterns, trends, and outliers within large data sets, allowing users to quickly glean insights. The term is often used interchangeably with information graphics, information visualization, and statistical graphics. The Role of Data Visualization in Data Science Data visualization is a crucial step in the data science process. After data is collected, processed, and modeled, it must be visualized to draw meaningful conclusions. It’s also a key component of data presentation architecture, a discipline focused on efficiently identifying, manipulating, formatting, and delivering data. Importance Across Professions Data visualization is essential across various fields. Teachers use it to display student performance, computer scientists to explore AI advancements, and executives to communicate information to stakeholders. In big data projects, visualization tools are vital for quickly summarizing large datasets, helping businesses make informed decisions. In advanced analytics, visualization is equally important. Data scientists use it to monitor and ensure the accuracy of predictive models and machine learning algorithms. Visual representations of complex algorithms are often easier to interpret than numerical outputs. Historical Context of Data Visualization Data visualization has evolved significantly over the centuries, long before the advent of modern technology. Today, its importance is more pronounced, as it enables quick and effective communication of information in a universally understandable manner. Why Data Visualization Matters Data visualization provides a straightforward way to communicate information, regardless of the viewer’s expertise. This universality makes it easier for employees to make decisions based on visual insights. Visualization offers numerous benefits for businesses, including: Advantages of Data Visualization Key benefits include: Challenges and Disadvantages Despite its advantages, data visualization has some challenges: Data Visualization in the Era of Big Data With the rise of big data, visualization has become more critical. Companies leverage machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data, and visualization tools help present this data in a comprehensible way. Big data visualization often employs advanced techniques, such as heat maps and fever charts, beyond the standard pie charts and graphs. However, challenges remain, including: Examples of Data Visualization Techniques Early computer-based data visualizations often relied on Microsoft Excel to create tables, bar charts, or pie charts. Today, more advanced techniques include: Common Use Cases for Data Visualization Data visualization is widely used across various industries, including: The Science Behind Data Visualization The effectiveness of data visualization is rooted in how humans process information. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s research identified two methods of information processing: Visualization Tools and Vendors Data visualization tools are widely used for business intelligence reporting. These tools generate interactive dashboards that track performance across key metrics. Users can manipulate these visualizations to explore data in greater depth, and indicators alert them to data updates or important events. Businesses might use visualization of data software to monitor marketing campaigns or track KPIs. As tools evolve, they increasingly serve as front ends for sophisticated big data environments, assisting data engineers and scientists in exploratory analysis. Popular data visualization tools include Domo, Klipfolio, Looker, Microsoft Power BI, Qlik Sense, Tableau, and Zoho Analytics. While Microsoft Excel remains widely used, newer tools offer more advanced capabilities. Data visualization is a vital subset of the broader field of data analytics, offering powerful tools for understanding and leveraging business data across all sectors. 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

