Over the last 14 years, Vera Solutions has implemented 1000+ Salesforce systems for social sector organizations around the globe. We’re often asked, “What factors lead to successful system adoption?” One factor you might not expect is giving your system a name. Naming your system helps users identify with the technology, reinforces your organizational culture, and generates an underlying sense of ownership for the system. Here are five reasons why we encourage our clients to name their Salesforce systems.
1. It Reinforces Your Brand or Mission
A system can serve as an extension of an organization’s brand. One example is Pact’s Promise system, a Salesforce-based project management system that creates a central location to manage hundreds of projects and sub-awards. The name Promise evokes Pact’s mission to assist underserved populations around the world. Today, the system is used in more than 30 countries to track nearly 700 projects and over 5,000 subgrants.
“When we thought of a name for the system, Promise was something that resonated with our mission and vision. At Pact, our tagline is ‘a Promise for the future’.”
– Keith Fleming, Director of Global Information Technology, Pact
2. It Encourages User Buy-In
Associating a name with a data system attaches a certain personality to it. We’ve seen stronger adoption of named systems compared to ones just referred to as “Salesforce” or “Amp Impact.” Catholic Relief Services (CRS) credits naming their system “Gateway” as a key success factor for encouraging user buy-in, even naming the rebuild effort “Project Marvel” to foster excitement around the process.
“As we started to think about naming conventions across the organization, the US side also picked up on the term Gateway. That to me was a big win and a huge example of the organization coming together and convalescing around the platform, the name, the data, and the ability to tell stories about our work.”
– Timothy Fives, Former Senior Manager of Global Knowledge and Information Management, CRS
3. It Stimulates Creativity and Makes Learning Fun
It takes time to learn a new system. Naming a system can spur creativity and make learning fun. SOS Children’s Villages International (SOS CVI) implemented “ProDIGI” (a play on “prodigy” and Project Digitalization), naming each of its seven releases after a prodigious individual, like chess prodigy Sindarov and composer Mozart. Today, ProDIGI is used by more than 800 people in over 100 countries.
4. It Fosters a Sense of Community
A Salesforce system is not just a database; it’s a place where staff convene to connect, share knowledge, and glean insights about their work. At Vera Solutions, we’ve always called our Salesforce system ‘Veraforce.’ The International Growth Centre (IGC) launched SPEAR, their System for Policy, Evaluation, and Research, to centralize and visualize the projects IGC is funding.
“When we run training internally or when we talk about our own system to clients, there’s a certain sense of pride and ownership that comes across in introducing Veraforce. It sounds more ‘ours’ and more legit than just telling people to check Salesforce.”
– Zak Kaufman, Co-Founder and CEO, Vera Solutions
5. It Inspires Belief
There is simply value in naming your system to inspire belief in your team, your vision, and your everyday work. IDH, a global social enterprise, named their central M&E and project management system “Rosa” after American civil rights activist Rosa Parks, evoking IDH’s inclusive approach to stakeholder management and helping the organization focus on driving impact on the Sustainable Development Goals.