Systems and Tools

Purpose

This page defines the core systems and tools used by the Commercial Organization at FlowFuse.
These systems support customer engagement, opportunity management, delivery coordination, and internal collaboration across Sales, Solution Engineering, Customer Success, Professional Services, and Sales Partnerships.

The goal is to ensure consistency, visibility, and accountability across the commercial lifecycle.


Guiding Principles

The Commercial Organization uses systems and tools according to the following principles:

  • Single source of truth for customer and opportunity data
  • Shared visibility across functions where collaboration is required
  • Clear ownership for data quality and maintenance
  • Process before tooling — tools support processes, not replace them
  • Minimal duplication and avoidance of shadow systems

Core Systems

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The CRM is the system of record for:

  • Accounts, contacts, and organizations
  • Opportunities and sales stages
  • Forecasting and pipeline management
  • Commercial history and decision context
  • Partner involvement and attribution

Primary users: Sales, Solution Engineering, Customer Success, Sales Partnerships
Ownership: Sales (data integrity and forecasting discipline)

All customer-facing commercial activity must be reflected in the CRM.


Communication and Scheduling

Communication and scheduling tools are used to:

  • Coordinate customer meetings and workshops
  • Manage internal and external calendars
  • Support synchronous and asynchronous communication

Primary users: All Commercial Organization functions
Meeting notes, outcomes, and next steps should be documented in the CRM or shared documentation systems as appropriate.


Documentation and Knowledge Management

Documentation tools are used to:

  • Capture discovery notes and value narratives
  • Document solution architectures and technical decisions
  • Maintain internal enablement and reference materials
  • Support handoffs between functions

Primary users: All Commercial Organization functions
Documentation should be accessible, structured, and reusable.


Demo and Sandbox Environments

Demo and sandbox environments are used to:

  • Support product demonstrations
  • Enable proof-of-concept (PoC) activities
  • Validate technical fit and integration approaches

Primary users: Solution Engineering, Sales
Ownership: Solution Engineering

Demo environments should reflect realistic customer use cases and avoid ad-hoc customization that cannot be supported.


Customer Health and Usage Monitoring

Customer health and usage tools are used to:

  • Monitor adoption and engagement
  • Identify risk and early warning signals
  • Support renewal readiness and expansion planning

Primary users: Customer Success
Ownership: Customer Success

Health signals should inform, not replace, direct customer engagement.


Project and Delivery Management

Project and delivery tools are used to:

  • Plan and track scoped Professional Services engagements
  • Coordinate cross-functional delivery activities
  • Communicate status and milestones internally and externally

Primary users: Professional Services, Solution Engineering
Ownership: Professional Services

These tools are not substitutes for CRM opportunity tracking.


Partner Management

Partner management tools are used to:

  • Track partner relationships and readiness
  • Manage partner-sourced and co-sell opportunities
  • Support partner enablement and performance tracking

Primary users: Sales Partnerships, Sales
Ownership: Sales Partnerships

Partner-related activity should remain visible within the CRM where it impacts opportunities.


Data Ownership and Hygiene

Each system has a designated owner responsible for:

  • Defining required fields and standards
  • Ensuring data quality and completeness
  • Training users on correct usage
  • Auditing and improving system adoption

Poor data hygiene undermines forecasting, collaboration, and decision-making.


What This Page Is (and Is Not)

This page:

  • Defines which systems are used and why
  • Clarifies ownership and accountability
  • Establishes expectations for usage

This page does not:

  • Provide step-by-step tool instructions
  • Replace function-specific enablement
  • Enumerate every vendor or configuration detail

Detailed usage guidance is documented in role- or function-specific enablement materials.


How This Page Is Used

This page provides shared context across the Commercial Organization.
Function-specific pages may reference this page rather than redefining systems and tools.

This separation ensures consistency while allowing execution details to evolve.