August 20, 2023in Salesforce

data cloud and marketing cloud personalization

11Jul

What is the Difference in a Data Lake and a Data Warehouse

Is a Data Lake Necessary? Difference in a Data Lake and a Data Warehouse? Do I need both? Both Data Lakes and Data Warehouses play crucial roles in the data processing and reporting infrastructure. They are complementary approaches rather than substitutes. Relevance of Data Lakes: Data lakes are losing popularity compared to their previous standing. Advanced storage solutions like data warehouses are progressively taking their place. Can Data Lakes Replace Data Warehouses? Data lakes do not directly replace data warehouses; they serve as supplementary technologies catering to different use cases with some overlap. Organizations typically have both a data lake and a data warehouse. Distinguishing Between Data Lakes and Data Warehouses: Data lakes and data warehouses serve as storage systems for big data, utilized by data scientists, data engineers, and business analysts. Despite some similarities, their differences are more significant than their commonalities, and understanding these distinctions is vital for aspiring data professionals. Data Lake vs. Data Warehouse: Key Differences: Data lakes aggregate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources, resembling real lakes with diverse inflows. Data warehouses, on the other hand, are repositories for pre-structured data intended for specific queries and analyses. Exploring Data Lakes: A data lake is a storage repository designed to capture and store large amounts of raw data, whether structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. This data, once in the lake, can be utilized for machine learning or AI algorithms and later transferred to a data warehouse. Data Lake Examples: Data lakes find applications in various sectors, such as marketing, education, and transportation, addressing business problems by collecting and analyzing data from diverse sources. Understanding Data Warehouses: A data warehouse is a centralized repository and information system designed for business intelligence. It processes and organizes data into categories called data marts, allowing for structured data storage from multiple sources. Data Warehouse Examples: Data warehouses support structured systems and technology for diverse industries, including finance, banking, and food and beverage, facilitating secure and accurate report generation. Data Warehouses compared to Data Lakes: Data warehouses contain processed and sanitized structured data, focusing on business intelligence, while data lakes store vast pools of unstructured, raw data, providing flexibility for future analysis. Key Differences Between Warehouses and Lakes: Intended purpose, audience, data structure, access and update cost, access model, and storage and computing are crucial factors distinguishing data warehouses and data lakes. Choosing Between Data Warehouse and Data Lake: The decision depends on organizational needs, value extracted from data analysis, and infrastructure costs. Organizations may opt for agility with a data lake, a data warehouse for larger data quantities, or a combination for maximum flexibility. A data lake stores raw, unstructured data indefinitely, providing cost-effective storage, while a data warehouse contains cleaned, processed, and structured data, optimized for strategic analysis based on predefined business needs. Data Warehouse, Data Lake, and Data Hub Differences: Data warehouses and data lakes primarily support analytic workloads, whereas data hubs focus on data integration, sharing, and governance, serving different purposes in the data landscape. Salesforce Data Cloud is a powerful data warehouse solution that allows companies to effectively manage and analyze their data. It provides users with the ability to stream input data from Salesforce and other sources, making it a comprehensive platform for data integration. Content updated February 2024. 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

July 11, 2023in Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Data Cloud, Technology

01Jul

Understanding Salesforce Field Service

Salesforce Field Service is an expansive addition to Salesforce Service Cloud, offering a 360 degree perspective on workforce management, especially in scenarios where services extend beyond the office or work site into the field. This typically involves mobile employees such as service technicians, alongside service agents, dispatchers, and service managers. Let’s dive into the nuances of Salesforce Field Service, addressing key aspects like its definition, user roles, reporting, scheduling, optimization, and more. Salesforce Field Service is also a popular tool in public sector solutioning. Understanding Salesforce Field Service will help to decide if it is right for your service teams. Understanding Salesforce Field Service: Salesforce Field Service, formerly known as Field Service Lightning (FSL), is an extension of Service Cloud designed to provide a comprehensive workforce management view. It seamlessly manages services delivered in the field, such as a electrical installer arriving to fulfill a customer’s order. Field Service Lightning evolves with each Salesforce release, continually enhancing functionality. Salesforce Field Service enhances customer engagement with real-time personalization, optimization of field teams with a scheduling engine, and access to offline data. Components of Salesforce Field Service: Field Service comprises various components, including Service Appointments, Salesforce Service Cloud integration, Territory and Scheduling functionalities, the Field Service Dispatcher Console, and the Field Service Mobile App for Android and iOS with offline capabilities. A detailed data model diagram illustrates the relationship between Service Cloud and Field Service. Users of Salesforce Field Service: Salesforce Field Service is particularly valuable for organizations with mobile field technicians supporting customers. It excels in scenarios with intricate service delivery involving multiple individuals like dispatchers, field technicians, service agents, and service managers. Each user persona interacts with Salesforce Field Service in distinct ways, utilizing tools like the Dispatcher Console or Field Service Mobile App tailored to their roles. Use Cases for Salesforce Field Service: Field Service proves beneficial in diverse service scenarios, including repairs, maintenance, sales visits, and healthcare care visits. It facilitates efficient coordination among dispatchers, field technicians, service agents, and service managers, streamlining processes and enhancing customer satisfaction. Key Terms in Salesforce Field Service: Understanding key terms such as Work Orders, Service Appointments, Contracts, Entitlements, Work Types, Service Territories, Operating Hours, Resources, and Scheduling Policies is essential. These terms collectively form the foundation of Salesforce Field Service’s robust data model and optimized usability. Scheduling and Optimization: Scheduling in Salesforce Field Service is managed through the Dispatcher Console, empowering dispatchers to make informed decisions. Various methods, from manual to fully automated, enable the creation of service appointments, optimizing resource allocation and ensuring efficient service delivery. Forecasting and Planning: Use real-time data to quickly assess the impact of global or in-day optimization on travel time and resource utilization. Refine scheduling policies, get an instant view of optimization results, and KPI changes. Asset Service Management: Move from reactive to proactive service with real-time asset tracking. Monitor service outcomes and create preventive maintenance plans based on asset use, condition, age, and specific criteria. Service Territory Design: Service Territories, categorized as Primary, Secondary, and Relocation Territories, define where teams can perform work. Well-defined territories are crucial for efficient dispatcher satisfaction, requiring thoughtful initial design and ongoing maintenance. Field Service Mobile App: The Salesforce Field Service Mobile app is essential for on-the-move workforces, offering technicians essential information to optimize job execution. Offline capabilities ensure uninterrupted work, and the Visual Remote Assistant feature enables two-way video and audio communication between agents, technicians, and customers. Slack for Field Service: Empower your mobile workforce with seamless connectivity and timely assistance whenever it is needed. Mobilize for service appoints and tap into the expertise of colleagues throughout the organization with the user-friendly Slack interface. Reporting in Salesforce Field Service: Monitoring service efficiency and success involves leveraging Salesforce reports, list views, and other platform analytics. Work Order List Views and Field Service Report Types provide insights into service call-outs and overall performance. Enabling Field Service Lightning: Setting up Salesforce Field Service involves installing it as a Managed Package, assigning licenses to users, and configuring standard objects like Products, Assets, Service Contracts, and Entitlements. Creating records for Service Territories, Service Resources, and Operating Hours establishes the framework for the service model. Field Service Deployments: Deployments in Salesforce Field Service can be time-consuming due to its reliance on object data. Considerations for complex relational data movement between environments and potential risks, such as resistance to automation, require careful attention. Tectonic, as a Salesforce Consulting Partner, can assist your company in deploying Salesforce Field Service. Salesforce Field Service projects, while intricate, can be highly valuable when executed correctly providing a large ROI. Adequate planning, phased implementations, and a long-term perspective contribute to the success of organizations leveraging the capabilities of Salesforce Field Service. If you are looking for a more robust solution, consider Field Service Plus combining dispatch and technician functionality along with Service Cloud and Sales Cloud. Tectonic looks forward to helping your field service team utilize this Salesforce tool. Tectonic is please to announce Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation Solutions. Like2 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

