Embracing Salesforce Technology
Paul Mooney – Sales Director and Public Sector Lead at Bluewave – kicked off the event with a brief introduction to Bluewave for attendees who were new to us. He also shared a Salesforce Service Overview for beginners. This talk was aimed at organisations who want to know more about Salesforce and what it can do. Paul shared Salesforce’s history, from its humble beginnings in 1999 to its current status as the leading CRM solution provider and innovator, with a reputation for revolutionising the internal systems of thousands of organisations. Salesforce has come a long way, and so has Bluewave, having first embraced the technology in 2010, and growing alongside Salesforce as a Platinum Salesforce Partner.
Sharing Services – Presented by Patricia Dougan
Patricia Dougan – Head of Digital at Education Scotland – joined us virtually to present a talk about what makes a shared service in today’s landscape.
Patricia’s presentation touched on something we like to encourage amongst our public sector customers: sharing platforms, services, components, knowledge, and skills. A number of connected organisations or departments (such as the Scottish Public Sector ecosystem) can use shared services to streamline processes and generate economies of scale, but how do we manage accountability and individual constraints? Patricia shared her experiences with this task, and explained to attendees how Salesforce’s reusable components have helped Education Scotland, and how their individual findings can be shared to help others. For example, using a single source of truth for data related to the same sector can help users in multiple departments track updates and activity.
Patricia also acknowledged the potential downsides to working collaboratively with other similar organisations, but highlighted that utilising a Salesforce Support Group (like Bluewave) can help alleviate any problems. Through sharing our ideas, technical knowledge, and resources, as well as leveraging our contacts, Bluewave is able to provide cost-effective solutions to multiple arms of the Scottish Public Sector, without having to reinvent the wheel each time. One great example of this is how a breakthrough found during our work with Marine Scotland was easily repurposed to work for Education Scotland. Representatives from both organisations have attended our events over the years, and it’s great to see that the relationships we’ve fostered and the technical solutions we’ve provided have proved successful for these two organisations – and hopefully many more to come.
Inspectorate Presentation – Dragos Leonte, Laura Burman, and Rob Hallin
Dragos Leonte – Head of Corporate Digital Services at Education Scotland shared his experiences co-developing an inspection planning administration system with us. During his presentation, he discussed why Education Scotland chose salesforce, as well as his work with our experts to develop a solution that would perfectly fit the organisation’s needs. Following a series of sprints, and through much collaborative effort, Education Scotland’s solution went live within the organisation’s set timeframe.
We also heard from Laura Burman – Product Owner at Education Scotland – who provided some insights into what it took to make an ambition into a reality. The goal of this digital transformation was to generate an end-to-end footprint of Education Scotland’s inspection process, to update inspections with completed dates and comments, to facilitate accurate reporting, and to introduce automation to reduce admin overhead. Laura praised Bluewave for the expertise, resources, and business knowledge that our experts brought to the table, while also calling out some initial challenges that we were collectively able to overcome.
Previously, Education Scotland was using an SPA as a temporary measure which wasn’t fit for purpose. Utilising their existing CRM team, their existing ES Salesforce platform, and Bluewave’s expert knowledge, a solution that eliminated human error, vastly increased efficiencies, and also provided a reduced operational cost was live as of March 24th 2024. Dragos and Laura rounded off their presentation with insights into key lessons that were learned, and a brief look into what’s next on Education Scotland’s digital transformation roadmap.
Rob Hallin – Senior Salesforce Consultant at Bluewave – showcased the solution we built for Education Scotland, providing a full demonstration for event attendees. Showing what Education Scotland started off with, side by side with the new solution, it was clear to see the improved UX and additional features designed to help facilitate streamlined inspections, with relevant members of staff being automatically allocated inspection projects at the correct date and time, with no possibility for human error. This project was made possible thanks to experts like Rob, as well as Gopal Dixit – Programme Manager and Functional Architect at Bluewave – who was also in attendance on the day, to answer any questions that event attendees may have about the solution that was built.
All presenters highlighted the value of collaboration – both between Education Scotland and Bluewave, but also with Education Scotland and other public sector organisations, who could benefit from the lessons that were learned during this project.
Understanding AI – Presented by Jorgan Strathman
Jorgan Strathman wears many hats within Bluewave, as a technical lead, certified Salesforce instructor, and project manager. He is also a passionate AI advocate, and following a trip to Dreamforce last year, he returned with a wealth of knowledge around Salesforce and AI. As our resident AI expert, he was uniquely positioned to present a talk all about how Salesforce AI can empower the public sector.
This talk was highly praised by attendees, as despite it being common knowledge that Salesforce has invested heavily in AI innovation and is considered a pioneer in the space, a lot of leaders are still a bit lost on what that really means for their organisation. Jorgan’s talk was designed to take a deeper look into the world of AI, and provide a taster of what Salesforce AI can really do. His presentation covered everything from how often we interact with AI without realising it, to the AI trust gap and current accessibility barrier. He provided a brief history lesson, and covered what AI really is – making sure all attendees were on the same page before going into further detail – and also touched on neural networks, generative AI, and deep learning, before delving deeper into how all of this is relevant to the public sector specifically.
At Bluewave, we’re on a mission to educate our customers on the real value of AI. This presentation was just the beginning, and if you’d like to know more about Salesforce’s AI offering and how it could benefit your organisation, take a look at our AI Accelerator sessions. Our experts will guide you through a holistic process, from awareness and education to implementation and beyond, helping you cut through the hype to demystify the actual mechanics behind the magic. Find out more here.
What is Data Cloud? – Presented by Finian Quinn
Finian Quinn – Business Development Director and Data Cloud Practice Lead – presented a talk on Data Cloud, another one of Salesforce’s most recent offerings. Data Cloud is designed to help organisations that are looking to unify multiple data sources in order to target their audiences in a more specific and personalised way. Data Cloud is deeply embedded within the Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform, which means any external data lake or warehouse can now drive actions and workflows inside of a user’s existing Salesforce CRM. Finian provided an overview of what Data Cloud can do, what it can’t do, and how it can best be used by public sector organisations, providing expert advice on how best to leverage the platform for customer success.
Moving Forward
The whole team at Bluewave is proud to have hosted another successful collaboration event for the Scottish Public Sector. We look forward to sharing insights and facilitating cross-departmental collaboration again next year. Until then, if you’d like to meet with our experts, you can join us in London at our upcoming Salesforce World Tour 2024 afterparty at The Fox ExCeL. Register here to secure your place.
If you’d like to know more about our bespoke digital transformations, or how a custom-built Salesforce implementation may benefit your business, please contact our experts today.
