From sales reports to presentation slide decks, your teams receive, process, organize, and store a plethora of information and documents throughout the day. Before long, their desktops, both physical and virtual, become cluttered. While always cumbersome, this issue becomes critical when employees need to share key data within their CRM system, often in time-sensitive circumstances.
While you may already be familiar with Salesforce Files, the tool that allows you to manually insert files into the CRM by copying and pasting, the new Files Connect tool makes it easier than ever to add and index files to your system—in an automated, user-friendly format that alleviates the headaches and time requirements associated with manual attachments.
By integrating directly with your on-premise Microsoft SharePoint 2010, 2013, or SharePoint Online account, Files Connect pulls the data you need into your company’s cloud workflow, combining files from disparate sources into one centralized portal to facilitate team communication and collaboration.
Not only helpful but immensely practical, this aggregation helps solve a major employee pain point, given IDC’s recent study finding that 61 percent of employees have to search for files from four different data sources during their workday to access the information they need for their job. With Files Connect, a simple metadata search yields all the documents related to a given topic, greatly reducing the time it takes to hunt and sort through volumes of information.
Designed to make teamwork easier for all employees, the tool even allows documents to be searched and viewed on the Salesforce1 Mobile application and includes a new API that allows users to bake integration directly into their custom apps, so field reps and off-site personnel can quickly and easily receive up-to-the minute information and participate in team reviews
And even as Files Connect streamlines and speeds files sharing among team members in virtually any location on any device, security remains a top priority. While files are accessible in the cloud, they continue to ‘live’ in your designated Microsoft environment, so viewing and editing rights and protections remain intact as the documents are shared within your team, group, or organization, overridden only with administrator intervention. All in all, the addition of Files Connect to the CRM ecosystem means a wider Salesforce platform, stronger cloud capabilities, and most importantly, smoother team and customer interaction.
To learn more about these new technologies and how our seasoned Salesforce consultants can deliver this functionality to your business, please contact any member of our consulting team at [email protected]. We also encourage you to contact Tokara’s VP of Business Development, Mark Fillingim, directly at +1 972-719-0213.
Sources:
Computer World, “Salesforce Connects SharePoint Files to its Cloud with New Tool,” December 17, 2014, http://www.computerworld.com/article/2860476/salesforce-connects-sharepoint-files-to-its-cloud-with-new-tool.html.
Information Week, “Salesforce.com Connects To Microsoft SharePoint: Salesforce Files Connect offers federated access to multiple content repositories. Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive are next,” December 17, 2014, http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/it-strategy/salesforcecom-connects-to-microsoft-sharepoint/d/d-id/1318214.
NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