July 1, 2023in Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Manufacturing Automotive Energy, Salesforce Public Sector Solutions, Salesforce Service Cloud

15Jun

Scale Data and Analytics in the Cloud

Winning in the Data Economy In the rapidly growing data economy, enterprises are eager to gain a competitive edge. This data economy, which revolves around the global supply and demand for data and data-driven applications, continues to expand as more organizations seek critical insights to drive their success. Scale Data and Analytics in the Cloud. The value of data isn’t a new concept. Companies acquired other companies for the sole purpose of obtaining their data – customers, prospects, etc. The value of actionable data is a bit newer. Whereas we once marketed to prospects based primarily on historical data, data-driven applications let us market at the right time on the right channel with the right message. To understand what it takes to excel in the new data economy, Tableau partner Snowflake surveyed business and technology leaders. Their research highlighted the characteristics of the leaders and laggards, emphasizing the importance of a strong data strategy for achieving successful outcomes. Industries like financial services, health and life sciences, and retail are still struggling to fully benefit from the data economy, often finding it challenging to unlock the full value of their data. Here are four key actions that can help organizations win in today’s data economy and achieve tangible results: 1. Create a Strong Data Culture A robust data culture is foundational for realizing the value of data. Organizations that prioritize becoming data-driven see significant benefits: Jennifer Belissent, Principal Data Strategist at Snowflake, emphasizes how a cloud-enabled data culture accelerates time-to-value by breaking down organizational silos. Tableau offers a playbook to help organizations build, expand, and mature their data capabilities. 2. Adopt an AI-Driven, Enterprise-Ready Analytics Platform Data leaders utilize AI-driven enterprise analytics platforms like Tableau, which provide trusted predictions and insights to scale decision-making. Traditional solutions often fall short in delivering speed to insight and self-service capabilities. Tableau, particularly with Tableau Cloud, offers an easy-to-scale solution that manages and analyzes data across various sources, supporting meaningful impact and agility. Tableau Cloud’s Advanced Management capabilities enhance security, usability, and scalability. Additionally, Tableau Accelerators—over 100 ready-to-use, in-product dashboard starters—support various industries, enabling comprehensive analysis and problem-solving. 3. Migrate to the Cloud Cloud adoption is accelerating as organizations pursue data-driven digital transformations. The cloud offers flexibility, agility, scalability, reduced IT overhead, and increased resilience and performance. Key considerations for cloud migration include: Whether opting for on-premise, hybrid, or full cloud migration, Tableau connects to data wherever it resides, fueling insights across the business. Tableau’s own journey to the cloud involved evaluating criteria, enhancing collaboration, and applying new data management processes, resulting in a unified source of truth. 4. Choose the Right Partners to Scale Cloud-Native Analytics Selecting partners that facilitate cloud-native analytics is crucial. Ideal partners should offer: Snowflake and Tableau exemplify these qualities, addressing data and organizational demands. Snowflake provides extensive data storage and processing, while Tableau offers intuitive, self-service analytics. This partnership has helped enterprises like Cart.com achieve significant revenue growth by embedding Tableau analytics in Snowflake’s platform. Embrace the Data Economy with Cloud-Native Analytics Regardless of where your organization stands in the data economy, taking steps to leverage cloud-native analytics can unlock numerous opportunities. Tableau continues to invest in its platform to help organizations thrive with data in the cloud, offering expert advice, solutions, and valuable partnerships. By adopting these strategies, your organization can become a leader in the data economy and achieve remarkable results. 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

