Kaizen 228 - Process Large-Scale Migrated Data Using Catalyst Solutions

Kaizen 228 - Process Large-Scale Migrated Data Using Catalyst Solutions



Howdy, tech wizards!

This week’s Kaizen explores how Catalyst Solutions in the Zoho CRM Developer Hub help import large volumes of data into Zoho CRM while improving data quality and simplifying the migration process.

Why Catalyst Solutions?

Catalyst Solutions provide a library of independent, ready-to-use backend solutions called CodeLibs. The CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib helps handle complex data operations on large datasets. Following are the key benefits:
  1. Highly Scalable: Processes large datasets efficiently, supporting up to 200,000 records per API call.
  2. Automation Made Simple: Automate complex tasks like segmentation, data cleansing and lead scoring with minimal effort.  
  3. Effortless Integration: Comes with pre-configured Catalyst resources such as serverless functions and data stores that integrate directly with Zoho CRM.

Business Scenario

Zylker, a manufacturing company, migrated over 3 lakh Lead records into Zoho CRM from spreadsheets. 



Post-migration, the Lead data showed the following inconsistencies and challenges:
  1. Phone number field did not include country codes, or contained incorrect country codes. This inconsistency made it difficult for sales teams to contact Leads reliably.
  2. Identifying potential Leads for follow-up required manual effort and marketing team has to run generic campaigns without lead segmentation. 
Using workflows before record creation to fix phone numbers for this volume would result in 3 lakh individual workflow executions, which can slow imports and cause partial failures.

Solution Overview

Zylker can use the CRM Bulk Data Processor available in Catalyst Solutions to address these challenges at scale.

The solution works as follows:
  1. Lead records are fetched in bulk from Zoho CRM using the Bulk Read API.
  2. The fetched data is temporarily stored to evaluate the priority and quality of each record. Based on this evaluation, the records are also segmented accordingly.
  3. The Country field value is used to identify and append the correct country code to the phone number.
  4. The processed records are updated back into Zoho CRM using Bulk Write API.
All operations are executed using pre-configured Catalyst resources provided by the CodeLib. You can explore the Bulk Data Flow in Catalyst help page to understand how each resource participates in the processing pipeline.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure the following:

1. Log into your Zoho CRM and navigate to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Leads.

Create the following custom Single Line fields to map existing record data in Zoho CRM. 
  1. Last Activity Days
  2. Web Engagement Score
Refer to the Working with Custom Fields help page for detailed guide. 


2. Create the following custom Single Line fields to store the calculated values during bulk processing:
  1. Lead Score Value
  2. Lead Segment
  3. Sales Priority
  4. Data Quality Status
3. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Catalyst Solutions > Zoho CRM Bulk Data Processor

4. Click Go to Catalyst and create a Catalyst account if required.



5. Refer to the Catalyst CLI Installation Guide and install it on your local system.

6. Create a new folder on your local system, which will act as a local project directory. Use the following command:

mkdir -p <folder_name>


7. Navigate to the project folder in your terminal and execute the following command: 

catalyst init

8. Follow the prompts to select and initialize your desired project from the Catalyst console. 

When prompted to choose a feature, press Enter and proceed without choosing any feature.


9. Run the following command to install the CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib.



Step 1: Create a Cron Job

1. Open the Catalyst Console and navigate to the same project in which you have installed the CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib.

2. Go to Cloud Scale > Triggers > Cron and click Create Cron.

3. Fill in the following details:
  1. Provide a Name and Description for the cron job. 
  2. Select Function and choose BulkJobScheduler from the dropdown in the Target Function field.
  3. Enter the following parameters and values:

    MODULES -> Leads
    FIELDS_TO_BE_PROCESSED -> Last_Name, Company, Mobile, Country, Designation, No_of_Employees, Web_Engagement_Score, Lead_Score_Value, Lead_Segment, Sales_Priority, Data_Quality_Status

    Use GET Modules Metadata API and GET Fields Metadata API to get the API names of the required module and fields.
     
