[Early-access] Introducing Zoho's CommandCenter - Cross-Zoho business process automation

[Early-access] Introducing Zoho's CommandCenter - Cross-Zoho business process automation

 

Resources to help

Webinar recording | Documentation 

Feature Restrictions

Currently available on early-access only for US data center accounts

Features Role

CommandCenter as a Service uses signals across Zoho services to propel the movement of records through different stages of a business process


Note: CommandCenter was introduced as a feature within CRM in 2020. Zoho's CommandCenter is a standalone service that operates across Zoho platforms. 

For the sake of clarity, please note that in this post, we will refer to CommandCenter feature in Zoho CRM as "Zoho CRM's CommandCenter", and "CommandCenter as a Service", as "Zoho's CommandCenter"

CommandCenter is powered by signals. Signals are events performed in various arenas of Zoho applications that can be used to trigger the transition of a record to its next state. 

Signals serve as the backbone of the CommandCenter builder., Let's understand a little more about them. 

When you want to connect various customer touchpoints together, and build your customer journey end-to-end, there are many, touchpoints involved. 

Let's consider a real estate business powered by Zoho One end-to-end. .This company uses the following modules for their operations:
  •  Zoho CRM for client management
  • Zoho Finance for bookkeeping
  • Zoho Desk to provide support to clients
  • Zoho Meeting to setup online sessions with prospective clients 
- In their business process, each customer record moves through different stages in each of these services. For example, a lead moves from a "needs assessment" stage to a "needs assessed". 
- Here, for the record to move, it must transition through a stage of "assessment" where "type and budget" details are captured. This transition is fuelled by certain actions which we will configure. 
- In this example, we will configure the transition based on a trigger that the company brochure is downloaded or that a query is submitted on the website.

Each of the actions of updating these fields serve as a trigger for the movement of one or more record(s). We call these actions, "Signals".  At the backend, Signals route the events to multiple destinations. Signals can be setup for several Zoho services, including Zoho CRM. CommandCenter is setup such that any signal can be captured from other Zoho Apps to trigger the movement of a record to its next state.

Default signals - Default signals available in Zoho CRM, Desk, Survey, and Webinar are supported now. Default signals from other Zoho services, and third-party integrations will be supported down the line. 

Custom signals - API triggers or custom signals allow your system to use ANY event as your trigger, besides the readily available signals. Custom signals broaden CC's capabilities by allowing transition of records based on custom events that are specific to your business, making your mapped customer journey that much more accurate.

CommandCenter as a service ties together every single touchpoint of a record, mapping the whole customer journey with all its bits and pieces in ONE space. . Right from capturing information and creating leads, to the final stage, anything that can be automated is mapped within CC. Many of us are familiar with Zoho CRM's CommandCenter that runs and manage an entire business-process end-to-end. CRM's CommandCenter not only allows you to map your customer journey across multiple modules in a single space, but also guides and automates every action in a single space. Zoho's CommandCenter isn't an alternative to this, but an avenue to use and tie together your business processes, across multiple Zoho services. It uses triggers to execute different actions through different Zoho apps, at different stages (states) of a customer lifecycle. 

The main components of this tool are: 

States - The building blocks of a CC flow. They signify the state/stage a record is stationed at that point of the process. In our real estate example, we have many states. Pre-approval,  Funds processing, Inspection completion, Loan approval, etc

Transitions - The process initiating the movement of a record to its next state. A "Documents verification in progress", between the "Waiting for approval" and "Documents verified" states. 

Triggers - Triggers are our signals that propel the transition of records. Any default or custom signal can be used as a trigger for a transition.

Actions - At every stage, automated actions that are configured such as email alters, field updates, task creation, or any custom action.
Here's a quick overview on how Zoho's CommandCenter adds to the existing automation options. 



