Based in Cape Town, a growing Financial Services Provider, operating within the insurance space, sought to re-evaluate its internal technology platforms, team structure, and system delivery model. The goal was to identify gaps in operational alignment, team capability, and platform fit to inform a scalable, future-proof approach to delivering client value.
Both& was engaged to lead this assessment through structured workshops, team diagnostics, and a proof-of-concept demonstration on Salesforce Financial Services Cloud (FSC).
The Approach
The engagement followed a three-part methodology:
- System Evaluation
Assessing the current-state capabilities of their operating system against industry-standard models. - Team Evaluation
Using Surveys to assess team dynamics, capability gaps, and leadership alignment. - Technology Delivery Evaluation
Reviewing their current way of working for the tech delivery team, and cross-functional collaboration
System Evaluation
A key objective of the engagement was to assess whether Salesforce Financial Services Cloud (FSC) could adequately replace the organisation’s existing Service Cloud configuration, while also addressing scalability, standardisation, and future feature growth. The evaluation bench-marked FSC against current processes in quoting, policy management, claims, and data architecture.
1. Data Model Alignment
FSC provides a rich, industry-aligned Insurance Data Model, which simplifies business logic and reduces the need for custom development:
- Policies, Quotes, Claims, and Coverages are handled using standard objects in FSC, with clear relationships between participants, assets, and transactions
- In contrast, the Service Cloud instance relies on highly customised objects, resulting in fragmented records and more complex data take-on and reporting.
2. Quotation and Pricing Flow
- In FSC, quotes must be tied to Accounts or Opportunities, not Leads. This enforces a clear conversion process and avoids premature quoting for unqualified leads.
- Standard objects like Assets and Life Events enrich client records and enable personalised quoting experiences.
- Quotes can be auto-calculated using formulas, or enhanced with CPQ for faster deployment — though CPQ may introduce performance trade-offs at scale.
3. Policy Administration Improvements
The FSC data structure allows policies to be broken down into linked sub-objects, including:
- Insurance Policy Asset (the insured item)
- Coverage (types of cover)
- Transactions (premium, tax, commission data)
- Participants (policyholders)
This modular structure replaced the custom development of Service Cloud’s all-in-one custom policy object and enables:
- Cleaner data entry screens
- Easier customisation for product variations
- Structured financial reporting
4. Claims Handling Enhancements
FSC includes native support for:
- Claim Participants
- Claim Items (linked to insured assets)
- Claim Coverage
This standard model reduces system complexity, improves claim tracking, and enables faster submissions, all through a single-page interface. In contrast, their current system handled claims with a bespoke structure focused on benefit tracking, leading to longer processing times and more custom maintenance.
5. Gaps Identified
Despite FSC’s strengths, some areas would require customisation:
- MTAs (Mid-Term Adjustments) are not part of FSC’s out-of-the-box features and would need to be developed.
- Ledgers: FSC tracks transactions via immutable Billing Statement entries (credit/debit), but does not provide a consolidated insurance ledger view. This would require either custom reporting or a bespoke object
7. Document Generation and Integration
Several document tools were reviewed for integration with FSC:
- S-Docs: Native to Salesforce but limited in free version (max 2 templates)
- Conga Composer: Rich in features but has cost implications
- PDF Butler: Flexible and highly brandable, with straightforward workflow automation
Each tool presents trade-offs in terms of template complexity, automation, and user licensing, and a final decision would depend on commercial considerations
In Summary
The system evaluation confirmed that FSC is highly compatible with the organisation’s insurance business processes and offers substantial functional and architectural improvements. While certain capabilities (e.g. MTAs, ledgers) would require configuration, the move to FSC represents a shift toward a standardised, scalable, and industry-aligned platform, reducing long-term tech debt and enhancing operational efficiency.
Team & Delivery Observations
The assessment highlighted delivery inefficiencies driven by fragmented ownership, inconsistent documentation practices, and limited coordination between operational and technical teams.
While the team demonstrated strong collaboration and problem-solving skills, gaps were identified in structured delivery methods, role clarity, and alignment on strategic priorities. Addressing these areas was key to supporting more consistent and scalable execution.
Result
The engagement provided the organisation with a clear view of its current system limitations, team dynamics, and delivery challenges. It enabled informed decision-making on future platform direction, identified key areas for capability development, and recommended practical steps to improve delivery alignment. The resulting roadmap supported a shift towards a more scalable, standardised, and collaborative operating model.