  4. Choose the Schedule Type as One Time for our use case.
Refer to the Implementing Cron Jobs Help Guide for more details.

Step 2: Configure Zoho CRM API Credentials 

1. Create a self-client application in Zoho's API Console.

2. Generate a Grant Token with the following scopes:
  1. ZohoFiles.files.ALL
  2. ZohoCRM.bulk.ALL
  3. ZohoCRM.modules.ALL
  4. ZohoCRM.settings.ALL
  5. ZohoCRM.org.ALL


3. Follow the OAuth Help Section for a step-by-step guide to generate Access and Refresh tokens for your Zoho CRM organization.


Store all the API credentials securely for later use.

4. To allow Catalyst to access Zoho CRM data, configure the stored API credentials as environment variables in the catalyst-config.json file within the BulkDataProcessor function.

For detailed guidance, refer to the Configure Function Components help guide in CRM Bulk Data Processor. 



Notes
These environment variables are used by Catalyst Connectors to create access tokens for establishing secure connection between Zoho CRM and Catalyst.

Step 3: Add Business Logic

1. Go to com.processor.record.ZCRMRecordsProcessorImpl.java file of the BulkDataProcessor in the functions directory.

2. Override the ZCRMRecordsProcessor method with the business logic.


The complete code sample for this use case is available on GitHub for reference.

Following is the major custom logic used here:

Notes
Use the GET Fields Metadata API to fetch the API names of the fields required throughout the custom logic.

Phone Number Normalization:

This can be implemented in two stages, Country standardization and Phone Number formatting

For country standardization, CountryStandardizerUtil maps different variations of the Country field in records to a single standardized country identifier. These variations may include, 
  1. Country Names (India, Unites States, United Kingdom)
  2. Abbreviations (Ind, IN, USA, US, UK)
  3. Calling Codes (+91, +1, +44)
With this, we can ensure different interpretations of the same country are interpreted consistently during the process. 


Once the country is standardized, Phone Numbers are formatted to E.164 format in the PhoneNormalizerUtil

It removes all non-numeric characters and converts the Phone input to E.164 format with the respective country codes. 

public class PhoneNormalizerUtil {
    private static final Pattern NON_DIGIT = Pattern.compile("[^0-9]");
    public static Optional<String> normalizeToE164(String rawPhone, String countryCode) {
        if (rawPhone == null || rawPhone.trim().isEmpty()) {
            return Optional.empty();
        }
        String digits = NON_DIGIT.matcher(rawPhone).replaceAll("");
        if (rawPhone.startsWith("+") && digits.length() >= 10) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        switch (countryCode) {
            case "IN":
                return normalizeIndia(digits);
            case "US":
                return normalizeUS(digits);
            case "UK":
                return normalizeUK(digits);
            default:
                return Optional.empty();
        }
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeIndia(String digits) {
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+91" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.startsWith("91") && digits.length() == 12) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeUS(String digits) {
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+1" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.startsWith("1") && digits.length() == 11) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeUK(String digits) {
        if (digits.startsWith("44") && digits.length() == 12) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+44" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }

}

Lead Priority and Segmentation

The lead priority is calculated using the Title, No of employees, Last Activity Days and Web Engagement Score fields in the record.  

Each field value contributes a predefined number of points:
  1. If the job title indicates a senior role such as CEO, CTO, Director, or VP, 25 points are added.
  2. If the company size is 200 employees or more, 20 points are added.
  3. If the Lead has been active within the last 7 days, 15 points are added.
  4. If the web engagement score is 70 or higher, 10 points are added.
The sum of all applicable factors is returned as an integer and based on this score the lead's priority and segmentation is assigned as follows:
  1. High (Hot): score ≥ 70
  2. Medium (Warm): score ≥ 40
  3. Low (Cold): score < 40
public static int calculateLeadScore(
            String jobTitle,
            Integer companySize,
            Integer lastActivityDays,
            Integer webEngagementScore) {
        int score = 0;
        // Decision Maker
        if (jobTitle != null) {
            String title = jobTitle.toLowerCase();
            if (title.contains("ceo") || title.contains("cto")
                    || title.contains("director") || title.contains("vp")) {
                score += 25;
            }
        }
        // Company Size
        if (companySize != null && companySize >= 200) {
            score += 20;
        }
        // Recency
        if (lastActivityDays != null && lastActivityDays <= 7) {
            score += 15;
        }
        // Engagement
        if (webEngagementScore != null && webEngagementScore >= 70) {
            score += 10;
        }
        return score;
    }
    public static String deriveSegment(int score) {
        if (score >= 70) return "Hot";
        if (score >= 40) return "Warm";
        return "Cold";
    }
    public static String derivePriority(String segment) {
        switch (segment) {
            case "Hot":
                return "High";
            case "Warm":
                return "Medium";
            default:
                return "Low";
        }
    }

