Category: Uncategorized

Categories
Uncategorized

Choosing the Right Salesforce Partner? What to Consider?

saleforce

Choosing a Salesforce partner is an important decision.. This goes far beyond looking at who is available or who is the cheapest. It is a decision that you should consider carefully with your team, because choosing wrong could have persecution for both your company and your clients, and choosing wisely has great benefits.

In this post, we’ve put together a list of seven qualities you should look for in a Salesforce partner before making a decision. These tips could go a long way in hiring a Salesforce CRM  consulting partner who identifies with your business, commits to your goals, and helps your business get the most out of this important investment.

Look For Salesforce Certifications:

Knowledge is the number one thing you should look for in a Salesforce partner and any Salesforce CRM consulting partner  should have various certifications in order to successfully help your business.

While there are more than 30 Salesforce-issued certifications that could demonstrate a partner’s knowledge and ability, that doesn’t mean you have to have them all. The choice of certifications to seek will depend on the nature of your company, its needs and what is intended to be achieved with the implementation of the CRM.

 Understanding Your Business:

The ideal Salesforce partner is the one who puts themselves in your shoes. A partner or any partner will work to provide a specific solution and offer support to your company for a certain time or period. However, a quality Salesforce CRM partner  is one that cares about deeply understanding your business needs and strives to offer the most complete solution, regardless of the timeline.

Avoid those Salesforce vendors or consultants who rush in and out of your office, the ideal partner will not abandon you at the end of the contract.

But how do you identify a partner that shows understanding for your business? Approach those partners who, from the first interviews or conversations, focus on helping you find long-term value and not on the execution of the project.

Also, an ideal partner will not try to sell you the moon. The ideal partner will look for a solution that fits your needs, taking the time to understand the current processes, the budget and any other data that is relevant to the project.

Do They Have the Intent or Ability?

A Salesforce consulting partner should be able to design a clear process for your company from start to finish. So when asking questions of a potential vendor or consultant, consider whether they have the intent and ability to plan and execute a well-structured implementation process.

Knowing Salesforce CRM is great, but understanding how an organization fits into a big technology strategy is even better. Salesforce implementations for larger companies require proficiency beyond Salesforce development.

Look for a partner who knows the technology, looks at the big picture, and is also able to put together a tailor-made plan before taking on the job.

Determine their Confidence Level:

Salesforce CRM implementation  the most important thing is to build great relationships so that everyone succeeds while always providing great customer service.

Look for a partner that inspires confidence and with whom you can imagine working in the long term. Although, it is possible that right now you are thinking of executing only one project, but surely over time new needs will arise that require the support of a trusted Salesforce expert.

Ability To Solve Problems:

An extremely valuable and important skill in a Salesforce partner is the ability to solve complex problems. Industry experience and Salesforce certifications can help a partner solve common situations, but an ideal partner should be able to customize through creativity to solve your company’s unique problems.

Application Development and Architecture:

Another quality of a partner that can help make a difference in a Salesforce CRM  implementation project is their vision and innovative mindset. In principle, a CRM is a technology equipped to serve all (or almost all) the business needs of a company. However, the reality is that it is not the best for every problem.

There are plenty of third-party solutions and apps that can integrate with Salesforce, and a partner or consultant needs to be open-minded and capable enough to develop a consistent, custom architecture for your business.

Industry Experience and References:

Lastly, another important quality to look at in a Salesforce partner before making a decision is their experience in your industry and references from other clients.

Industry experience can be a huge advantage when it comes to outlining capabilities, mapping business needs, and adhering to implementation best practices.

A Salesforce partner or consultant with experience in the industry your business is in will have a deeper understanding of your specific pain points and be able to offer educated, well-researched solutions on how to use Salesforce to solve the problems you face every day.

Keep in mind that the more experience a Salesforce consultant has, the better equipped they are to meet your needs and overcome some of the common challenges.

So before making a decision, check out the potential partner’s experience by looking at the references posted on their website, asking previous customers, and researching the most relevant success stories.

 The Bottom Line:

So you must have understood how to choose the right Salesforce partner for your business.

Choosing the right Salesforce CRM  platform partner for your company is just the first step in a long journey. Whether you’re starting from scratch with your Salesforce CRM  implementation or need a partner’s help to execute a special project or receive assistance and support, having the right implementation partner is key to being successful with this tool and achieving things never seen before in your sales team.

At OFS, our experts will help you leverage the Salesforce capabilities (Service, Sales, Community, Marketing etcetera…) and grow your business potentials by many folds. We deliver based on industry best practice templates and further customize the org to fit nuances, as required by business use cases. Consulting with us would let you choose from a range of standard configurations and best practices that comes pre-built with the ecosystem, which we help in identifying for you depending upon your business needs.

Get in touch now!

Categories
Technical And Professional Services Uncategorized

What is PMO Support. How it Works?

