Machine Learning Tool for Oracle Sales Cloud

This blog post looks at a tool we have developed inside Oracle Sales Cloud utilising cutting edge machine learning technology.

Machine Learning #

"Field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed" - Arthur Samuel, 1959

Machine Learning is a hot trend in technology in 2016 but what exactly is it? Machine Learning involves the construction of algorithms that can learn from and make predictions on data. A historical dataset is used to train a model which can then make predictions on future data. Machine Learning is becoming widespread in many industries and in society - think of self-driving cars, facial recognition and spam filtering. It is also making its way into the enterprise space, taking advantage of the vast data companies hold.

The team and I have been exploring how it can be applied to Sales - in particular how Machine Learning techniques can be applied to historic sales performance data in order to provide sales teams with insights and predictions. We have been able to build algorithms which help indicate the likelihood of a sales opportunity being successful based on historical data.

Solution #

Boxfusion's ‘Machine Learning Tool for Oracle Sales Cloud’ goes one step further - seamlessly integrating Machine Learning techniques into your existing sales process in Oracle Sales Cloud. By placing data intelligence at the heart of your sales process, you can increase the success of your sales opportunities. The tool will gather historic data, analyse trends and predict the likelihood of winning open Opportunities. It will also help draw attention to problematic areas, risky deals and help you identify where areas of growth may be.

Key things to know about the solution:

• Seamlessly integrates machine learning technology with your existing sales process
• You will be able to establish forecasts that you can trust through predictive analytics
• Identifies gaps and the likelihood of an opportunity being successful
• With more insights you will be able to prioritise the right deals
• Sales insights presented in a powerful visual way
• You will save more money and make more money

Integration with Oracle Sales Cloud #

Utilising Oracle's Java Cloud Service (part of Oracle's Platform as a Service - PaaS) to host the logic to harness the algorithms, this Machine Learning technology is then integrated with Oracle Sales Cloud. Historical data is derived from Sales Cloud and the prediction model then runs alongside Sales Cloud in real-time, delivering up-to-date predictions to open Opportunities.

How would the tool look in Sales Cloud? #

Having integrated the Machine Learning logic running on PaaS with Oracle Sales Cloud, we then built a number of new views in the Sales Cloud user interface to provide users with the insights.

From within Sales Cloud, users can control the prediction model - they have the ability to select which attributes are used in the model as well as choosing how often the model regenerates with the latest historical data. Over time users can also observe how accurate the model has been in its predictions giving them accountability for the model.

The Predictor Overview allows Sales Managers to compare user in-putted Win Probability and predicted Win Probability of Opportunities, and identify which need to prioritised. The bubble size in the chart reflects the magnitude of the deal, meaning it provides users with a powerful visual representation of their pipeline. Furthermore, the table provides deep-links which allows direct navigation to those Opportunities at risk.

Opportunity Review Page #

The Opportunity Review page provides insights into how the value of attributes are influencing the predicted Win Probability - for example the Industry of High Technology is positively impacting on the prediction. This provides the user with justification as to why the model believes that an Opportunity may be at risk.

The What If? Analysis Page gives users the ability to observe how changing attribute values impacts on the Win Probability prediction - for example changing the Sales Rep working on the Opportunity boosts the predicted Win Probability. By instantaneously recalculating the Opportunity's predicted Win Probability, users can discover how making small tweaks to the Opportunity can increase the likelihood of winning the deal.

Conclusion #

Boxfusion Consulting are a leading technology consultancy head-quartered in the UK, servicing clients globally, specialising in the Oracle CX Cloud suite of applications. My team developed this tool as part of the Company's on-going research & development initiative - we take many creative ideas from across the company, and turn them into PoCs and fully-functioning enhancements to Oracle's CX products.

This Machine Learning Tool for Sales Cloud can be implemented on top of your existing sales processes or your Oracle Sales Cloud and it is ideal for any business with a high volume of transactions, large sales team or broad territory coverage – for example, High Tech, Industrial Manufacturing and Banking / Financial Services sectors. We can implement this functionality for you in as little as 5 days.

Find out more #

Our experts are a friendly bunch who are here to help. Call us now on +44 203 2834315 or email us at [email protected].

Upcoming Event #

We'll be presenting Boxfusion's Panasonic Manufacturing Oracle CX Cloud success story at UK Oracle User Group Apps conference 2016.