Video | Driving Value Through Optimised Solutions for Salesforce: Design | Build | Maintain | Protiviti Australia

Douglas Sellers, a managing director and founder of the Salesforce practice at Protiviti, offers a comprehensive look at the critical challenges businesses face in today's rapidly changing technological landscape. At the forefront of these challenges is the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence (AI). Sellers highlights the difficulties companies encounter when trying to understand AI's full potential, knowing when and how to deploy it effectively and ensuring data protection for organisations. This is not just a technical concern, but also one that involves navigating complex ethical considerations and ever-evolving regulatory landscapes.

Despite these hurdles, Sellers underscores that businesses must maintain a focus on their customers’ needs and expectations. In the race to adopt new technologies like AI, there is a risk of losing sight of our customers. Therefore, balancing the opportunities offered by AI with a customer-first approach is essential for long-term success.

Topics

Artificial Intelligence

Understanding AI’s role and challenges

According to Sellers, many businesses need clarity on how to align AI with their specific objectives. Companies require guidance on when AI should be employed to solve problems and where it can provide the most significant value. The challenges surround data security, governance and the ethical implications of AI use: How do organisations protect the privacy of customer data while still using AI to drive personalised experiences? How can they ensure that AI-driven decisions are transparent and free from bias?

These are pressing concerns in today’s market, where both regulatory scrutiny and consumer expectations around data protection are rising. Sellers emphasises that organisations need to adopt AI responsibly, ensuring that ethical considerations are baked into the technology’s implementation from the outset. This is where we can help — not just as a technology enabler but also as a strategic partner guiding businesses through the complexities of AI adoption while keeping customer trust and ethical responsibility at the forefront of the discussion.

Protiviti’s three-stage Salesforce approach

Beyond AI, Sellers elaborates on how Protiviti helps organisations achieve business objectives using the Salesforce platform, outlining a clear three-stage process: initial investment, optimisation and expansion.

Initial investment: This first phase involves making strategic decisions about which parts of the organisation or business processes need transformation or improvement using Salesforce. Sellers points out that this step is not just about adopting new technology for the sake of modernisation. Instead, it requires a thoughtful analysis of the company’s current operations, identifying specific areas where Salesforce can drive the most impact —whether in sales, customer service or marketing. The goal here is to make an informed decision that aligns with the business’s overall strategy.
Optimisation: Once the Salesforce platform is implemented, the focus shifts to maximising the return on this investment. Sellers explains that this phase is about fine-tuning processes based on user feedback, evolving business needs and market changes. Protiviti works closely with clients to ensure that the solutions are tailored to their specific requirements, adjusting workflows or features as necessary. This continuous optimisation allows businesses to keep their Salesforce implementations aligned with their objectives, ensuring that they remain efficient and effective as conditions evolve.
Expansion: As businesses grow, so do their needs. Sellers describes this phase as leveraging additional Salesforce capabilities to meet the organisation’s expanding requirements. This may involve integrating new services or modules, scaling up operations or incorporating other technologies like AI or advanced analytics into the Salesforce ecosystem. Protiviti helps clients adapt and expand their systems in line with their growth trajectory, ensuring that their technology investments continue to provide value over time.

Protiviti’s Collaborative and Human-Centered Approach

What sets Protiviti apart, Sellers notes, is its unique approach to client engagement. Protiviti prides itself on being a collaborative partner, working hand in hand with clients throughout the entire project lifecycle. This collaboration extends beyond the technical aspects of Salesforce implementation to encompass a broader, more holistic focus on the human elements of the business.

Sellers emphasises that Protiviti’s team demonstrates genuine care for their clients’ success, which is reflected in the firm’s human-centered design philosophy. This means paying close attention to how end users interact with the technology, ensuring that the solutions are not just technically sound but also user-friendly and aligned with the business’s operational goals. Protiviti’s goal is to deliver tangible outcomes that matter—whether that’s improving customer satisfaction, enhancing sales forecasting accuracy, increasing pipeline volume or driving more sales.

AI, Salesforce and thriving in a dynamic market

In today’s dynamic market, Protiviti helps businesses not only implement cutting-edge solutions like AI and Salesforce but also navigate the challenges that come with them. By focusing on responsible AI implementation, safeguarding customer data and delivering user-friendly, human-centered solutions, Protiviti enables businesses to thrive amid constant change.

For organisations looking to expand their technology investments, Sellers’s insights provide a roadmap for doing so in a way that balances innovation with responsibility. By maintaining a clear focus on customer needs, addressing top challenges like data protection and ethical AI use and ensuring continuous optimisation of Salesforce investments, Protiviti helps businesses achieve sustained growth and success.

Watch the full video to hear from Doug Sellers how Protiviti can help you leverage AI and Salesforce to overcome today’s top challenges, protect your customers and data, and ensure that your business prospers in a competitive, ever-changing market.