...It’s simpler than you might think

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For a lot of us, data management is a little clunky. It requires a patchwork of various data stores and spreadsheets — and if the person who happens to be a crucial component retires, the whole process might fall apart. If a contract, payment, or customer falls through the cracks, there can be fallout: loss of trust, loss of business, or even a government fine.

These outdated conventional approaches were designed without powerful customer-centered technology in mind. However, innovation for the sake of innovation is never a great idea; new solutions must provide value to justify adoption. 

Today, Salesforce for blockchain could provide just such a boost. In this blog, we’ll break down the actual, day-to-day uses of Salesforce on the blockchain and how the technology might radically improve your processes.

What Is Blockchain, Really?

In our experience, even proponents of blockchain tech can find a simple explanation helpful from time to time. 

For our purposes, the blockchain is a distributed network containing data that is nearly impossible to tamper with. By definition, the blockchain is not created by or stored in a single entity, so it cannot be directly tamped with through onsite intervention. Moreover, its transactions are always verified by other nodes in the chain. If you want to read more about why a distributed system provides security, please refer to Trailhead. 

For Salesforce users, implementing compatible blockchain tools could allow teams to share information without ever worrying about its security, viability, and legitimacy. 

How Blockchain Works on Salesforce

With Salesforce Blockchain, you can integrate all your existing processes, eliminate redundant verification steps, and automatically grant certain access to appropriate parties. 

Let’s make this concrete with a couple of examples.

Once Arizona State University, a prominent research institution, transferred all of its student transcripts onto Salesforce Blockchain records, it ensured that only authorized university administrators could change the status of their records. Today, those records can be shared easily with other parties — potential employers, for example — without giving unapproved users edit access. 

As another example, S&P Global Rankings — a leading commodities analytics provider — now uses Salesforce-backed blockchain ledgers to store its Know Your Customer (KYC) data. Today, review processes for banking customers’ loans are shared with all the correct parties automatically, securely, transparently (again, only to the appropriate parties), and are auditable. This centralized, secure ledger could very well help S&P to cut down on the usually time-consuming process of approving new business bank accounts. 

“Leveraging Salesforce Blockchain, S&P Global Ratings has created a trusted network of reviewers, where everyone can work from a shared, transparent and auditable review process—completely reinventing and expediting how we do KYC reviews for our customers,” Chris Heusler, S&P Global's Chief Commercial Officer shared in a testimonial for Salesforce.

The Benefits Afforded by Salesforce for Blockchain

It Vastly Simplifies‍

Given help from an implementation partner, businesses can use Salesforce to streamline their processes and integrate blockchain capabilities directly into their CRM platform. Doing so can empower enterprises to alleviate some of their immediate security concerns while simplifying their communications and business processes. 

For example, a car insurer might have to communicate back and forth among an insurance company, tow shop, claim’s adjuster, other insurers, and auto body shops. Overwhelmed insurers could use Salesforce’s blockchain tools to set up a more centralized process for approving claims, repairs, and payments, thereby enabling a more automated and secure process. 

As a bonus, these ancillary parties don’t need to be on Salesforce for the integration to work. With secure communications on lock, your team can focus more on what matters: serving the customer.

It Builds Trust‍

For better or worse, customers expect immediate access to all their data and for it also to be kept secure even as businesses communicate with various third parties. 

But when your communication strategy is geared towards preventing data security breaches, the mood can quickly turn to less-than-trustful. It’s nobody’s fault — we need to make sure our ducks are in a row — but the tone can tilt toward defensiveness. 

However, when a system that simplifies processes and prevents loss of trust is in place, the conversation with your customers and clients can be much more positive and fruitful. ‍

You got into your industry to serve people. Free up your time (and staff) to do more of that.

Gerent Can Help

Do you think your business can benefit from Salesforce on the blockchain? Connect with us to discover how this tool can transform your business and how easy integration can be!