June 15, 2023in Salesforce Data Cloud, Snowflake

Salesforce for Transportation and Logistics

02Jun

Transportation, Logistics, The Cloud, and CRM

Transportation and logistics and crm. Typically, the state of transportation and logistics (T&L) mirrors the state of the economy, with FedEx earnings serving as a reliable indicator of how the rest of the players in the industry are doing. However, the past few years have been anything but normal. The pandemic led to a surge in demand, marked by container-filled ports and a nationwide hunt for truck drivers. After navigating two years of high intensity, T&L now faces challenges such as inflation, the Ukraine war, ongoing supply chain disruptions, the threat of recession, climbing interest rates, higher fuel costs, and overly cautious consumer behavior. Where are the Challenges? Compounding these issues is a staffing crisis in the industry, with a global shortage of warehouse workers, dock personnel, drivers, pilots, and rail crews that is expected to persist. In such uncertain times, successful transportation and logistics companies are taking strategic steps to future-proof themselves. One key strategy involves unifying customer data on a single platform to enhance efficiency and readiness for various scenarios. Smart transportation and logistics organizations plan for best, expected, and worst-case scenarios by monitoring critical signals such as capacity in key lanes, customer spending by lane, and customer lifetime value. Unifying customer data across sales, service, and operations enables informed decision-making, focusing investments where needed and optimizing resources. Manual Processes Despite this, much of T&L business, especially in sales, marketing, and customer service, relies on manual processes like phone calls, spreadsheets, and email. Centralized customer data is crucial for applying intelligence and analytics to process trends, segmenting customers, and analyzing their value. Companies investing in data unification report significant cost savings and efficiency benefits, including a 25% reduction in IT costs. Centralized customer data is also leveraged to enhance shipper experiences. T&L leaders use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict customer retention and potential churn, allowing proactive steps to be taken. Real-time data intelligence empowers customer service agents to make informed decisions swiftly. Access to shipper-specific on-time delivery performance provides valuable insights and strengthens client relationships. Transportation and Logistics and CRM More than half of T&L organizations are investing in cloud connectivity and data sharing, with 18% deriving the most value in sales and marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), distribution, and end-to-end visibility. These strategic investments are proving instrumental in navigating the complexities of the current economic landscape. Is it time to explore Salesforce CRM for your company? Contact Tectonic today. Like2 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

June 2, 2023in Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Manufacturing Automotive Energy, Salesforce Service Cloud

10May

Keys to Writing Meaningful Email Content

By Tectonic’s Salesforce Marketing Consultant, Shannan Hearne Email marketing remains a powerful tool for businesses to engage with their prospects and customers. Writing meaningful email content takes time and practice. It’s essential to recognize that your recipients and subscribers face a constant barrage of emails. The challenge becomes making your email stand out in the inbox, prompt subscribers to open, read, and respond to your desired Call to Action. Here are proven methods to enhance the interest, effectiveness, and credibility of your emails: Stay Relevant: Set a Content Hierarchy: Tell a Story: Keep it Simple: Trim it Back and Clean it Up: Grab Their Attention: Include a Preheader: Save Time with AI: Drive Results with a Strong CTA: Test. Test. Test Again: By adhering to these email content tips, you can create emails that are engaging, effective, and eagerly anticipated by your readers. Whether focusing on relevance, storytelling, simplicity, or testing, these strategies will highlight the interest, effectiveness, and trustworthiness of your brand. Start crafting those emails and monitor their success. If you are struggling with the challenge of writing meaningful email content, Tectonic consultants can help. Contact us 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