Lead Quality:

Lead quality is evaluated based on the validity of the Mobile and Country fields in the records.
  1. Clean: Both field values are valid.
  2. Critical: Both field values are invalid.
  3. Needs Review: Only one of the field values is invalid.

Write Back to Records:

The processed data is written back to Zoho CRM as follows:
  1. Mobile: Formatted phone numbers.
  2. Lead Score: Total score calculated from all applicable fields.
  3. Lead Segment: Segment derived from the lead score.
  4. Sales Priority: Priority assigned based on the lead segment.
  5. Data Quality Status: Overall quality of the Lead record.
if (normalizedMobile.isPresent()) {
data.put("Mobile", normalizedMobile.get());
}
data.put("Lead_Score", leadScore);
data.put("Lead_Segment", leadSegment);
data.put("Sales_Priority", salesPriority);
data.put("Data_Quality_Status", dataQualityStatus);
}

Step 4: Deploy to Development

Run the following command to deploy your local customizations to the Development Environment of Catalyst.

catalyst deploy

Info
You can find the complete code sample on GitHub for reference.

Try it Out!

With the changes deployed to the Development environment, let us now test the solution.



We hope this Kaizen helps you import large volumes of data into Zoho CRM while improving data quality and lead intelligence using the CRM Bulk Data Processor.

Have questions or suggestions? Drop them in the comments or write to us at  support@zohocrm.com

We will circle back to you next Friday with another interesting topic. 

On to Better Building!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Idea
Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for List Page (Canvas) | Kaizen Collection: Directory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      • Sticky Posts

      • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

        Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
      • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

        Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this
      • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

        Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how
      • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

        Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.
      • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

        Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

        • Recent Topics

        • Work Type - Limitation

          Hello, I'm setting up work types and have noticed, a limitation on the parts area to 10 lines. Can this be increased to 20 or greater? In addition to this, when I attempt to add the work type to a work order, the correct labour hours doesn't flow through.
        • Locked out of MFA due to changing phones

          I have been locked out of my Zoho Books account since i changed my mobile phone over. I can get the OTP through the ZOHO Books software but i cant confirm using my phone app as nothing appears to authorise. I need to know how to register/set up my new
        • Emails sent through Bigin are not posting in IMAP Sent folder

          I have set up my email to work from within Bigin using IMAP.  I am using IMAP so I can sync my email across multiple devices - phone / laptop / desktop / iPad / etc.  I want all my emails to populate my email client (outlook & iphone email) whether or
        • Turning the page for Zoho SalesIQ: 2025 to 2026

          As we wrap up 2025, we would like to take a moment to reflect on what we set out to achieve this year, what we’ve delivered, and where we’re headed next. What we focused on in 2025 This year was all about strengthening the core of engagement and AI, making
        • Temporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025

          We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,
        • Zoho Cliq not working on airplanes

          Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantly
        • Create an Eye-Catching Announcement Widget for Your Help Center

          Hello Everyone! In this week’s edition, let’s explore how to keep your customers updated with exciting news in the Help Center. See how ZylkerMobile wowed their customers by bringing updates right to their portal. ZylkerMobile, the renowned brand for
        • Customer Management: #6 Common Mistakes in Customer Handling

