Organisations are inundated with data. Tools like CRM, HRMS, accounting tools, and marketing automation tools (and many more) generate mountains of data per day. While an abundance of data is always good for accurate decision-making, there are also several challenges associated with it. Inconsistencies, data duplication, conflicting insights, miscommunication, etc., are more common than you think. All these factors make decision-making more fragmented rather than efficient or accurate.
That’s why having a single source of truth (SSOT) is essential. It ensures that everyone across the organisation works with accurate and consistent data. In this article, we will understand what a Single Source Of Truth is and how it has become so important in modern-day business.
SSOT is a process where you consolidate data from multiple systems within an organisation into a single, reliable reference point. Now, many people mistakenly think SSOT is a system or a tool. That’s a mistake. SSOT is rather a state in which all your company data can be accessed from one unified source.
A classic example of SSOT would be Google. When you search for “Hotels in London”, it is going to deliver all the key details like contact information, ratings, cost, availability, etc. In other words, Google has become your SSOT or an “authoritative source of information”.
Here are some of the key benefits businesses enjoy once they adopt SSOT for business growth:
To understand the role of SSOT in digital transformation better, it is first critical to learn about the challenges involved in digital transformation.
We have highlighted earlier that fragmented data across multiple systems can lead to inefficiencies and lost opportunities. Salesforce eliminates this problem by acting as an SSOT for all your business operations. Salesforce SSOT platforms like Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud are closely integrated, which ensures that data flows freely between your teams.
For example:
Since all these clouds are interconnected, the service agent sees the entire customer history in one view, allowing for a personalised experience and an increased potential to upsell or cross-sell.
Salesforce also integrates with Slack and Chatter to facilitate instant communication across departments. Teams can share customer updates or any other relevant data in real time, thereby ensuring that everyone stays on the same page.
For example, if a sales rep updates a lead’s status in Sales Cloud, a notification is instantly sent via Slack. The marketing and customer success teams can see the change in real time and take appropriate action.
Finally, the best part about Salesforce is its cloud-based ecosystem. It grows along with your business, supporting millions of customer interactions across different teams, while maintaining a single, consistent data source.
Here is a structured approach to successfully implementing an SSOT strategy in your organisation:
Before implementing SSOT, identify what business goals you want to achieve. It could be anything from improved customer experience to enhanced operational efficiency. Apart from this, determine which data sources (CRM, ERP, HR, finance, marketing tools) need to be unified for better insights.
A successful SSOT strategy requires a centralised data platform. This platform must be able to integrate information from multiple systems. It should be a data hub that can act as the core system. The best example would be Salesforce, as it supports seamless data integration across departments.
For SSOT to work, you need to have clear data governance rules on data ownership. You also need to have clear access control and quality standards. So, define who can input, edit, and validate data. This will ensure that incorrect or duplicate information doesn’t enter the system.
To prevent data inconsistencies, you must cleanse and validate data before inputting it into the SSOT system. Use AI-powered tools like Salesforce Data Cloud to automate this process. Ultimately, your goal should be to prevent data deduplication and enforce uniform formatting.
A new SSOT system requires employee buy-in and proper training. This will help maximise adoption. Conduct hands-on training sessions to help teams understand how to use the integrated system effectively. More importantly, you need to ensure they trust the data.
SSOT implementation isn’t a one-time task. It requires ongoing monitoring to ensure that data remains accurate and useful. Set up automated data audits from time to time. If possible, use reporting tools like Tableau CRM to track data health and business performance.
It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation is; adopting SSOT is essential if you are planning to automate your digital business operations. Salesforce is the best way to achieve this as it provides a centralised ecosystem that facilitates better decision-making. However, we understand that implementing SSOT via Salesforce is not an easy task. That’s where we come in. We are the UK’s leading Salesforce consultant who can help implement and optimise Salesforce SSOT for your organisation’s long-term success. Contact us to know more.