May 10, 2023in Salesforce

21Mar

Salesforce Solutions

Over time, innovation becomes the cornerstone of organizational growth, unlocking new opportunities. A crucial element in seizing these opportunities is automating and scaling operations with robust solutions. Harnessing Salesforce for Optimal Process Design and Customer Experiences Several factors can impede organizational growth, including strategy, culture, talent, and go-to-market channels. It’s vital to ensure that the tools used by the enterprise do not contribute to these limitations. Salesforce, renowned for its top-tier CRM solutions, is the preferred choice of high-performance companies due to its customer-centric approach, robust features, flexibility, and scalability. This cloud-based CRM platform surpasses traditional sales, customer service, and marketing functions. Successful companies integrate Salesforce as their core enterprise software, combining various CRM tools seamlessly with critical systems like accounting software and ERPs. With over 150,000 businesses worldwide relying on its scalable cloud-based platform, Salesforce significantly impacts business growth. How exactly does Salesforce influence your business growth? If your company utilizes Salesforce solutions, you’re constantly seeking ways to maximize its potential. A closer examination of this CRM platform unveils features that facilitate the establishment of strong customer relationships, foster collaboration across departments, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Interested in optimizing your business processes with Salesforce? Keep reading! Salesforce Solutions for Streamlined Business Processes Thriving businesses place a premium on providing seamless and intuitive customer experiences. It’s vital to optimize business processes to meet customer demands at scale to uphold competitiveness and profitability. Yet, achieving this optimization is not without its challenges. Customer behaviors evolve with technological advancements and cultural shifts. Without integrated 360-degree customer experiences and customer service ingrained in business processes, scaling to the next level becomes a daunting task. While many companies collect customer interaction data, they often lack the algorithms to effectively utilize and process this data for deep customer insights. Salesforce, often praised as a “super CRM,” not only enables robust integration and analytics insights across all data formats but also empowers organizations to drive business growth. For instance, Salesforce offers significant benefits to the sales department. Sales processes have evolved, demanding high levels of personalization and customization. Savvy organizations utilize Salesforce to establish structured sales processes that encompass every customer touchpoint. By prioritizing the customer, Salesforce helps businesses cultivate mutually beneficial relationships, a core objective. Given the need for a unified system, Salesforce is a preferred choice for connecting functional areas like sales, customer service, marketing, and overall business management, providing a comprehensive 360-degree view of customers. Here’s how Salesforce products can enhance your business processes: Effective Sales Strategy and Customer Retention While many companies focus on using Salesforce solutions for lead acquisition, retaining customers and increasing their Customer Lifetime Value is equally important. Salesforce offers various products to support customer retention: Employees obtain a holistic perspective of each customer, enhancing decision-making and service delivery through insights from their interaction history. Comprehensive customer views support the development of effective strategies and tactics for customer interactions and content creation. Automations, tasks, and reminders can be deployed to initiate actions or nurturing campaigns when customers have not made purchases recently. Salesforce’s data aggregation capabilities and flexible architecture enable customization to address sales and retention requirements. Over time, accumulated data yields profound insights into customer behavior and the efficiency of sales initiatives, facilitating continuous optimization. Employee Productivity Adopting the right technology is pivotal for success. Aside from strengthening customer relationships, Salesforce solutions enhance business progression by: By substituting manual data entry with a user-friendly, cloud-based platform boasting robust data storage, tedious tasks are streamlined. Automated reminders and tasks tailored to lead and opportunity stages lessen managerial supervision. This automation liberates employees’ time, allowing for increased focus on customer interactions and closing deals. Additionally, seamless information access and idea exchange among team members foster collaboration and superior customer service. In essence, Salesforce products empower companies to operate more intelligently through data-driven insights, automated workflows, and elevated customer service, thereby fueling business growth. Scaling Your Business with Premier Salesforce Products Salesforce stands out as a market leader in enterprise SaaS technology and solutions, offering a comprehensive ecosystem to support various business aspects, from sales and marketing to customer service, and beyond. Specialized Salesforce solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of various industries, including manufacturing, high-tech, SaaS, finance, nonprofits, and more. By allowing departments to collaborate and share data, Salesforce promotes efficiency, fosters economies of scale, and breaks down silos between departments. Leveraging Salesforce to its maximum capability enhances user experience and provides personalized customer service seamlessly. Customizable reports facilitate real-time trend analysis and informed decision-making, enabling businesses to maintain a competitive edge. At Tectonic, our team of Salesforce consultants help clients adopt an integrated approach, aligning Salesforce optimization with business strategy and objectives to achieve efficiency, growth, and scalability. Some of the top Salesforce solutions we provide for our clients include: Salesforce Personalization: Creates amazing customer experiences combining real-time data with scalable personalization across platforms. Salesforce Sales Cloud: Enhances sales team productivity, automates tasks, provides real-time sales visibility, and supports scalable sales and business growth. Salesforce Service Cloud: Delivers seamless customer experiences, streamlines service operations, and empowers service agents with tools for efficient customer service delivery. Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Enables personalized marketing campaigns, audience segmentation, and real-time analytics to drive customer engagement and brand loyalty. Salesforce Account Engagement: Leverages powerful customer engagement for B2B companies with great marketing analytics. By leveraging Salesforce solutions tailored to their specific industry needs, businesses can streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and achieve sustainable growth. Whether you’re in manufacturing, high-tech, financial services, or the nonprofit sector, Salesforce offers solutions to address your unique challenges and drive success. Tectonic is pleased to announce Salesforce Implementation Solutions – to get you started with Salesforce fast. Content updated May 2024. 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