          Managing customers doesn't usually fall apart overnight. More often, slight gaps in the process slowly become bigger problems. Incidents like missed follow-ups, billing confusion, and unhappy customers will lead to revenue loss. Many businesses don't
        • Zoho Desk iOS app update: UI enhancement of picklist and multi picklist fields

          Hello everyone! We have enhanced the UI of the picklist and multiselect picklist fields on the Zoho Desk iOS app to provide a more refined, efficient, and user-friendly experience. We have now supported an option to Search within the picklist and multiselect
        • Zoho Desk iOS app update: Revamped scribbles with Apple pencil kit

          Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce a revamped Scribble experience, rebuilt from the ground up using Apple PencilKit for smooth strokes, proper scaling, and seamless image uploads. Please update the app to the latest version directly from the App
        • Zoho Desk Android app update: Norwegian language support

          Hello everyone! In the most recent Android version of the Zoho Desk app update, we have brought in support to access the app in Norwegian language. We have introduced the Norwegian language on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app as well. Please update
        • Payment Vouchers

          Is there any Payment Vouchers in Zoho? How can we create payment for non-trade vendors, i.e. professional fees, rent, and payment to commissioner income tax?
        • When I click on PDF/PRINT it makes the invoice half size

          When I click PDF / Print for my invoice in Zoho Books, the generated PDF appears at half size — everything is scaled down, including the logo, text, and layout. The content does not fill the page as it should. Could someone advise what causes Zoho Books
        • Search by contain letter in a column

          Hello, everyone I need a filter function that searches by letter in a cell, and it should be a macro. To clarify further, if I have a column with several names and I chose a search cell and what I want is search by a single letter, for example, "a" then
        • Can add a colum to the left of the item in Zoho Books?

          I would need to add a column to the left of the item column in Books. When i create custom fields, i can only display them to the right of the item.
        • AI Bot and Advanced Automation for WhatsApp

          Most small businesses "live" on WhatsApp, and while Bigin’s current integration is helpful, users need more automation to keep up with volume. We are requesting features based on our customer Feedbacks AI Bot: For auto-replying to FAQs. Keyword Triggers:
        • 2025 Ask the Experts sessions wrap-up : Key highlights from the experts

          Here is a rewind journey of our Ask the Experts (ATE) Sessions, where we brought you expert insights and practical best practices together in one place. This recap highlights the key takeaways, learnings, and best practices from all these sessions so
        • How to disable the edit option in subform

          How to disable the edit option in subform
        • Move record from one custom module to another custom module

          Is it possible to create a button or custom field that will transfer a record from one custom module to another? I already have the 'Leads' module used for the Sr. Sales department, once the deal is closed they convert it to the 'Accounts' module. I would like to create a 'Convert' button for a custom module ('Locations') for the department that finds locations for each account. Once the location is secured, I want to move the record to another custom module called 'Secured Locations'. It's basically
        • Notes Not Saving

          Hello,  My notes are continuously not saving.  I make sure to save them, I know the process to save them.  It is not operator error.  I go back into a Leads profile a while later and do not see the previous notes that I have made.  I then have to go back and do unnecessary research that would have been in the notes in the first place.  Not a good experience and it is frustrating.  Slows me down and makes me do unnecessary work.  Please resolve.   As a quick heads up, deleting cookies is not a fix
        • Prefill form with CRM/Campaigns

          I created a form in zForms and created prefill fields. I added this to the CRM and selected the fields so when sending from the CRM, the form works great. However, I want to use the same form in Campaigns and I want it to pull the data from CRM (which
        • Triggering a campaign automation from a Form

          I used Forms to create a lead form that is accessed by a button on my website. The field information flows into the CRM. However, I am trying to figure out how to use Campaign automations to start a workflow (series of campaign emails) that is triggered
        • Employee Appraisal Applicability - Why is Date of Joining Hard-Coded?

