ACT, SAT, GMAC, Common App, Oh my! How do we import this data into Salesforce without relying on an IT resource?
In the higher education industry, colleges and universities need to import large lists of data into their CRM systems on a regular basis. The sources of data could include 3rd party applications (e.g. The Common Application, CASS Applications, etc.) as well as test scores and search lists (e.g. ACT, SAT, NARCUA, etc.).
The challenge, of course, is that each school may choose to only use certain columns/fields of data from each particular data source in their CRM. Additionally, schools will most likely map that data to different fields and even objects within their CRM. How then can schools find a scalable solution that can not only accommodate any data source, but can also empower a non-technical person to uniquely configure and modify the data mapping, transformation, and de-duplication logic for any import into CRM?
Factors to consider:
- Distribution – mapping the data into CRM
- Transformation – converting the format of the data as appropriate
- De-Duplication – configurable dupe rules
- Resolution – end users can resolve duplicates within the CRM
The solution requires the ability for an admin to configure the mapping logic on a field-by-field and object-by-object basis for each and every data source that a school wishes to import. At the same time, the admin user should be able to configure the transformation rules for the data (including “reference” changes), as well as de-duplication rules for each object in the import process. Finally, upon identifying any duplicates, the system should allow the users to resolve the duplicates within the CRM system.
If empowered with this capability, a single admin user would be able to easily accommodate any data source with the ability to distribute, transform, and dedupe the records, and even do so in an automated fashion as appropriate.
