How Technology Transfer Institutions can Maximize their Efforts with Salesforce Solutions
Technology Transfer: An Overview
Institutions facilitating technology transfer from academic and research organizations to industry play a pivotal role in commercializing research and innovations. Acting as a bridge between academia, research organizations, and the private sector, these institutions ensure that groundbreaking discoveries made in the lab make their way to the marketplace. For those new to technology transfer, AUTM provides valuable insights into the process in their article titled “What is Technology Transfer, Anyway?”
While technology transfer may not be immediately associated with educational departments, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with several technology transfer institutions and have witnessed firsthand their profound impact within university systems. We’ll cover some of the ways Redpath has found Salesforce solutions benefiting technology transfer institutions, including:
- Identify and nurture potential license opportunities with Sales Cloud
- Keep your stakeholders in the know
- Effective management of intellectual property portfolios, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights
- Operational efficiency with tailored reports and dashboards
- Reduce manual workload through automation
- Connect your third-party tools with your Salesforce platform
Sales Cloud offers lead management tools that empower technology transfer institutions to efficiently track interactions with companies, researchers, and inventors and manage potential licensing opportunities.
Within Sales Cloud, features such as Opportunity Management streamline the entire process of identifying, nurturing, and closing deals, ensuring that no opportunity slips through the cracks. As you go through the process from initial contact to successful technology transfer, you can have peace of mind knowing that any important documents uploaded throughout the process are securely stored. Integration with Einstein Analytics enhances decision-making by providing predictive insights, enabling institutions to prioritize leads effectively and optimize resource allocation for maximum impact.
Experience Cloud provides a centralized hub for communication, enabling technology transfer institutions to disseminate information, updates, and announcements to stakeholders in real-time. Through personalized messaging and targeted communication, they can ensure that stakeholders stay informed about the latest developments, opportunities, and success stories.
In addition, Experience Cloud fosters interactive collaboration by offering tools such as forums, discussion boards, and virtual meeting spaces. Technology transfer institutions can use these features to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, including researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry partners. Through this online community, knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration on projects and initiatives are encouraged.
This platform also serves as a comprehensive knowledge repository, housing a wealth of information, resources, and best practices related to technology transfer and innovation commercialization. Technology transfer institutions can leverage this repository to provide stakeholders with access to valuable resources, including intellectual property databases, funding opportunities, regulatory guidance, and case studies. By curating and organizing content effectively, they can empower stakeholders to make informed decisions and navigate the technology transfer process more efficiently.
Facilitate two-way communication between technology transfer institutions and stakeholders, enabling them to gather feedback, suggestions, and insights from the community. Through surveys, polls, and feedback forms, institutions can collect input on various aspects of their services, programs, and initiatives. This feedback loop helps them identify areas for improvement, address concerns, and tailor their offerings to better meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Beyond Experience Cloud, Chatter, Salesforce’s enterprise social network, enhances collaboration by fostering open dialogue and idea exchange among stakeholders. By providing a centralized hub for communication and collaboration, Experience Cloud and Chatter accelerate decision-making processes within technology transfer initiatives, driving efficiency and innovation.
Effective management of intellectual property portfolios, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights
Salesforce can be customized to serve as a comprehensive intellectual property management system, allowing institutions to track patent filings, renewals, and licensing agreements with ease. By consolidating all intellectual property-related data within Salesforce’s Service Cloud, technology transfer entities can enhance the efficiency of their IP management processes and ensure adherence to regulatory standards.
Source: Salesforce.com
Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) streamlines the management of licensing agreements and pricing structures for intellectual property. Its customizable quoting processes ensure precision and adherence to licensing terms, effectively reducing administrative overhead for technology transfer institutions. Additionally, integration with DocuSign facilitates contract approvals, expediting the negotiation and execution of licensing agreements.
Analytics Cloud empowers technology transfer institutions by enabling them to derive actionable insights from their data through interactive dashboards and reports. These tools offer pre-built dashboards specifically tailored to technology transfer metrics, including patent filings and revenue projections, offering instant visibility into performance metrics.
Einstein Discovery, a feature within Analytics Cloud, identifies trends and patterns within technology transfer data, facilitating proactive decision-making and strategic planning. By monitoring key indicators such as disclosure numbers, licensing agreements, and revenue generated from successful technology transfers, institutions can pinpoint bottlenecks, gauge their impact, and make informed decisions to drive continuous enhancement.
See more of our tips on how to optimize your Salesforce dashboards.
Salesforce Automation offers technology transfer institutions the ability to automate repetitive tasks and workflows, thus liberating valuable time for professionals in the field. Through features like Process Builder, institutions can design and implement customized workflows tailored to various critical processes such as patent renewals and licensing approvals.
Additionally, integration with Pardot facilitates the automation of lead nurturing campaigns, ensuring consistent engagement with potential licensees across the entirety of the sales cycle. By automating routine tasks, institutions can boost efficiency, minimize errors, and allocate resources toward high-value activities that drive innovation and commercialization.
Salesforce AppExchange provides institutions with access to a wide array of third-party applications specifically designed to meet their needs. Through integration with research management systems, financial platforms, and marketing automation tools, institutions can enhance data interoperability and streamline workflow efficiency. Additionally, custom-built integrations with industry-specific solutions extend the capabilities of the Salesforce platform, addressing unique requirements and workflows within the technology transfer landscape. Allowing for third-party integrations ensures an uninterrupted flow of data across different departments and systems, breaking down silos and streamlining operations.
With Salesforce solutions empowering them, technology transfer institutions can continue to bring breakthrough inventions from the lab to the market, allowing for continued innovation and economic growth.
With the rapid evolution of technology, Salesforce solutions are ever-changing and improving features. Contact our team for up-to-date information.
About the Author: Caitlin McClain
