How Own Helps Manage Data For One-Third of the U.K. Population

When people see your organization as a necessary evil, what can you do to ensure great customer experiences?


That’s the question facing the British organization responsible for administering loans and grants across the UK. “We haven't got any competitors, so nobody's got any choice but to use us,” says the Head of Salesforce Center of Excellence (CoE). However, a lack of choice certainly doesn’t mean bad customer service. Managing millions of loans worth £260.8bn, the organization has no option but to handle this data rigorously and carefully.

In partnership with Own, they ensure the confidentiality of millions of customers' data—especially during critical development processes. Read on to learn how.

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The Salesforce situation
The Head of Salesforce CoE has been in the role for “about three and a half years, which is when Salesforce went live with the organization.” The team started with just one person and has since expanded into multiple delivery teams. Salesforce is used predominantly as a case management system (CMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) tool, with about 3,400 agents managing everything from queries and payment deadlines to disability allowances and immigration applications.

The ongoing development of their front-end systems will soon enable customers to view the entire loan application process and track payment receipts in real time. The organization also uses Salesforce for chatbot and live chat features to handle customer queries, catering to their younger, tech-savvy demographic.

A world without Own
When the Salesforce deployment began, the organization had not yet implemented Own. Relying on a different product, they quickly discovered it could not manage the large amounts of data. "It was two years of back-and-forth, and we couldn’t even make it work in a lower environment, let alone a higher one."

The organization was forced to stick with this product, though it didn’t meet their needs. The situation led them to search for a more reliable backup solution.

Doing the research and landing on Own
Given the critical nature of financial loan data, the organization knew they needed to back up their data properly. After considering several solutions, Own emerged as the clear frontrunner.

“I had heard of Own before,” the Head of Salesforce CoE says. “While we had to go to market and allow competitors to bid, Own was always going to win due to its unmatched capabilities.”

Driving innovation, quality, and quicker value delivery

The organization uses multiple legacy systems that require migrating data to newer, higher environments. “As we move through our pipeline, it’s essential that we have data packages in the right environments to run tests,” the Head of Salesforce CoE explains.

In the past, migrating data was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. With Own, data copying and environment upgrades are now quicker and more stable. As a result, production release quality has improved.

Sandbox seeding situation

Sandbox seeding has significantly streamlined processes. “We used to use other tools for data seeding and migrations, and they took forever. Now we can do it internally on our own schedule,” the Head of Salesforce CoE says.

The value of Own

The organization deploys changes every three weeks, and protecting data during these deployments is critical. "Own Recover is an essential part of our release process, ensuring everything is backed up and secure."

Own for a lifetime

While Own hasn’t fundamentally changed the way the organization operates, it has provided a safety net, allowing them to confidently handle complex changes. "It has allowed us to be more confident in our deployments, knowing we have the security of Own in place."

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“We have about 20 million customers: 1/3 of the British population. It’s the general public's data—very sensitive, personal data—that has to be very well protected.”
Head of Salesforce Center of Excellence
“[Data corruption] is definitely a risk I don't have to worry about now, which was always a big problem prior to having Own.”
Head of Salesforce Center of Excellence
“While we had to go to market and allow competitors to bid, Own was always going to win due to its unmatched capabilities.”
Head of Salesforce Center of Excellence
Financial Services
Backup and Recovery
Data Seeding