Comparison 1 - Workflows 
Comparison 2 - Blueprint
Feature
Help automate any set of actions within a module



Automation rules
Mandates certain actions from the user's end (manual) before a record is transitioned. (includes workflow functionalities in actions)

Internal process application tool
Use-case achievable
During the document verification process, we need to automate the "Document submitted" field in the Contact page, based on a rule that a Webform is filled. 
Business process steps that can be included in Blueprint. 
Collateral Assessment| Documentation Check| Document first release| Legal Verification | Release of loan | Loan closure/rejection (based on approval/denial)

Comparison 3 - Zoho CRM's CommandCenter
Comparison 4 - Zoho's CommandCenter
Feature
Allows the entire business process from your CRM to be created end-to-end, within a single space across modules

Cross-module online journey orchestration tool in Zoho CRM
Builds an online replica of your business process with the various entries of the records and signals across all Zoho services in ONE space
Cross-Zoho online replica of a business process
Use Case achievable
All the steps under Comparison 2. Additionally, we will be able to map the following steps of our business process in CRM. 
Pre-approval | Manual approval | Document verification | Loan rejected | Address verified | Loan rejected (if address proof is not submitted) | Loan approved | Funds processing initiated | Loan sanctioned | Loan closed | Loan settled | Overdue (in case of payment failure) | Overdue proceedings in due | Overdue proceedings settled (After legal proceedings are initiated)
All the steps under Comparison 3. Additionally, it will be able to include the following signals as triggers

- Filling of a customized survey used during home inspection process

- Booking of slots using Zoho Meeting to schedule a call with the realtor to understand requirements

- During the loan process, closing of customers' tickets created on Zoho Desk is used as a trigger to fully end their purchase

What's new with Zoho's CommandCenter 
- Advanced reporting for CommandCenter allows for tracking and measuring customer journeys, noting and rectifying pain points as the journey progresses.The new Pivot Charts in reports is noteworthy. 
- Unifies data across multiple apps, but also for multiple orgs across each application. 
- Custom signals or API triggers to flexibly trigger a transition based on any event from other Zoho services. 

Note - We've enabled CommandCenter early-access   to our EA community. Do try it out, let us know what you think as comments to this post. We request that you post any issues you face, feedback and suggestions for improvements, and what you like about it. Our CommandCenter team is all ears and will love to join in on the discussion. 

Access it at commandcenter.zoho.com

Pricing details - CommandCenter will be included in Zoho One when it is ready for public launch. It will be charged based on a Fair Usage Policy, where the base free limits will vary based on the number of users purchased. Post this, they will be charged for additional usage. We'll let you know the exact limits and pricing details closer to the public launch date

Pricing
Free edition
Enterprise Edition (post free usage)
Transitions
300/day
$0.0002/transition
Actions
250/day
$0.0003/action
Journeys
3
$5/journey/month (bonus of 1 free user)
Users
3
$2/additional user/month

    • Recent Topics

    • ENTER key triggering Submit

      Is it possible to stopped the ENTER key from the mandatory triggering of the Submit button on Creator form? I want forms submitted "ONLY" when the Submit button is pressed. 

    • Paste issues in ZOHO crm notes

      Hi, since a week or so I have issues with the paste function in ZOHO CRM. I use "notes" to copy paste texts from Outlook emails and since a week or so, the pasting doesnt function as it should: some text just disappears and it gives a lot of empty lines/enters.....

    • Insert Cookie Policy in Zoho Sites

      Hello, i need to insert a banner on my site because i'm in Italy so i have to respect EU laws for Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy. I see that i need to insert a code in <head> section of my site to show a banner/popup with cookie info. How i can do this? Thank you Luca

    • Billing Preferences per Account

      Hello, We are trying to setup Billing Preferences in Zoho Desk to set up a different pricing per account. We charge different pricing per hour per customer/account. Account A = 100 per hour Account B = 125 per hour In the Billing Preferences in Time Entry

    • Time entry preview for custom time entry templates.

      Our company needed time entries in a specific format to document our client interactions. Since we are using a custom time entry layout, we have lost the "preview" on the time entry tab. Using the default time entry layout, you get a small preview of

    • Send Whatsapp message from Whatsapp template with custom variables

      Hi, I'm trying to do some basic integration for sending WhatsApp messages from Zoho CRM using Zoho Desk whatsapp templates. When creating new whatsapp template in Zoho Desk we can choose ticket related fields as variables but it's not clear how to use

    • Set to Review for all

      We are testing the use of Writer as part of an internal review process for statement of work documents and have found that when the document is changed from Compose to Review by one person, that is not reflected for all others who view the document. Is

    • How to copy value from a single line field into a picklist field within a module's subform?

