Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Mix-And-Match Services

    By
    Michael Caton
    -
    August 29, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The flexibility inherent in Salesforce.com Inc.s namesake service gives companies not only a way to build new applications but also an opportunity to integrate existing applications into their sales processes and build new processes for the Salesforce application. During eWEEK Labs tests of the Summer 05 release of Salesforce, we looked at three applications that use different methods to integrate with Salesforce. All three tap into the flexibility of the service, either to allow companies to move data into or out of Salesforce or to embed new applications directly within it.

      QuickwebPro, OmniPilot Software Inc.s hosted campaign management application, shares Web-to-lead information with Salesforce through custom fields built in Salesforce using Salesforce. coms Customforce tool. Nsites namesake hosted workflow automation service brings new forms and workflows to Salesforce by embedding itself via custom links and passing shared credential information. Mindjet LLCs MindManager Accelerator for Salesforce uses the XML-based data exchange capabilities of Salesforce. coms Sforce data integration tools to bring sales data to Mindjets MindManager visual mapping software.

      To a certain extent, Salesforce does create a marketplace for a class of add-on product or service—although, in some instances, an add-on product or service may actually compete with a feature or capability in Salesforce.

      OmniPilots $298-per-month QuickwebPro and Automated Marketing Package services provide basic Web site hosting and campaign management capabilities, including a bulk e-mailing service.

      Companies can completely source hosting through QuickwebPro or just the relevant lead-generation pages. The service has tools for broad campaign management, including the ability to automatically score and rank leads.

      However, OmniPilots tools for measuring campaign success dont have the broad reach and reporting of those in Salesforce. Ultimately, the OmniPilot-Salesforce combination may be a better fit for customers that need to outsource Web and sales applications rather than those that have IT resources and choose to outsource applications.

      On a more basic level, the integration between the two applications provides a convenient way to capture lead data. All we had to do was add some custom fields in Salesforces opportunity and lead management applications and map those fields to one another using Customforce. On the QuickwebPro side, we then needed to generate the Web-to-lead HTML code, enable Salesforce integration within the application and enter the custom field strings from the generated code into a form.

      After completing that simple—albeit time-consuming—process, actually making the forms available through QuickwebPros publishing tools worked without a hitch. The service makes it easy to organize and publish content: QuickwebPro supports Cascading Style Sheets and has plug-ins for Macromedia Inc.s Dreamweaver.

      /zimages/6/28571.gifTo read Michael Catons reviews of two lower-cost CRM sytems, click here.

      Like QuickwebPro, Nsites eponymous workflow automation service is an odd fit for a Salesforce.com partner, considering that companies could build custom forms and underlying application logic directly within Salesforce. However, Nsites application will make sense for companies that lack the IT resources to build these applications. Nsite is priced at $40 per user per month for five processes.

      In tests, we integrated Nsites forms-based applications directly into Salesforces sales applications, such as the opportunity management software. Creating the integration is as simple as creating a custom link using Customforce, putting that link in the custom links area of an application page and specifying if the application should launch in a new window or within Salesforce.

      Once we completed those steps, we needed to launch a custom forms-based workflow and take that opportunity to store credentials locally through a cookie. In all subsequent use of the custom workflow, Nsite and Salesforce manage passing of credentials automatically.

      When Nsite is presented directly within the Salesforce application, users can move back to within the Salesforce elements simply by clicking navigation elements outside the Nsite application.

      Nsite can synchronize data between the two applications, so a process that may require approval on a price quote in Nsite will populate necessary quote information within Salesforce. The data synchronization capability can be used to update pipeline data, for example.

      Although Salesforce and Nsite have tools for building some of the same workflow and forms-based applications, Nsite will give companies more robust routing options. Furthermore, Nsite will provide audit and reporting information on processes and routing that isnt as readily available in Salesforce.

      We particularly liked the way Mindjets $49 Accelerator for Salesforce takes the text-heavy data in Salesforce and displays it graphically within Mindjets $229 MindManager X5 application. Mindjet has done a particularly good job of exposing components of Salesforce and Supportforce in a way that makes sense through Accelerator, a separate application that users run in conjunction with MindManager.

      From a practical perspective, Accelerator is really about meeting management for sales and support teams. (Accelerator for Salesforce + Supportforce costs $79.) It gives teams a way to map the complex and important information buried in account contact and opportunity data, such as the names of gatekeepers and decision makers, within MindManager. It is also the middleware that acts as an interface between MindManager and Salesforce. We were able to update Salesforce data within MindManager, and we then used Accelerator to synchronize that data with Salesforce.

      Mindjet built Accelerator using Sforce, Salesforce.coms tools platform for moving data back and forth between Salesforce and other applications. Because MindManager stores information in XML format and integrates with Salesforce using the Sforce Web Services API, companies can extend Accelerator to include custom data and applications within Salesforce.

      Technical Analyst Michael Caton can be reached at michael_caton@ziffdavis.com.

      /zimages/6/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis about customer relationship management solutions.

      Michael Caton
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×