Tier 1 · Sprint
The data foundation your AI needs.
Identity, sources, governance, and activation — laid down in six to eight weeks for a fixed price, so your Agentforce and Marketing actually work.
The problem
Every Agentforce deployment pulls more Data Cloud spend than the agent licence itself.
Every meaningful Agentforce deployment pulls more Data Cloud spend than the agent licence itself. Data Cloud skills are the scarcest in the Salesforce ecosystem because the work has historically lived in Informatica, Snowflake, and Databricks practices — not Salesforce ones. Following Salesforce’s November 2025 Informatica acquisition, the firms that can credibly do Data Cloud, MDM, and governance as one practice are rare and valuable.
The Quick-Start gets you working Data Cloud, fast, for a defined price. It’s the foundation everything else depends on.
What you’ll have at the end
- Data Cloud configured and operational
- A unified data model for your priority use cases, with identity resolution working
- The agreed source systems onboarded and flowing
- A data quality and governance baseline
- Activation into Agentforce, Marketing, or Service for the agreed use cases
- A defined expansion path so the next phase is straightforward to scope
Scope
A clear line between what’s in and what isn’t.
Included
- Data Cloud setup and configuration
- Identity resolution and unified data model for priority use cases
- Source onboarding (the agreed systems at kick-off)
- Data quality and governance baseline
- Activation for the agreed downstream use cases
- Documentation and knowledge transfer
Not included
- Enterprise-wide master data management (routes to Data Cloud + Informatica Advisory plus a larger programme)
- Unlimited source onboarding (scope is set at kick-off)
- Source-system remediation outside Salesforce (data engineering on the upstream system itself)
- Ongoing operation (routes to Run Team or Managed Agentforce)
How it works
Map, build, activate.
Weeks 1–2
Source mapping, model design, governance baseline. We pick the priority use cases and define the minimum viable foundation for them.
Weeks 3–6
Build. Data Cloud configured, identity resolution stood up, sources onboarded, governance applied.
Weeks 7–8
Activation into the agreed downstream system, testing, knowledge transfer.
Who this is for
- Customers starting an AI programme who need a data foundation that works
- Organisations whose Readiness Audit flagged a data gap
- Marketing and service teams whose existing activation is fragmented across systems
- Customers re-platforming from older Salesforce CDP / Marketing Cloud setups
How we deliver
Senior data architect lead, data engineer, principal review at gate. Senior-only.
Frequently asked questions
We already use Snowflake / Databricks / BigQuery. Does Data Cloud add anything?
Often yes — particularly for Salesforce activation, identity resolution against Salesforce records, and downstream Agentforce. Data Cloud is not a warehouse replacement; it’s an activation layer for Salesforce-anchored use cases. The scoping call will tell you whether it’s the right answer for your shape.
Where does Informatica fit?
For most Quick-Start engagements, it doesn’t yet — that’s the larger MDM programme. The Data Cloud + Informatica Advisory covers when and how to bring it in.
How many source systems can you onboard in the Quick-Start?
Typically three to five, depending on complexity. More than that is a larger programme, scoped separately.
What if our data quality is so bad we shouldn’t activate at all?
You’ll know in week 2, and we’ll say so. The honest answer is sometimes “fix the source first.”
What if the engagement needs to extend?
Through explicit change control, with an explicit conversation and an explicit revised commitment. Not by drift. The fixed-price discipline is a feature, not a constraint.
How does payment work?
Payment is in three stages for sprints: 30% on signature, 40% at a mid-engagement gate, 30% on completion. The gate is genuine — if we haven’t earned the milestone, we don’t invoice it. For Diagnostics and Advisory, payment is 50% on signature, 50% on delivery.