Merging Salesforce Orgs in Financial Services: A SMART Approach
In today's complex business landscape, corporate mergers and acquisitions are common. However, the subsequent merging of Salesforce Orgs can pose significant challenges. New Collar, with its wealth of experience in technology and strategy, has developed a comprehensive approach, the SMART Methodology (Strategy, Migration, Alignment, Reconciliation, Transition), to streamline this process, minimize impacts to customers, and capitalize on opportunities for change.
Strategy (S): The first step is strategizing. We establish a comprehensive plan covering both technical and operational aspects. Given the different custom objects, profiles, and sharing settings in each org, it's crucial to identify overlapping areas and decide how to address them. This involves discussions with stakeholders to define business processes, map fields, and choose master records.
Migration (M): Post strategizing, we focus on the migration of data and settings. Salesforce's Metadata API helps to migrate metadata (objects, profiles, sharing settings, etc.) between orgs. For data, we use tools like Data Import Wizard and Data Loader. It's crucial to carefully sequence the migration to avoid violating dependencies and referential integrity.
A Python snippet for using the Salesforce Metadata API:
from simple_salesforce import Salesforce
sf = Salesforce(username='username', password='password', security_token='token')
# Example to retrieve metadata for an Account object
metadata = sf.Account.describe()
print(metadata)
Alignment (A): Alignment involves modifying custom Apex code, triggers, validation rules, and flows in the target org to ensure they work with the merged data and settings. This step often includes modifying named credentials and adjusting REST API integrations. We use Salesforce DX and CLI for this purpose, facilitating version control and continuous integration.
Reconciliation (R): This phase involves reconciling and testing. Each process, rule, and integration is tested in a sandbox environment. Unit testing for Apex classes and triggers, along with thorough end-to-end testing, is critical.
Example of an Apex trigger test:
@isTest
public class TriggerTestClass {
static testMethod void testTrigger() {
// Test data setup
Account testAccount = new Account(Name='Test Account');
insert testAccount;
// Test trigger behavior
Test.startTest();
testAccount.Name = 'Updated Name';
update testAccount;
Test.stopTest();
// Assert expected behavior
testAccount = [SELECT Name FROM Account WHERE Id=:testAccount.Id];
System.assertEquals('Updated Name', testAccount.Name);
}
}
Transition (T): The final step is transitioning users and customers. This involves communicating changes, training users, and performing a phased rollout to minimize disruption.
Throughout the process, our focus remains on customer impact. We ensure continuous service and seamless experiences, implementing changes during off-peak hours and maintaining robust fallback plans. The SMART methodology leverages Salesforce technologies and strategic insights to ensure a smooth and effective org merge, ultimately leading to a consolidated, efficient, and powerful Salesforce ecosystem.
Salesforce Merger / Migration Checklist:
As you embark on your Salesforce merger / migration, we have compiled a checklist for you to use as a baseline in the initial stages of each phase of the SMART process.
1. Strategy (S)
- Identify stakeholders and establish a cross-functional team.
- Define objectives and success criteria for the migration.
- Map current business processes and data flows in each org.
- Identify overlapping and conflicting metadata including custom objects, profiles, and sharing settings.
- Determine strategy for overlapping metadata (merge, rename, delete, etc.).
- Define future state business processes and data flows for the merged org.
- Define data mapping between source and target orgs.
- Establish a timeline and schedule for the migration.
2. Migration (M)
- Backup both Salesforce orgs' data and metadata.
- Review and clean data in both orgs.
- Utilize Salesforce's Metadata API to migrate metadata.
- Use tools such as Data Import Wizard or Data Loader for data migration.
- Respect dependencies between objects to avoid referential integrity issues.
- Sequence migration of objects carefully (i.e., parent objects before child objects).
3. Alignment (A)
- Review custom Apex classes, triggers, and visualforce pages.
- Adapt REST API integrations and named credentials for the merged org.
- Modify validation rules and process flows as required.
- Use Salesforce DX and CLI to manage and deploy code changes.
- Apply changes to sharing settings, profiles, and permission sets.
4. Reconciliation (R)
- Conduct unit testing on all custom Apex classes and triggers.
- Perform system integration testing for all interfaces and integrations.
- Conduct end-to-end business process testing in a sandbox environment.
- Validate data integrity and ensure no loss of data post-migration.
- Conduct performance testing to ensure system performance is not adversely impacted.
5. Transition (T)
- Develop and execute a communication plan to users and customers about the upcoming change.
- Provide training to end-users on new processes and workflows.
- Plan for a phased roll-out to minimize disruption.
- Monitor system closely post-migration to address any issues promptly.
- Provide continuous support and feedback channels for users post-migration.
The SMART Salesforce migration checklist provides a comprehensive approach to ensure a smooth and effective transition. The key to success lies in detailed planning, meticulous execution, and continual monitoring to address issues promptly.