Force.com project management application saves Page 1 Solutions three years in development

Challenge

•  Full-service Internet marketing agency needed a new workflow application to manage projects and tasks
• Rapid growth required an overhaul of outdated systems and procedures
• A custom Microsoft Access-based application couldn’t support a 900% increase in employees
• Spent three years and repeated efforts to rewrite the software on .NET and SQL Server
• On-premise platform complexity, buggy software, and technical limitations resulted in delays

Solution

•  Chose Force.com for the development speed, ease of deployment, and cost savings
• Designed and deployed a customer project/task management application in 4 months with help from salesforce.com partner Bluewolf
• Called TaskForce, the Force.com application heavily uses Force.com code for procedural logic
• 50 custom objects handle unique business processes and tasks
• Force.com workflows track various tasks, inter-departmental coordination, and communications
• Consolidated multiple legacy applications--including multiple Goldmine and Access databases--onto Force.com
• Extending a hybrid Force.com-Access platform to handle custom data synchronization and automated reporting using a Data Direct open database connectivity driver
• Also uses Salesforce Enterprise Edition for CRM

Results

•  Saved almost $400,000 in development and deployment costs
• Saved almost 3 years in development time
• Improved customer service and account insight
• Fewer missed deadlines
• New users and functionality are easily added to TaskForce
• Managers can determine the status of every pending Web site development or marketing project