GoodData for Salesforce Business Intelligence and Analytics
Overall Satisfaction
Pros
- We helped a technology client of ours evaluate and implement GoodData. Our client was spending several hours each week exporting data from Salesforce and/or manually inputting Salesforce data into spreadsheets to track historical pipeline by region, product and opportunity stage. Our client was also trying to analyze sales stage velocity to understand what the best practice stage duration was for closed won opportunities. Our client also wanted to understand sales rep behavior.
- GoodData allows our client to track changes in pipeline with detailed graphs and charts. You can analyze across dimensions, including regions, products and stages. You can set indicators, such as sales management targets, to measure performance. You can correlate sales rep behavior (ex. activities) to rep performance (ex. closed-won opps).
- Integration to Salesforce data was very simple, although it does require a Salesforce user license.
Cons
- This is not a real time data flow. We scheduled an automatic daily refresh from Salesforce to GoodData though.
- One of the benefits of GoodData is that it snapshots the Salesforce data. Unfortunately, you cannot load historical Salesforce data and expect to take advantage of the "Changes in Pipeline" capabilities day 1. This is not a deficiency of GoodData, as much as I am just trying to set expectations that it will take some time to benefit from these capabilities.
- Our client is saving at least 6 hours per week from manual data entry and analysis.
- Improved forecasting.
- Improved sales rep and opportunity activity analysis.
Product Usage
10 - Sales, operations, finance.
1 - Salesforce Administrator
- Our client is using it for sales analysis - across regions, sales reps and products.
- Our client is using it to answer questions like 1) How is the pipeline progressing through the quarter? 2) Are we likely to meet our numbers based on the current pipeline breakdown? It is challenging within basic Salesforce reporting to monitor changes in the pipeline. GoodData help them understand what happened to the pipeline from the beginning of the month to the end of the month. Answers questions like - Which deals had a closed date that pushed to the following month? What opportunities increased/decreased in value?
- Helps our client see how opportunities created flow through the different stages and where are the major drop offs. By looking at the created to won conversion rate you get a better understanding of how many new opportunities you will need in the future to meet your targets. Also helps you understand sales velocity.
- Helps you understand which sales rep activities drive opportunity creation and which close deals. Analyzes which sales activities win deals. Compares specific rep activities levels to averages.
Evaluation and Selection
Exporting data from Salesforce into Microsoft Excel. Manual data entry.
Birst, which had comparable functionality. We chose GoodData based on ease-of-use and price.
Implementation
- Professional services company
GoodData provided a technical implementation partner. We served as the Salesforce experts and business requirements main point of contact for our client. Our client's controller was involved and also ensured the Exec teams' operational requirements were addressed.
Training
- Online training
- Self-taught
Yes. Some admin training would be helpful though.
Support
Usability
Reliability
Integration
- Salesforce.com
Integration was done using the Salesforce api. It was as simple as setting up a Salesforce user account and then having the implementer use that account to log into Salesforce.
Vendor Relationship
Confidential.
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