PMO Support

Establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) or another equivalent organizational unit dedicated to supervising project activities is becoming more typical for project-based businesses. However, it can be difficult to establish which functions should be allocated to the embryonic Project Management Office during the planning or inception stages of its creation.

A PMO can wear a lot of different hats. In fact, compiling a full list of all the duties and responsibilities that a PMO can potentially take on would be nearly impossible. Nonetheless, here is a rundown of the primary functions of Project Management Offices in businesses.

Monitoring and Controlling Project Execution Performance:

It should come as no surprise that project monitoring and tracking is one of the Project Management Office’s most important responsibilities. In reality, the requirement to increase project execution speed, quality, and reliability is frequently cited as a reason for establishing a PMO. A PMO will oversee the delivery cycle to ensure that projects are delivered on time, on budget, and within scope in order to produce outcomes in the area of execution performance. Controlling project activities for the PMO also entails assuring primary and secondary stakeholder satisfaction, as well as achieving any other requirements that may be linked to the project’s success.

PMOs accomplish this by combining and manipulating vast amounts of project data. They will track and report on progress throughout the project life cycle, from start to finish, in order to improve the consistency of activity and work. Some hands-on PMOs will actively participate in execution and delivery tracking, while others will focus on assisting project managers to guarantee a smooth delivery and project success.

In addition, a Project Management Office can improve project performance by giving assistance to other project stakeholders.

Receiving general or expert guidance from PPM experts can be extremely beneficial to teams, as it is not uncommon for projects to be managed by technical or operational workers with no formal project management training or experience.

A PMO can assist with planning, scheduling, procurement, and all related execution and tracking tasks. Project teams can take advantage of the PMO’s expertise and knowledge of Project Portfolio Management standards and practises to prevent execution mistakes and keep projects on track. A PMO’s counsel, insight, and support can still be a vital source of continual learning and progress for professional project management teams.

Lastly, PMOs can help project managers by implementing advanced, unique tasks for them or on their behalf.

Development of Project Management Methodologies

The establishment of a Project Management Office is typically the first step in a PPM organisational restructuring process. PMOs are responsible for defining and implementing methodologies to standardise project management activities and processes inside a company. They will, in essence, give guidelines defining how a project should be managed throughout its life cycle, from the development of initial business cases to delivery management.

The PMO’s best practises, standard measurements, and repeatable processes will improve overall project performance by increasing uniformity across project management teams, allowing different projects in different areas to be compared. Wherever practicable, the Project Management Office will standardise such processes at the organisational level across all business units and divisions.

The PMO, as the guardian of Project Portfolio Management processes, formalises these sets of methods and practises into a coherent Project Charter that should be made readily available to all parties involved in project activity and should be updated over time to reflect changes in the business environment, market conditions, or organisational strategy.

A PMO may prefer linear delivery approaches such as the Waterfall approach or the Vee model, or a more Agile delivery framework, depending on the shape, line of business, and culture of the organisation. More and more PMOs are opting to create their own custom hybrid method to obtain the best of both worlds.

Implementation of Professional PPM Tools

The Project Management Office (PMO) normally selects, procures, and implements professional software to speed up and facilitate Project Portfolio Management tasks at the request of the organisation.

PPM tools aren’t just for major companies and mega-projects, contrary to popular belief. Even small firms can greatly profit from the use of such solution tools, which are specifically designed to combine data and automate operations. No company can afford to miss out on the chance to boost production, improve data quality, and make better use of resources!

In order to better management, make tracking more granular, and exploit data intelligence, PPM software will split down projects into a number of phases and activities. Robust tools come with a variety of management and analytical features, such as simulation and advanced analytics.

Your PMO’s PPM knowledge will be invaluable in selecting the correct technology for your organisation, determining configuration requirements, executing the deployment, and championing user acceptance. Because such tools almost always necessitate some kind of training — particularly for non-professional project managers — the Project Management Office also leads the skill development effort through a variety of more or less formal training programmes and projects.

Program and Portfolio Management is the fourth PMO function.

When it comes to multi-project management, a Project Management Office is usually highly useful. The many projects that are being managed within a corporation are always somewhat interdependent due to common resources, assets, and equipment. The Project Management Office, with its cross-departmental view of project activity, can guarantee that such dependencies and restrictions are foreseen, understood, and handled in a timely manner to support individual project success and overall optimization.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A Project Management Office is a multi-purpose organisational unit that can perform a wide range of responsibilities and functions within a company such as…

  • Ensuring Project Execution Performance Monitoring and Control
  • Developing Project Management Methodologies
  • Implementing Professional PPM Tools
  • Coordinating Program and Portfolio Management
  • Facilitating and improving Strategic Project Management
  • Optimising Resource Allocation and maximising Resource Utilization
  • Creating and maintaining Collaboration-Conducive Work Environments
  • Providing Information and Training for Insights are some of the most common PMO functions.