          In the new (to me, at least) Performance Appraisal Cycle wizard, it's possible to set criteria to determine for whom the appraisal process should apply. This makes sense on its face. However, one MUST use the Date of Joining criterion as a filter. Why
        • Formula fields

          Zoho People now supports formula fields. This post illustrates it. Formula fields are fields whose value is calculated instead of being entered by the user. Using this, number, decimal and date manipulations can be done. The value of this field could be numeric or date depending on the output of the formula. In date manipulations, the result will be given in milliseconds, which you can format as per you need. The operators we support are +, - , *, /. Formula fields get recalculated automatically
        • Zobot operator information

          I am working on a zobot that calls a plug to send data to our API. I want the response data from that API to be shown only to the operator and not the customer. I have tried writing this data out to the visitorCity field but nothing gets updated on the
        • Copy paste from word document deletes random spaces

          Hello Dear Zoho Team, When copying from a word document into Notebook, often I face a problem of the program deleting random spaces between words, the document become terribly faulty, eventhough it is perfect in its original source document (and without
        • Is it possible to use module field filters via URL parameters?

          It would be really convenient if I could quickly link to a filter. For reference, this is the filter functionality I'm referring to: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/advanced-filters/articles/advanced-filters For example: My
        • Transitioning FESCO Bill Project to Zoho Sheets and Integration Options

          Hello Zoho Support, I'm considering transitioning my FESCO bill project from Google Sheets to Zoho Sheets and wanted to know if there are integration options to seamlessly migrate our existing work. You can view our platform here, any guidance would be
        • Credit card

          Coming from another software, is it possible here to typically have credit card payment off, but independently per customer, click a box (possibly on the invoice when I go to to send) allowing that 1 allowed customer credit card payment, NOT ALL of my
        • Lightbox Pop-up form

          I would like to embed my form using the lightbox pop up. I don't want it to load automatically. I want it to load when some clicks the button. I can see this option, however when I use the "show pop-up launch button" on the website, the button automatically
        • Lightbox Pop-up form

          I would like to embed my form using the lightbox pop up. I don't want it to load automatically. I want it to load when some clicks the button. I can see this option, however when I use the "show pop-up launch button" on the website, the button automatically
        • Connecting Portals from different Zoho apps

          Hi, I note that Zoho has functionality for customer portals for several of the Zoho apps, like CRM, Projects, Desk etc. Is there any way to connect these portals?  It would be great if we could give our customers access to a portal in which they could
        • Customer Management: #5 Never Let the Customer Slip

          When Rahul started Knight's Watch Consulting, his focus was simple: deliver good work and keep clients happy. He offered one-time consulting projects, monthly advisory retainers and usage-based support for growing clients. Business was steady, and customers
        • Deluge date time issue

          The deluge function info zoho.currentdate.toString("MMM/YYYY") returns Dec 2026 instead of 2025
        • Zoho Projects Android and iOS app update: Mobile device permission based on user profiles

          Hello everyone! We have brought in support for mobile device permissions based on the user profiles which are configured in organization level. Administrators can now configure the permissions on the web app(projects.zoho.com) by following the steps mentioned
        • treatment for rehires

                Hello,  we are aware of the fact that Zoho People at the moment does not has a provision for rejoining exited employees. But is there any quick fix or hack to this? It will be appreciated a lot. 
        • Zoho Projects Android and iOS app update: Timesheet module is now renamed as 'Time Logs', delete option has been renamed to 'Trash'.

          Hello everyone! We have now renamed the Timesheet module as Time Logs and the delete option as 'Trash' on the Zoho Projects Android and iOS app. Time Logs Android: Time Logs iOS: Trash option Android: Trash option iOS: Please update the app to the latest
        • Zoho Mail app update: Manage profile picture, Chinese (Traditional) language support

          Hello everyone! In the latest version (v3.1.9) of the Zoho Mail app update, we have brought in support to manage profile picture. You can now set/ modify the profile picture within the app. To add a new profile picture, please follow the below steps:
        • Reminders for Article Approval

          Is there a way to send reminders for approvers to review articles and approve/deny them? I'm not seeing that option anywhere.
        • Add Full-Screen Viewing for Quartz Recordings in the Client Interface

          Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to the Zoho Quartz client interface when viewing submitted recordings. Current Limitation: When viewing a Quartz recording from the client (user) interface, there is currently no option to switch the
        • Next Page