Using Omniscope with Salesforce Add the perfect desktop/web compliment to Salesforce solutions

Omniscope is integrated with Salesforce and the Force.com cloud computing platform and provides a low-cost, low-risk route to business intelligence reporting and data quality initiatives involving data hosted in Salesforce/Force.com. If you have a Salesforce account and security token, you can go to File > Open online source and choose to open either a Report (read-only) or Data Object/Table directly from Salesforce. Using the direct connector, you can you can visualise, analyse, save offline, add/edit data and synchronise your changes with Salesforce. There is also a free web connector for Salesforce listed on the AppExchange.Your Administrator can install a 'Visokio Reports' tab into your Salesforce accounts to enable pre-configured downloads of Reports and Data Objects/Tables that open in the free Viewer. Using an activated Omniscope, you can also modify the default templates provided for each Report and Data Object/Table, and upload your customised files to the'Visokio Reports' tab in Salesforce to modify the online DataPlayer displayed or provide alternative templates for future downloads. The free web connector can be installed in Group accounts, but the direct connector involves API access which Salesforce permits only to subscribers with Professional, Enterprise and Unlimited Editions.

Install the free Omniscope Connector for Salesforce tab from the AppExchange

Start by installing the free Omniscope Connector for Salesforce 2.1 (a certified, AppExchange-listed application) into your Salesforce user accounts. Salesforce Administrators can do this automatically from the AppExchange if your organisation has the Professional, Enterprise or the Unlimited editions of Salesforce. If your organisation uses Salesforce Group Edition, any Administrator can install the Connector tab manually by following these directions.

Installing the web connector will add a new 'Visokio Reports' tab to some or all of your user accounts. From this tab, users with the free Omniscope Viewer installed can download, view, filter and query the data in their Reports. The look and feel of the files will initially be based on the standardised default Omniscope file templates provided for each Report or Data Object. During your free trial, you can modify these template files and upload them for others to use when downloading to the free Viewer. Users without the free Omniscope Viewer installed cannot open local copies of their data from the permissioned tab, but can still use interactive Flash DataPlayer 'dashboards' you can create and export from Omniscope to your Visokio Reports web tab. For more details, see using the web connector.

Use Omniscope to access Salesforce directly and synchronise changes

If you install  Omniscope, and you have Professional, Enterprise or Unlimited editions of Salesforce, during your free trial you can not only modify templates and save/archive secured copies, you can also access Reports and Data Objects directly using the File > Open online source > Salesforce login and download option (you will need to paste-in your security token). Using Omniscope Professional or Enterprise, you can connect to and edit Data Objects offline, then synchronise your changes with Salesforce using the Data > Synchronise with Salesforce wizard. For more details, see accessing Salesforce directly from Omniscope.

Once your 30-day free trial period has expired, upgrading your Omniscope from free Viewer to the Professional or Enterprise Edition enables you to continue modifying and uploading customised templates and DataPlayer 'dashboards', integrating/merging in data from non-Salesforce sources, saving and sharing secured Omniscope files offline, and synchronising offline changes back to Salesforce. Non-activated Omniscope installations will revert to being free Viewers able to download and filter/query default or customised files from the free web connector tab installed in the user accounts. No need to uninstall.

Getting started: 

For the quickest start, maximum flexibility and lowest average cost-per-user in deploying your solution, use the Salesforce:

• web connector to download templated refreshed reports and view DataPlayers online from inside your Salesforce account.
• direct connector  to login to Salesforce directly for data import/editing/refresh (requires login, password and security token to paste in)

Roadmap to 'the best of both worlds'

Installing the free Omniscope Viewer/Professional trial and the free Visokio Reports web tab from the AppExchange enables any organisation to embark on a simple, low-cost, low-risk, ‘tiny-steps' progression of continuous improvements, while delivering users live, working reports with many useful visualisations of their data beginning on Day One:

1. Install free Omniscope Viewers and add the free Visokio Reports web tab to user accounts

a. Download key reports/data objects from each user's account tab using the standard templates, enabling users to see, filter and sort all their data to find alert conditions, data errors & inconsistencies.

b. Ask users to start flagging incomplete, out-dated and erroneous data records/fields online in Salesforce using the unusual "!" character or similar

c. Download key data objects as Omniscope files and consult the Flagged Errors tab to view all the records which have been flagged for online correction/completion either online via Salesforce, or offline using an activated Omniscope Professional and the direct connector for Salesforce, available in the free 30-day trial.

d. Create custom reports containing the most useful joins...users can then download and view standard template versions of these reports using Omniscope.

e. File refresh & security - the data in Omniscope files downloaded in templates is always fresh, and cannot be exported or copied (not even cut-and-paste). Users of free Viewers cannot save the files...they must always return to their Salesforce account Visokio Reports tab to download fresh copies of the data or view online DataPlayers in sub-tabs.

2. Upgrade to Omniscope Professional  (requires activation)

a. If your 30-day free trial has expired, contact us to purchase a licensed activation key to upgrade from free Viewer to Omniscope Professional.

b. Now you can continue to modify and save files downloaded from your Salesforce account tab to fit the needs of your organisation - adding/changing report tabs to highlight key messages, introducing corporate branding, etc. Make multiple versions of each report/data object template to suit the needs of different classes of users.

c. Save your changed .IOK file(s), then upload one or more of your modified files from the Visokio Reports tab in your Salesforce account. Note: you can upload the file empty, with all data deleted... data in the uploaded template file(s) will not be synchronised with the online data.

d. Modify the standard Flash DataPlayers shown in the DataPlayer View tab of each template file downloaded, then export your new customised DataPlayer ‘dashboard' to web pages (including Salesforce tabs) and/or internal documents such as PowerPoint, Excel or .PDF.

e. The custom templates/DataPlayer configurations uploaded will be selectable for future downloads from the Visokio Reports tabs of authorised users, whether using the free Viewer or a Professional.

f. Data integration projects: download custom versions of your reports/data objects and then use Omniscope to merge in related data from other sources (spreadsheets, ERP databases, etc.) to create combined reports (using any number of joins)that can be circulated to users with the free Viewer.

g. Using Omniscope 2.5 or later, you can also login to your Salesforce account from inside Omniscope, connecting directly to reports or data objects using File > Open Online Source > Salesforce Table/Report

h. Use the powerful data cleansing/scrubbing and editing capabilities of Omniscope to make changes to your data and save local copies of files.

i. Using Omniscope 2.5 or later, use the Data > Synchronise with Salesforce command to make changes to both your local copies and the corresponding user-editable fields within your Salesforce organisation.

j. File refresh & security- Users with Professional Editions will be able to refresh directly from source on opening. Offline files sent to users with the free Viewer show configurable opening screen ensuring they do not use stale files.

k. Continue to optimise the configuration of templates for all your reports and data objects based on user feedback and the evolving needs of your business...enjoy the total flexibility of the hybrid solution you have created.

3. Automate refresh, archiving copies and distribution with Omniscope Enterprise Edition

a. Omniscope Enterprise edition is designed to automate the entire process of refreshing and distributing Omniscope reports and Flash DataPlayer inserts from a central 'always-on' server with access to all the required data sources, including Salesforce.

b. A single Enterprise Edition allows automated refreshes of files with data from Salesforce and other sources, plus distribution (via e-mail or FTP) of refreshed IOK files and DataPlayer dashboards either according to a defined schedule or on-demand using the Scheduler or the Generator, two automation tools included with Enterprise Editions.

c. File refresh & security - Enterprise installations offer the full range of file security options, including time-limiting and domain-locking of files (files will not open if user is not logged into specified site and download page e.g. Salesforce)