      Hello there, I have a single line field in a module's subform. I would like the value in the field to automatically update a picklist field within the same subform (both have items with the same names). Is this possible via function? Unfortunately, workflows

    • Implementing a Self-Invoicing/Vendor Portal in Zoho Creator

      Hello Zoho Community / Creator Experts, We would like to build a Self-Invoicing Portal (Vendor Portal) in Zoho Creator for our external contractors. Our goal is to allow approved contractors to log in, submit their invoice details (hours worked, project

    • Link to images

      I have added images in pages. I would like to link those images with linked in URL so that they open in new window. There is an option of image -> link but I am not able to use the same to open URL in new window. Please check the attached image. Can you

    • Categorise Attachments

      We take ID, proof of address, right to work documentation and more.  I can upload a single file in to field, but we often receive multiple files for each category e.g. someone may send a separate file for the front and back of their national ID card.  My team don't have time to manipulate the files in order to upload them as a single file. The options, as far as I can tell, would be to create additional fields on attachments in order to categorise what the file is, or to be able to upload single

    • Canvas View - Print

      What is the best way to accomplish a print to PDF of the canvas view?

    • Blocked Email

      We are a Zoho One subscriber and use Yahoo as our MX provider. A few times each year, for the past four years, CRM blocks one or more of my Zoho One users from receiving internal email from CRM. This includes "@mentions" in all modules, and emails from

    • Able to change project on timelog entries

      Ability to move the timesheet entry from one project to another. When a user adds a wrong entry a manager can change/update the timesheet entry to the correct project.

    • What formula to use in computing total hrs and decimal hrss

      So , my data includes log im column , 2 breaks with 2 columns that says back and lunch and 1 column that says back and logged out. What formula should i use to be able to automatically have my total hours as I input time in each column? Thankyou

    • i cannot use <b></b> to bold the message in Creator C6!!!!???What?

      Dear experts and friends, Now Creator 6 blocking us from using <b></b> Anyone facing this issue? I faced it on Creator C6 Previously, it used to work. Now failed to work. Faint~ Seek guidance from everyone on how to bold the message. The super simple

    • Knowledge base: The nitty-gritty of SEO tags

      A well-optimized knowledge base with great SEO can benefit your company by allowing customers to find help articles and support resources using search engines. This enables customers to quickly and efficiently find the information they need without direct

    • Content Security Policy

      Is there a place in ZOHO CRM to add a Content Security Policy to allow for a call to a google.com map, from inside our current app? Or, how do I resolve the issue below?? jquery.js:1 Refused to load the script 'https://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?v=3.41&libraries=places&sensor=true&key=AIzaSyAyQzKeKSbLci4LwZhn9oXvtCkbUo1Ae4g&callback=map_loader'

    • Option to select location?

      As a business coach, I meet with clients at various public locations. I have two or three pre-determined locations that I meet at. I would like the client to choose the location when booking an appointment. Is there a way to do that with a single service, or is the best way to accomplish this by creating one service for each location offered?

    • Retainer invoice in Zoho Finance modlue

      Hello, Is there a way of creating retainer invoices in the Zoho Finance module? If not can I request this is considered for future updates please.

    • Unified WhatsApp Number Management in Zoho Desk and SalesIQ

      Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are currently utilizing both Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ for our customer support operations. While both platforms offer WhatsApp integration, we are facing challenges due to the requirement of separate WhatsApp numbers

    • Provide a standard structure to your content using article templates

      Hello everyone, When multiple writers work on different documents, maintaining a standard structure can be challenging as each of the writer follows a different writing style. However, when the structure, tone, and format of every document is different,

    • How to update custom multi-user field in Zoho Projects?

      I'm trying to update custom multi-user fields in Zoho Projects via a Deluge function in CRM. The code I have so far is below. It works for updating standard project fields and single-line custom fields, but it does not work to update multi-user fields.

