Summary of "Geopointe Administration Webinar (Jul 16 2014)"

The Geopointe Administration Webinar (July 16, 2014) provides an advanced, detailed walkthrough on setting up and administering Geopointe, a premier mapping solution integrated with Salesforce. The webinar focuses on practical administration, configuration, and customization to make Salesforce data mappable and actionable via geographic visualization.

Main Financial/Business Strategies and Trends:

Leveraging Geographic Data for Business Insights: Using Geopointe to visualize Salesforce CRM data geographically supports sales, marketing, and operational strategies by enabling location-based decision-making.
Data Quality and Standardization: Emphasis on clean, standardized address data and country codes to improve geocoding accuracy, which is critical for reliable mapping and reporting.
User Access and Security Management: Controlled user licensing and permission sets ensure secure and appropriate access to geographic data and mapping features.
Customizable Visualization and Filtering: Ability to tailor map markers, filters, and data sets to meet specific business needs (e.g., differentiating customers, prospects, or lead ratings).
Integration with External Data Layers: Adding external KML layers (like drought monitors) enhances decision-making by combining internal data with external geographic information.
Mobile Enablement: Support for Salesforce1 mobile app integration to extend mapping capabilities to mobile users, improving field operations and remote access.
Automation and Developer Extensibility: Options for programmatically triggering geocoding and integrating Geopointe with Apex and Visualforce for advanced custom workflows.

Key Methodologies and Step-by-Step Guides:

1. Installing and Initial Setup:

Install Geopointe from Salesforce AppExchange.
Access Geopointe via the Salesforce app list.
Begin setup in the Geopointe Setup tab.

2. Configuring Map Objects (Making Salesforce Objects Mappable):

Define Salesforce objects for mapping (e.g., Accounts, Opportunities).
Choose between:
- Fully Defined Map Object: Specify address fields directly.
- Referencing Map Object: Reference another mapped object for location data (e.g., Opportunities referencing Accounts).
Specify address components (street, city, state, postal code, country).
Optionally specify latitude/longitude fields if available.
Configure batch size for geocoding (default 100 records per batch).

3. Geocoding Process:

Geocoding converts address data into geographic coordinates.
Schedule geocoding jobs (default hourly) or run on demand.
Options for custom scheduling using Apex jobs for integration-heavy environments.
Geocode quality levels explained (point, address, street, city/zip, state/country).
Best practices include:
- Use standardized country codes (ISO two-letter codes).
- Clean address data focusing on line 1 street info.
- Use Salesforce tools like Mass Update Addresses and State and Country Picklists to improve data quality.

4. User Interface Enhancements:

Add map buttons to page layouts for quick access to maps.
Embed maps on record pages (adjust height for better display).
Add publisher actions for check-in/check-out features.
Customize search layouts to include map buttons for list views.
Enable Salesforce1 mobile navigation to include Geopointe.

5. User Setup and Permissions:

Manage licenses via Salesforce Installed Packages.
Assign Geopointe permission sets for field and page access.
Use Geopointe’s “Set User Permissions” button for bulk assignment.
Control tab and app visibility via Salesforce profiles.

6. Data Sets and Visualization Customization:

Create and manage data sets to control which fields appear on maps.
Configure marker icons and colors based on Salesforce picklist fields (e.g., Account Type, Lead Rating).
Create filters to display subsets of data (e.g., only customers or prospects).
Assign data sets globally or per user for tailored experiences.

7. Advanced Features and Business Use Cases:

Enable actions like exporting map results to CSV.
Enable change ownership action for specific users via Salesforce sharing rules.
Use shape searches to filter data geographically (e.g., by region).
Share saved shapes with other users for collaborative mapping.
Add external KML layers (e.g., drought monitor) to enrich map data.
Upcoming features include better color support in Salesforce1, associating shapes to records, and automated territory assignments based on geographic data.

8. Release and Update Management:

Regular 8-10 week release cycle with advance notifications.
Updates pushed silently with optional sandbox previews.
Release webinars to educate users on new features.

Presenters/Sources:

The webinar was presented by a Geopointe team member (name not explicitly stated).
The content references Salesforce and Geopointe product documentation, with plans for future developer-focused webinars.

This webinar is primarily targeted at Salesforce administrators and advanced users responsible for configuring Geopointe within their organizations to optimize geographic data use for business processes.