This list of essential functions is not intended to be exhaustive. Finally, the functions of your PMO should be adapted to your organization’s specific needs and capabilities.

FAQ’s

What is PMO in Business?

The Project Management Office (PMO) in business ensures streamlined project execution. It standardizes processes, manages resources, mitigates risks, and fosters strategic alignment. With a focus on communication and continuous improvement, PMO plays a pivotal role in achieving organizational goals through efficient project management.

What are the benefits of a PMO?

A Project Management Office (PMO) offers numerous benefits, including streamlined project execution, standardized processes, improved resource management, enhanced risk mitigation, strategic alignment with organizational goals, effective communication, professional development opportunities, and a culture of continuous improvement. These advantages contribute to successful project outcomes and overall business success.

What are different Job roles in PMO?


Project Manager:
Responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects, ensuring they align with organizational goals and standards.
PMO Analyst:
Supports PMO functions by analyzing project data, providing insights, and assisting in the implementation of project management processes.
Portfolio Manager:
Manages a portfolio of projects, aligning them with the overall business strategy and ensuring resource optimization.
Risk Manager:
Identifies, assesses, and mitigates project risks, ensuring that potential issues are proactively addressed to minimize negative impacts on project outcomes.

Categories
Uncategorized

What to Know About Staff Augmentation

Staff Augmentation is an outsourcing technique that involves hiring qualified technical people from outside your company to temporarily or permanently fill open roles in your team.

It allows you to select only those applicants who meet your specifications and to eliminate or expand your augmented team as needed. Staff augmentation is available from a variety of companies. IT staff augmentation companies can assist you supplement your in-house development team with qualified technical professionals on a short- or long-term basis.

IT staff augmentation is a subset of general staff augmentation. Staff augmentation is a sort of outsourcing service provided by an external supplier on a contract basis to supplement the existing in-house team’s expertise and skills. This technique entails assessing current employee capabilities and identifying what skills are required.

What Are the Benefits of Staff Augmentation?

Exceptional Productivity

In contrast to a project outsourcing team, which can manage multiple projects at the same time, staff augmentation allows for a greater degree of productivity because developers are 100% focused on a single project. Working for a single customer and adhering to their large vision entails a higher level of drive and commitment.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

All IP rights belong to you from the start of your collaboration with your dedicated engineers.

Flexibility

You gain flexibility primarily on two fronts:

1. You receive access to a large pool of IT professionals, including UI/UX designers, front-end developers, Scrum masters, and product owners.

2. It’s much easier to replace a developer because the talent pool is larger, and you won’t have to spend extra money on the transition if you work with a staffing partner like OFS.

Efficiency in terms of costs

The pricing structure for staff expansion is extremely clear. You are not responsible for any administrative or organisational costs, such as office space, workstations, or other amenities. You pay a flat charge, and the vendor handles the rest, allowing you to concentrate on your core business.

Your proposal stands out:

Software engineers want to have a say in the development process and have a say in the decisions that are made during their time at a company. As a result, many developers desire to collaborate with product firms, which may be done in two ways: directly with a product company or through the staff augmentation approach.

How to Achieve Success with Team Augmentation?

1. Find a provider who will set up separate team rooms for your remote developers with all of the essential amenities. For example, our teams at OFS have rooms with the client’s company branding to make it easier for the offshore team to work with in-house engineers.

2. Ensure that distant developers experience the benefits of working with your local team. We install so-called “windows to the client” – a camera in the team’s room and a screen that shows what’s going on in the local office – at the request of certain of our clients.

3. Inquire with the vendor about the availability of professionals that may assist you in more effectively collaborating with your team. HR/Client Managers work with your developers at OFS to assist eliminate any potential misconceptions.

How to Tell If Staff Augmentation is Right For You

1. You already have engineers working on your product at your local office, but you’d like to expand your team by hiring a group of programmers to work on another aspect of it. You need to hire a team of 3-8 tech professionals, but due to a skills scarcity in your area, it’s impossible. You recognise that local recruitment will take too long, and that, given the risks and high market demand, this is not a viable alternative.

2. You’re working on a software project with a group of programmers, and you need to expand your staff with fresh engineers. Because the group of specialists you want to hire is uncommon in your country, you’re looking to broaden your search.

3.  You work on your product with a project outsourcing company, but this model doesn’t work for you for a variety of reasons. First, you want to communicate directly with your team on a regular basis, and second, you want to get to know your remote programmers so they feel like they’re a member of your local team. Both are necessary for distant teams to integrate with local teams and to be motivated to work toward a common objective with you.

Let Us Be Your Partner for Staff Augmentation!

Our team of experts has been providing business-critical solutions to our global customers on-site and remotely for over a decade. We are your success partner because we have vast expertise offering services to the federal government. We are large enough to handle a wide range of client requirements while remaining small enough to be quick and efficient. Our method ensures that you get the most qualified candidates for your company’s requirements.