Improve Salesforce Functionality & Reduce Cost with Thru

Salesforce is the most widely utilised Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform on the planet, so massive in its reach that they have spent over $60Bn acquiring other companies since launch! Salesforce has become the go-to solution to tackle the many challenges businesses face in 2024, but with this huge success and adoption of the software across all industries and businesses big and small, Salesforce can still fail to hit the mark and comes with its own set of limitations and challenges, particularly when looking at data delivery and tracking downloads of sent files.

Salesforce logo

What is Salesforce?

Utilised by over 150,000 companies (but who’s counting), Salesforce offer several solutions targeted at specific departments to streamline and professionalise sales, marketing, support, and services. As the number 1 CRM platform, Salesforce boasts some impressive statistics. They hold 33% of the global CRM market, with more market share than Microsoft and Oracle in the CRM space. With a focus on visibility, Salesforce makes it simple to build relationships, monitor activities, automate processes, and can even utilise AI to drive upsells. It’s no wonder 90% of Fortune 500 companies use it!

What are the limitations and challenges in Salesforce?

Salesforce, however, is not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to data transfer and reporting. Companies are tied to the 25MB file size limit for email attachments, preventing them from utilising the CRM for sending larger files. You can understand why, with up to 150,000 companies using the system to send emails their storage requirements must be phenomenal!

This limit is particularly troublesome for departments like service desks, or companies working with video, audio, and image files. Imagine a software development company wanting to push out a patch for their software, or a multimedia company trying to provide a customer with their latest marketing video. Sending files using something like WeTransfer can not only damage perception of the company but allows for data to be sent with little to no tracking. The capability to send data to customers from within a company's main CRM platform allows for a streamlined workflow from the sender-side, and activity tracking from a management perspective, and activity tracking to managers is like catnip to cats!

We are also seeing several Salesforce customers asking for enhanced auditing and reporting functionality showing when files sent to customers are downloaded. This would allow for more personalised communication with the customer to be achieved, and provide a layer of security, assisting in ensuring data sent is not getting into the wrong hands. So how do we achieve this?

The solution: Thru

Thru provide a plugin to integrate functionality of their cloud-native Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution directly into Salesforce. Thru are an MFT solution provider, specialising in transferring data securely and efficiently, conforming to all security standards recognised and required by regulated industries such as Healthcare, Financial, and Media. With Thru, companies are able to automate data transfer, protected from source to destination, and integrate with existing storage, SIEM, CRM, and IPaaS solutions. Let's investigate some of the benefits of utilising the Thru Salesforce integration.

1. Improve Each Prospect’s Journey

Integrating Thru with Salesforce improves a prospect’s sales and support journey with your company. Maintaining a single platform for all customer communication, including the data transfer to and from a customer can have a big impact on how a customer perceives your company, as well as providing the valuable insights that Salesforce gives to ensure all communications are logged and monitored. Insight into how often a prospect has accessed the data shared with them can provide valuable information to an account manager.

2. Integrate without Affecting Ease of Use

The integration does not affect the current ease of use that Salesforce brings. Thru hooks seamlessly into Salesforce, enhancing current reporting rather than replacing it, and removing the limitations of Salesforce through transparent methods rather than affecting any business-as-usual workflows and processes currently used by employees. Thru, put simply, acts as an enabler for employees to improve the Salesforce functionality, and can win over even the most change-resistant staff.

Of course, to achieve seamless integration, it's essential to have an existing Thru deployment in place. Designed for the cloud, Thru offers a full suite of functionalities that give businesses the tools to handle all their file transfer needs. Getting the perfect set up can require the skills of seasoned professionals, something our technical experts at Pro2col have extensive experience in.

3. Transfer and Track Files Securely

The ability to know how many times a file has been downloaded can be of key importance for any files sent, irrespective of the motive. Whether it is a sales department sending the latest some solution information or a technical department sending the latest software patch, having visibility of where, when, and how often the files have been downloaded can impact communications with the recipient, contribute towards reporting metrics, and provide legal cover for sensitive information. Take, for example, a legal firm who is sending sensitive information to a key contact in a case. The solicitors will be able to ensure that the file has reached the destination, and report on the number of times it has been downloaded, eliminating any doubt of whether the data has been received and accessed. The integration even allows for the automation of file share links, and expirations on any shared data, keeping compliance and consistence standard across the board.

4. Reduce Manual Input and Overheads with Automated Processes .

As most businesses would agree, reducing manual input and overheads is vital for maintaining efficiency. Manual processes are not only time-consuming, but are also prone to errors, leading to delays and increased costs. This is where the right MFT solution becomes essential. Thru allows users to set many-to-many file transfers using a single workflow and multiple endpoints. Its publish-subscribe (pub/sub) design replaces multiple brittle point-to-point connections with workflow subscriptions, making it more flexible than traditional MFT solutions.

The integration offered by Thru really can bring measurable and immediate value to any company currently using Salesforce. Removing file send limitations, increasing visibility and encrypting data, all while seamlessly slotting into current working processes. This partnership is one that staff, customers, and suppliers will thank you for. Thru maintain a fantastic knowledgebase, and as a cloud-native application with self-hosted options available you can deploy anywhere. If you are looking for assistance to setup, maintain or configure Thru, then Pro2col are here to provide any assistance you need. Get in touch today.

About the Author

Dave Hendley is the Head of Technical at Pro2col. Dave comes from a wealth of technical experience scoping appropriate solutions for customers and managing projects from conception to completion. He oversees the Technical Department, ensuring projects and managed services are delivered to the highest standard. Outside of work, he considers himself a dad first type of guy and loves to spend as much time as he can with his wife and daughter.