March 21, 2023in Data, Enterprise, Salesforce, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Optimization, Salesforce Personalization, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud, Snowflake, Technology

18Feb

Case Study: Salesforce Innovation for Hospitality

Major hospitality management firm, moves to the cloud and adopts Google Cloud and Salesforce to improve operational insights and decision-making. Tectonic assisted them to move to the cloud and obtatin quicker, actionable insights with business intelligence. Salesforce Innovation for Hospitality.

February 18, 2023in Google Analytics, Salesforce, Salesforce Development Services, Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Optimization, Salesforce Success Stories

04Feb

Explore Salesforce Experience Cloud

Empowering Businesses with Exceptional Salesforce Cloud Solutions Explore the transformative work we have done for our clients with Salesforce Experience Cloud, showcasing some of the exceptional solutions we have implemented. Through our strategic initiatives, we have enabled organizations across various industries to leverage the full potential of Salesforce Clouds to enhance user engagement, streamline operations, and achieve significant business growth. Our success stories reflect the diverse challenges our clients faced and the optimized solutions we provided to address them. For instance, by revamping an recruiting portal for a prominent American government agency, we reduced issues related to recruting, onboarding, and retaining talent. Tectonic’s approach incorporates the latest Salesforce technologies, such as Lightning Web Components, Service Cloud, and Experience Cloud, to deliver high-performing, scalable solutions. From improving partner portals for better partner support to transforming community portals for enhanced user experience, our solutions are designed to meet specific client needs while ensuring long-term adaptability and success. Manufacturing – Experience Cloud Case Study Public Sector – Experience Cloud and Grants Management Case Study Manufacturing – Sales, Service, Marketing, and Partner Community Case Study Manufacturing – Sales, Service, Marketing and Experience Cloud Case Study Branded Solutions Manufacturing – Sales, Service, and Experience Cloud Case Study Nonprofit Hospitality – Service and Experience Cloud Case Study Tribal Government – Health, Marketing, MuleSoft, and Experience Cloud Case Study Restaurant – Sales, Service, and Experience Cloud Case Study Federal Government – Nonprofit Talent Acquisition Experience Cloud Case Study Higher Education Software – Sales, Service and Experience Cloud Case Study Salesforce Partner Portals Built on Salesforce Experience Cloud Explore all Tectonic Salesforce Implementation Solutions 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

February 4, 2023in Mulesoft, Salesforce Experience Cloud

03Jan

Differences Between Salesforce Sales Cloud and Salesforce Service Cloud Explained

