Archive for the ‘Salesforce.com’ Category

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Reside’s Matt Meents presents to Medtronic via “Dreamforce to You” event in Denver

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

As salesforce.com gears up for Dreamforce 2010 (Dec. 6-9) - their annual user conference and expo, and “The Cloud Computing Event of the Year” - the company is raising enthusiasm by bringing smaller versions of the event to individual brands.  The most recent stop: Medtronic’s Navigation Business Unit, in Denver, CO. 

Matt Meents, Reside’s CEO, joined 18 salesforce.com representatives to facilitate several break-out sessions for members of the Navigation team.  Meents shared details of the work Reside is supporting for Medtronic’s interactive group in Minnesota, including innovative ways that Medtronic is employing the Force.com platform to support their Social CRM strategies.

Learn more about Dreamforce, and get registration details at www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/DF10

Posted in CRM, Cloud Computing, Force.com, Salesforce.com | No Comments »

Social CRM: The New Engagement Realm

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Hundreds of marketers attended the Integrated Marketing Summit this week to learn about how the business of marketing is changing and how to effectively reach their customers. Reside’s Co-Founder, Eric Scheel, presented on Social CRM, an emerging topic that is important for marketers to understand and evangelize throughout their organizations. Eric’s presentation illustrates how Social CRM goes beyond Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and gives a unique opportunity for companies to engage, differentiate, innovate and grow.  Feel free to view and download Eric’s presentation, “Social CRM: The New Engagement Realm,” and see for yourself how Social CRM tools can drive brand loyalty, monitor brand health and inspire innovation.

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Posted in Cloud Integration, Communities / Portals, Force.com, Innovation, Marketing, Salesforce.com, Social Networking, Trends / Statistics | 2 Comments »

Join Reside at the Integrated Marketing Summit

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

This year’s Integrated Marketing Summit in Minneapolis is approaching quickly, and is sure to be a valuable event for sales and marketing professionals interested in leveraging Social Media. Reside’s Co-Founder and CTO, Eric Scheel, will be sharing his expertise in Social CRM with a presentation that illustrates the innovative opportunities businesses have to engage with their customers through Online Communities, Customer Portals and Innovation Sites. The event is held on Tuesday, May 25th at the Hilton Minneapolis, which includes all speaker sessions, keynotes, meals and a Happy Hour Networking Reception. Come see the trends that are radically changing the landscape of sales, marketing and service in both B2B and B2C organizations!

Detailed information about the event and speakers can be found here

Register today and save 30% by using the following discount code: RESMN10

Hope to see you there!

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Posted in Best Practices, Business Strategies, Cloud Computing, Communities / Portals, Innovation, Marketing, Salesforce.com, Trends / Statistics | No Comments »

CloudCamp MSP 2010

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Big thanks to the “Georges” from enStratus, and Jeff Brand from Microsoft for organizing another great CloudCamp event!  It was very eye-opening to compare this year’s event to the 2009 CloudCamp, as it was obvious that many attendee’s opinions of the cloud has shifted over the course of a year.

At CloudCamp MSP 2009, the majority of the conversations revolved around what the cloud was, what it was not, questioning security and availability, and how organizations could get started reaping the benefits from this new phenomenon.  This year, however, the focus shifted to discussions around how organizations are using the cloud, how they’ve mashed-up best-of-breed cloud applications, and understanding what benefits different cloud service providers - such as Force.com, Amazon, and Google App Engine - provide.  The most tell-tale sign that the perception of the cloud has changed - especially related to security concerns -  was realized by a single tweet from @geekandi: “whoop! Security breakout has 3 people now! :)”.

With this kind of a shift in a year, any speculations on what CloudCamp MSP 2011 will bring?

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Posted in Application Development, Architecture, Cloud Computing, Cloud Integration, Development, Force.com, Innovation, PaaS, SaaS | No Comments »

Force.com 401 Developer Exam

Monday, November 30th, 2009

As a Salesforce.com partner, Reside developers each have the task of becoming certified with SFDC.  Having recently taken the 401 Developer Exam - I can say that it is a challenging exam.  Here are some notes from my personal stack of flash cards to help you get prepared!

True/False

  • Even if an app is visible, the app’s tabs won’t show up unless a profile has permissions to view the tabs & permissions to view the associated objects.
  • All standard profiles get full access to a custom object when it is created.
  • The dataloader cannot load more than 50k records @ a time.
  • If a user is assigned to a standard profile, the only way to restrict acces is thru object-level security.
  • Permissions on standard profiles are editable.
  • Every workflow rule must be based on a single object you choose when you  create the rule.
  • When object vs. record-level permissions conflict, the most restrictive settings win.
  • When creating email templates, you can use any merge fields and they will appear in your email.
  • Sharing rules can be created for both master & detail objects in a Master/Detail relationship.
  • Sharing rules & role hierarchies can never be stricter than our org-wide defaults.
  • Users assigned to roles get access to the data of all users who fall directly beneath them in the hierarchy.
  • A detail object record has its own org-wide sharing settings.
  • All objects user same org-wide options (private, public – read/write, public – read only)
  • If you completely hide a tab user can no longer see any of the records
  • It’s ok to set the assignee of a workflow task to a role, instead of a user.