    • Accessibility Spotlight Series - 1

      Every user interacts with products differently, what feels intuitive to one may be challenging for another. Addressing this, accessibility is built into Zoho Project's design philosophy. This helps users navigate and perform actions with ease irrespective

    • Projects Tasks Not Showing Dependencies

      I'm clicking on tasks and the popup to add dependencies isn't showing. I can't disconnect the nodes either. For some reason when I slide a task backwards it says it cannot go before a predecessor, even though there is not predecessor. Double clicking

    • Deprecation of C4 endpoint URLs

      Note: This post is only for users who are still using the C4 endpoints. Hello everyone, At Zoho Creator, we're committed to continuously enhancing the security, performance, and capabilities of our platform. As part of this ongoing effort, we'll be deprecating

    • Introducing AWS authentication for connections in Deluge

      Hello everyone, We're incredibly excited to announce the all-new AWS authentication for connections in Deluge! This highly anticipated feature simplifies connecting to Amazon Web Services, opening up a world of possibilities and allowing you to seamlessly

    • Timeline Tracking Support for records updates via module import and bulk write api

      Note: This update is currently available in Early Access and will soon be rolled out across all data centers (DCs) and for all editions of Zoho CRM. The update will be available to all users within your organization, regardless of their profiles or roles.

    • Bug Report and Suggestions for Improvement in Zoho Applications

      Hi Zoho Team, I’d like to report a few bugs and improvement suggestions I’ve noticed while using Zoho products: Zoho Cliq Video Call: The camera sometimes turns off automatically during video calls. This seems to be a bug — please check and fix it. Zoho

    • Customize User Invites with Invitation Templates

      Invitation Templates help streamline the invitation process by allowing users to create customized email formats instead of sending a one-size-fits-all email. Different invitation templates can be created for portal users and client users to align with

    • Zoho CRM Workflow and Function Backup Options

      Hi everyone! I have been able to make several backups of my CRM data and noticed that the Workflows and Functions are not included in these backups. To my knowledge, there is no backup feature for workflows and functions, which is problematic in of itself.

    • ListObjects is recognized by VBA

      Sub addNewRow() Dim ws As Worksheet ' Set your worksheet name Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Invoice") ' Set your table name (change "Table1" to your actual table name) ws.ListObjects("InvItems").ListRows.Add End Sub I am getting Unknown function: Li

    • KPI Widget dashboard select periods

      I have a problem with selecting periods as a user filter. In the beste scenario I would like to have to have a period filter like Google Analytics has of Datastudio (see attachment). In the KPI widget I "Group by "inquiry_date" on week&Year". It selects

    • Need a way to secure Prefill URLs in Zoho Forms (hide or encrypt prefilled values)

      Hi everyone, I often use Zoho Forms with prefilled URLs to simplify the user experience — for example: https://forms.zohopublic.com/.../form?Name=David&Amount=300 However, the problem is that all prefilled values are visible and editable in the link.

    • Can’t send emails from Zoho CRM after adding a new user — verification codes not received

      Hi everyone, We recently added a new user to our Zoho CRM account and purchased an additional license. Since then, we haven’t been able to send any emails from Zoho CRM. Our Zoho Mail accounts are working perfectly, we can send and receive emails directly

    • Can I add Conditional merge tags on my Templates?

      Hi I was wondering if I can use Conditional Mail Merge tags inside my Email templates/Quotes etc within the CRM? In spanish and in our business we use gender and academic degree salutations , ie: Dr., Dra., Sr., Srta., so the beginning of an email / letter

    • CRM for email in Outlook: how to ignore addresses?

      We’re using the "Zoho CRM for email" add-in for Outlook. When opening an email, the add-in displays all email addresses from the message and allows me to add them to the CRM or shows if they’re already contacts. However, sometimes people listed in To

    • Scheduling Calls in CommandCenter / Blueprints

      I would love it if you could add a function to schedule a call in the lead's record for a future date. I know you can add a Task by going to Instant Actions > Task and completing the form: These tasks go into the lead's record under Open Actions. But

    • Workflow Creation with Zia gets stuck

      It gets stuck here:

    • Quickly send emails and sync conversations with custom email addresses in CRM

      Editions: All editions DCs: All DCs Release plan: This enhancement has been released for customers in all DCs except IN and US. We will be enabling it for IN and US DC customers soon. [Update on 22 May 2024] This enhancement has been released for all

    • Next Page