Carson Group Centralizes Content Management for Stronger Collaboration and Governance

Carson Group makes finding financial freedom simple for its clients. In an industry as sensitive as financial planning, security and speed are indispensable to any firm hoping to achieve this goal. But Carson constantly fought against inefficient systems that impeded communication, complicated internal and external file sharing, and hampered growth.
 

With the help of Egnyte, its native Salesforce integration, and open API, Carson Group confronted these challenges head-on, streamlining outdated processes and accelerating everything from internal collaboration to mergers and acquisitions, as well as client onboarding.

Challenge: Inconsistent Document Management Platforms and CRMs

To keep up with new client and partner onboarding, Carson Group needs to be able to share documents efficiently and control access consistently. But without one unified file management platform, collaboration was limited and inflexible. As Business Systems Manager Taylor Geist explains, more tools didn’t necessarily translate to better results: “For document storage, we used a couple of things, including DocuPace and Dropbox. They got the job done, but they weren’t user-friendly or appealing to use. You stored your stuff, and that was it.”
 

On top of that, Carson Group’s partner offices all used their own technology platforms, creating a slew of data governance issues and an added burden on IT administration. “The partners used one platform, we used another. This led to file duplication and complicated our processes,” Geist explains. "The inconsistencies among the various CRMs and content management platforms in play were creating real problems, and we knew we’d need to solve that lack of consistency as we grew.”
 

These time and resource constraints quickly added up, leading to slower, sometimes incomplete client onboarding processes. Transferring a client’s data from third-party companies and organizing it into something actionable could take up to a week, Geist says. "The process relied on manual work across a variety of different platforms, which made it error-prone – we would get to the end of an onboarding and find that some information was missing or had been entered incorrectly. What we needed was a holistic process bolstered by documentation and automation, so we wouldn’t have to keep going back and fixing these issues.”

Solution: One Source of Truth for Governance and Collaboration

After cycling through several platforms that didn’t hit the mark, Carson Group found Egnyte and, using the native integration and open API, connected it with the company’s CRM, Salesforce. “The Egnyte integration adds an Egnyte tab right on that household. Anyone with appropriate permissions has direct access to all the client documentation that’s stored in Egnyte, right from Salesforce,” explains Geist.
 

Seeing how well Egnyte worked here led the team to use Egnyte for secure file sharing between their clients, advisors, and prospective partners as well—no email attachments required. “We also use Egnyte with our M&A team specifically as a deal room of sorts. We can set up designated folders for the prospect to drop documentation, and Egnyte makes it very easy for us to share that with people not in our system,” says Geist. Egnyte’s flexible functionality makes governance easier too, he explains. “We can set time frames and security parameters for file or folder access, as well as allow people to upload content with alerts to our team when they do, which is a fantastic feature. It takes so much back and forth out of the conversation.”
 

Geist says Egnyte also makes it easier to set access permissions right from the start. Now, any documents added to folders are subject to that folder’s unique permissions. “Egnyte adds confidence to our process,” Geist explains. “It makes things much more efficient because you know you’ve got access set up the way you need to.” Egnyte’s flexible UX has also been a plus. For example, users can easily set their own preferences, like deciding whether they want notifications. “It works for every person in their own way,” says Geist.

Benefits: More Productivity, Less Risk and Data Sprawl

Since integrating Egnyte into their Salesforce ecosystem, Geist says Carson Group has been able to unlock new levels of efficiency and enable more connected client and partner experiences. He points to three specific benefits that have empowered this shift:

• More secure file sharing

  The files Carson Group works with often contain sensitive financial information sought after by cybercriminals. Geist says Egnyte’s Salesforce integration makes sharing these documents “as secure as it could be right from the contact record.” Now, clients can securely log into Salesforce and access Egnyte folders directly on the platform as needed. Or they can be sent a secure sharing link to a specific file or folder.

• Faster onboarding
  Migrating files from new partners has become much faster as well. “It's been very easy to say to prospects, ‘We’ve created a centralized environment for you to upload and organize all your documents,’” Geist explains. “One of the most challenging aspects of the onboarding and M&A processes is getting the right information as the deal progresses, so this has made things much easier and more efficient.” 

  Egnyte offers flexibility of migration as well. “Egnyte has significantly accelerated the process for onboarding new partners,” Geist explains. Rather than organizing their content after it has been uploaded, partners have the option to map all their folders and files before migration, limiting post-migration work. Geist recalls one partner who created mappings for their Dropbox folders: “It was shockingly easy. The partner created their mappings, and once the content was in Egnyte, they didn’t have to make any changes.”

• Less busy work

  Geist says teams have found multiple use cases for Egnyte’s automated workflows, like generating client review decks. “It’s a very simple process for advisors to generate a client review presentation, and drop that right back into Egnyte,” Geist explains. Small process improvements like these have quickly added up, giving employees more time to focus on high-value work. “It takes some of the tedious work away from our advisors and our operation staff,” says Geist.

By transitioning internally from disparate file management systems to Egnyte, enabling partners and clients to upload any necessary documents into Egnyte with ease, and integrating Egnyte with Salesforce so that it all appears in one place, Carson has created a single source of truth for all the data that drives its business forward. From client onboarding to M&A, all stakeholders have an easier, more efficient, and secure system for sharing and processing critical content. Looking ahead, Carson knows that, as they continue to expand, they’ve found a technology partner that can grow alongside them.