Listing…

  • 2 “timing” actions of workflow
  • 2 field types needed in a field dependency
  • 3 options to select when doing tab settings & permissions
  • 3 types of sandboxes
  • 3 org-wide settings and when do you use them?
  • 3 data types that can be external ids
  • 3 types of reports
  • 3 security levels on the platform (for data)
  • 3 rule evaluation criteria
  • 4 types of email templates
  • 4 ways to set record level security
  • 4 types of workflow
  • 6 dashboard component types
  • 7 key technologies behind the platform
  • 8+ things that profiles control

General Questions

  • Which data types are read only?
  • What kinds of tabs can you have?
  • How do you enable tags?
  • How do sharing rules work on a junction object?
  • How do you test time triggered workflow rules?
  • Which dashboard would you use for a list?  For trends over time?
  • What can you do in the page layout of the user object?
  • When should you use the data loader?
  • When would you use an Apex trigger over a workflow rule?
  • Who can change ownership of a record?
  • Can a Master record have multiple Detail relationships?
  • Queues are supported for which objects?
  • What features do you get “out of the box”?
  • How would you send an email to everyone in your org?

Define & Know

  • All SFDC Data Types
  • Analytic Snapshot
  • Approval Processes
  • Cascade Delete
  • Collaborative Application
  • Custom Tab
  • Declarative Interface
  • Default Workflow User
  • Each Version of Salesforce.com
  • Encrypted Fields
  • External ID
  • Field Dependencies
  • Field Level Security
  • Internationalize
  • Junction Object
  • Localize
  • Look-up Relationship
  • Manual Sharing
  • Master-Detail Relationship
  • Mini Page Layout
  • Model View Controller
  • Multitenant Architecture
  • Object Level Security
  • Org-Wide Defaults
  • Outlier
  • Profile
  • Record Level Security
  • Record Type
  • Roles
  • Sandbox
  • Search Component
  • Sharing Rules

Good Luck!

Posted in Development, Force.com, Salesforce.com | 1 Comment »

Force.com 40 Innovation Showcase - Reside semi-finalist presentation

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Reside recently had the opportunity to present at the semi-finalist round of the Force.com 40 Innovation Showcase.  Salesforce.com is using the opportunity recognize the apps and businesses that are being built on their platform, and the top 40 will be showcased at Dreamforce ‘09 (we’ll be there).

Eric Scheel, from Reside, presented our work around FICO’s Decision Management Community.  The innovation wasn’t the community, but the way the Force.com platform enabled us to integrate 5 SaaS apps while building a consistent community feel that enables FICO to interact with their global customers in a 24/7 enviornment.  As Seth Godin reminds us in his book, Tribes, and Forrestor helps educate businesses about the Groundswell, the need for companies to continue to engage their customers becomes more apparent and mainstream.

The judges panel was filled with Force.com arhictects and marketers (big thanks to Mark Trang for organizing the event) as well as high-tech VC firms.  In round three, 20 companies were competing for the final spots.  Each presenter was given 7 minutes to do a live demo of the app, describe its roadmap and how it will be disruptive in the market.  The innovation was outstanding.  Companies were being launched around the apps they developed on the Force.com platform in weeks or months.  The judges grilled the presenters on their apps market opportunity, their pricing models and how they were going to moneitize their products.  The day went fast.

The winner of the Audience vote was an education SaaS app done by Skoodat.  Their goal for the app - transform the entire education system and they just might!

We find out if we’ll be in the top 40 next Monday.  Wish us luck.

Posted in Application Development, Awards / Recognition, Communities / Portals, Force.com, SaaS, Salesforce.com, Web / Internet | No Comments »

The Power of Cloud Computing

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Login, customize and start using. Be up and running in a few days – that’s the power of cloud computing. This is a great video about the benefits of plugging in and getting started with salesforce.com and cloud computing (oh, and it’s also great for people who want to know what all this cloud fuss is about!): http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing

Posted in Application Development, Cloud Computing, Salesforce.com | No Comments »

Why the Salesforce Cloud is a Sunny Alternative

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

If you’ve ever taken a couple of minutes to view our site, you’d know that we’ve done some work with Salesforce.com. Their “no software” message to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market has been well received by companies large and small.

But for as great as the Salesforce CRM platform is, Marc Beinoff’s company hasn’t stopped there. Building on their success with the Force.com platform, they are leaders in the cloud computing space and have been working to increase the value of their platform to both new and existing customers with each subsequent release. Most recently, their efforts have yielded two exciting products that have been getting a lot of attention:

These new offerings, build upon the rock-solid infrastructure that supports their Sales Cloud, allow customers to build public-facing websites and tap into the “wisdom of the crowd”, respectively.  For those interested in more technical detail, we’ve published a whitepaper that you’ll find helpful.

Force.com Sites

For Salesforce CRM customers, Force.com Sites gives them the ability to host and manage a website without having to having to maintain a server or contract for external hosting services. Additionally, Force.com Sites has the ability to give permission-based access to data within their Salesforce CRM environment, which opens a wide-range of integration possibilities all within a single, managed environment.