Salesforce Sales Cloud focuses on the sales process, while Salesforce Service Cloud is dedicated to customer service and support. Sales Cloud is designed for managing leads, opportunities, and sales forecasts, whereas Service Cloud is tailored for handling customer inquiries and cases. Both Sales Cloud and Service Cloud share critical features as they are built on the core Salesforce Platform. If your business primarily emphasizes sales, Sales Cloud is the ideal choice. If your focus is more on customer service, then Service Cloud is the preferred option. For businesses involved in both sales and customer service, both Sales Cloud and Service Cloud may be the best Salesforce solution. Difference Between Sales Cloud and Service Cloud: Sales Cloud streamlines sales and marketing efforts, focusing on lead management and increasing sales. Service Cloud helps support agents provide excellent customer service, resolving issues proactively. Functions Included in Service Cloud but not in Sales Cloud: Service Cloud includes specialized functions for customer support, such as omnichannel case routing, Web-to-Case and Email-to-Case conversion, and configurable assignment rules to streamline support agents’ work. Sales Cloud Features: Service Cloud Features: Agent Productivity (Service Cloud): Call Center Management (Service Cloud): Live Chat (Service Cloud): Customer Portal (Service Cloud): Ticket Management (Service Cloud): Like2 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

January 3, 2023in Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Salesforce Optimization, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud

02Jan

Improving Customer Experiences with Salesforce

Sustaining competitiveness continues to demand businesses prioritize personalization and agility in their customer experience strategy in 2023. Improved Customer Experiences with Salesforce are attainable. Read on. “You are caller number 10; please stay on the line.” A few years ago, a phone message like this from a company was a standard part of the customer experience. But today, customers expect more. They expect callback options. They expect to open a chat window on your website, send a text message or a tweet, and get a near-instant reply. They expect that you already know who they are when they call, that you’re aware of their most recent order, and that you understand what they need next. They don’t want to repeat their information. And they definitely don’t want to wait. Improved Customer Experiences with Salesforce Here are ways to enhance your customer experience program: Enhancing Customer Experience for Brand Loyalty: Advance Personalized Experiences: By concentrating on these core areas, organizations can navigate the evolving CX landscape, delivering exceptional customer experiences. Tectonic is poised to collaborate, customizing Salesforce tools to craft remarkable customer experiences. CX-Customer experience, gets thrown around a lot. But how is it defined, and what does it mean? “Customer experience and service have converged, it’s more than call centers and successful responses to problems. It is service opportunities in sales, support, and marketing. Delivering great customer experiences now means providing amazing, almost magical service at every opportunity.” Peter Schwartz, Salesforce senior vice president of strategic planning What Does Customer Experience Mean? Customer experience encompasses every interaction a prospect or customer has with a business, spanning various channels and touchpoints. Here’s how to enhance customer experience with Salesforce: Customers have always wanted a consistently good buying experience and the best value they can get. If they’re not happy buying expensive razor blades, they can sign up for inexpensive monthly delivery. If they’re fed up with mediocre hotel chains that don’t offer value, why not try Airbnb? The Good News The good news? Customers are willing to pay a premium for great experiences, and not just great products and services. This means businesses have an opportunity to increase revenue by delighting their customers in a way that no one else can. What are the 3Rs of customer experience? Science shows that customers are looking for 3 things in every interaction. These can be summarized in the 3 service values: be reliable, be responsive and build relationships. What are the six pillars of customer experience excellence? Developed by KPMG Nunwood of the UK following research involving more than one million customers across three continents, the system spotlights six key principles as the building blocks for customer experience success: personalization, integrity, expectations, resolution, time and effort, and empathy. Like2 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

January 2, 2023in Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Communications Cloud, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud, Technology

09Aug

Tectonic’s Salesforce Industry Experience

Tectonic’s Salesforce Industry Experience spans 16+ years of work focused on certain industry areas. Tectonic has worked in all of the following industries implementing and customizing Salesforce: Put Tectonic’s Industry Experience to work for your organization. Our industry and Salesforce expertise will have you up and running in no time. Casino Case Study Government Case Study Healthcare Payer Case Study Tectonic’s Salesforce Industry Experience Implementing Salesforce can be complex. Getting it wrong can be costly. From 5 to 5000 users, across Sales, Service and Marketing clouds, Tectonic has the process and patterns to help you plan, design and implement your solution right the first time. Whether this is your first Salesforce implementation or expansion of users or additional clouds, we can guide you from inception to delivery. Misalignment of your business needs and your system configuration create low adoption and usage rates that erode your Salesforce ROI. Tectonic’s technology professionals use our proven industry expertise and collaborate with business partners to deliver business value. From minor tweaks and retraining to reimplementation, we assess your situation and execute a customized solution to meet your needs. 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

August 9, 2022in Mulesoft, Salesforce, Salesforce Managed Services

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