Ideas Base Theme (IBT)

The Salesforce Ideas product has been a remarkable success since it was launched in 2008. Companies such as Dell, Starbucks, FICO and others have used its capabilities to quickly and easily build communities that allow them to interact with their customers to gain insight into their wants and needs. The Ideas platform was designed to allow end-users to submit and vote on ideas, while providing the back-end administrative tools to allow companies to organize and manage the feedback.

Most recently, Salesforce has rolled out new functionality called Ideas Base Theme (IBT) that allows customers to have greater control over the site’s design. A frequently requested feature since its launch, IBT provides a consistent framework for conforming the service to a customer’s requirements and brand identity standards.

These are just two examples of how Salesforce.com has continued to develop their SaaS platform in order to be a relevant player in their space.

To learn more about Reside and how we can help you leverage cloud services to set your business strategy in motion, contact us today.

Posted in PaaS, SaaS, Salesforce.com | No Comments »

The Journey of An Online Idea: From A Web Form Submission to Mr. Obama’s Desk

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Our CEO Matt Meents recently told a story about a dinner he was having with his family a few months ago.  His in-laws were over, the meal had been prepped, the wine had been corked, his 3yr old son was running around the house telling him that “you rock daddy” when the phone rang.  Co-founder of Reside Eric Scheel called him with the news that the Presidential Transition team had chosen Reside to do some work with them.  Matt’s response - “the president of what?”

Long story short, the Obama-Biden presidential transition team was launching a project called the “Citizens Briefing Book” on the Force.com platform, and because of Reside’s vast experience in this space - they chose Reside to be the implementation partner.  The site was to be live for a week, open to the entire United States, allowing people to submit / vote on ideas on how to improve the country - the top ideas to be presented to the President the day after inauguration in a briefing book similiar to the ones the presidents recieves on the first day  he takes office,  this one called  the “Citizens Briefing Book.”

News traveled fast through our organization about this very exciting project and I was ready to pitch in wherever I could.  I can’t really explain how exciting it is to review creative files, and see work that the entire country will be seeing before anyone else.  Not to mention, we couldn’t tell a soul - not even family that we were working on this project.

We got the work done in an incredibly short time-frame (4 weeks), and soft launched on a Monday.  So here we are, an ideas submission box that could go directly to the president - I had to submit an idea.

My Submission:

“Increase MPG requirements now! After spending tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money to bail out poorly run domestic auto makers, maybe we should make it a requirement that they focus any/all taxpayer money into improving their product to relieve America’s dependency on foreign oil.

If we want US automakers to be successful again, it’s time to stop making Escalades and start selling affordable products that will benefit the micro and macro Economies in the US, not to mention the Environment.” - MJohnson

After a week of the site being live, and 1.4+ million votes, this idea wound up in the top 15 most popular ideas of over 70,000.  The idea was eventually published in the Citizen’s  Briefing Book on page 11, and President Obama has actually increased the MPG standards as one of the first things he did in office.

Now, the joke I make around the office is that I’m a policy maker - obviously that’s not the truth.  BUT, it is an exciting feeling to know that this idea was in the briefing book that was delivered to President Obama on his first day in office, and that he’s already done something with it.

As Reside continues to be a market leader in Community/Ideas implementation and strategy, this action is key to the success for any of our clients.  If you choose to crowd-source and ask the opinions of your audience, you’d better be prepared to act on those ideas, and communicate with your contributors that you’ve heard them, and are doing something with their ideas.

For some more info on the Citizen’s Briefing Book, check out the following:

View The Actual Briefing Book

Wikipedia’s entry on the Citizen’s Briefing Book

Obama acts on changing MPG standards in the US

Yahoo News Article on Obama emissions law

Washington Post Article on the change of MPG standards in the US

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Posted in Communities / Portals, Force.com, Salesforce.com, Uncategorized, Web / Internet | No Comments »

Force.com Free Edition

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

On Monday, Salesforce.com releaed their force.com Free Edition (FE): an edition which offers 100 licenses, one application with up to 10 custom objects, 1 GB of storage, and one site via their Sites offering (also just released out of limited release and now generally available as of Monday).  Pretty cool offering, but what are the benefits and how can it be used?

Force.com FE is probably best described by what it doesn’t offer, which is the first point mentioned in the Force.com Free Edition FAQ:

“Salesforce CRM functionality is not included in Force.com Free Edition. The following Salesforce CRM standard objects are not included: Accounts, Contacts, Campaigns, Leads, Opportunities, Forecasts, Products, Cases and Solutions.”

Even without those objects, you can create up to 10 custom objects to meet your application’s needs.  The power of this offering is in the benefits of the force.com platform like scalability, security, reliability, analytics, offline access, mobile deployment, data model modifications through a point-and-click interface, etc. - which give your development project a jump-start - and all for free!  Take a look at their Force.com Free Edition FAQ for more info.  It’s an amazing offering from salesforce.com, and surely one we’ll consider for our clients’ upcoming projects.

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Posted in Force.com, Salesforce.com, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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