CRM Sidechain: Empowering Decentralized Business Transactions on Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Houssem Benmahmoud

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

houssem.benmahmoud01@gmail.com

Additional applicants

Oussama BENMAHMOUD

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

10

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Our decision to keep certain aspects of our project proprietary is aimed at producing a commercially viable product. This not only funds our project's upkeep and progress but also demonstrates Cardano's capacity for supporting profitable ventures. Our aim is to build commercial success on Cardano, boosting its value, showcasing its potential for market growth, and encouraging corporate adoption. By doing so, we hope to inspire others to tap into this technology, balancing collaboration and commercialization for the long-term success of the Cardano ecosystem.

[METADATA] Category of proposal

Other

[METADATA] SDG rating

Our project aligns with several of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating our commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth.

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth - Our project promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth. By leveraging blockchain technology for business transactions, we aim to foster innovation and provide decent work for all.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure - We are committed to building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation. Our project, which involves developing a CRM sidechain on the Cardano network, is a testament to this commitment.
3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals - Our collaboration with a software development company based in Germany is a strategic partnership aimed at achieving these goals. Together, we strive to implement effective and targeted solutions that tackle the challenges of sustainable development.

By aligning our project with these SDGs, we aim to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future. We believe that blockchain technology has a significant role to play in achieving these goals, and we are excited to be part of this journey.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our proposed solution is the creation of a CRM sidechain on Cardano that offers GDPR-compliant, decentralized transactions with Salesforce integration. The core problem we're addressing is the current lack of scalable, privacy-enabled, business-specific transaction platforms on blockchain. Blockchain has vast potential for business transactions, but many companies are deterred due to concerns over privacy, regulatory compliance, and perceived technical challenges.

In response to this issue, we propose a unique solution that combines the advantages of Cardano's EVM sidechain capabilities, Salesforce's CRM platform, and blockchain's decentralized nature. By building a dedicated sidechain, we can provide businesses with the trust, privacy, and compliance they need, while benefiting from the scalability and security of the Cardano network.

The sidechain approach caters to the multichain future we envision, where different sidechains are used for specific purposes, increasing the overall efficiency and usability of the blockchain. The integration of Salesforce aligns with our vision of bringing enterprise-level solutions into the web3 world, reducing the technical barriers to blockchain adoption.

Our project will primarily engage developers, businesses, and enterprise dev managers looking for scalable and regulatory compliant solutions to conduct business transactions. By leveraging the strengths of Cardano and Salesforce, we aim to provide a seamless experience that's both user-friendly and robust.

The uniqueness of our solution lies in its specific focus on a CRM sidechain that addresses business and regulatory requirements, fills a gap in the current market, and contributes to the enrichment of the Cardano ecosystem.

The key beneficiaries of our project will be businesses, developers, and ultimately, the end-users who will enjoy more secure, efficient, and transparent transactions. This project is important for Cardano as it aligns with the strategic goals of accelerating dApp development and making Cardano a go-to choice for businesses looking to leverage blockchain technology.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Our proposed solution directly addresses the challenge by strengthening Cardano's developer ecosystem and infrastructure. Specifically, the CRM sidechain that we intend to create will not only contribute to the growth of Cardano based projects, but it will also encourage Salesforce developers and businesses to explore and engage with Cardano's capabilities, thereby attracting a new demographic of users to the ecosystem.

Here are the ways our project will significantly impact the Cardano ecosystem:

1. Enhanced Developer Productivity: By providing a ready-to-use, GDPR-compliant solution for businesses that need a secure, scalable, and efficient method of conducting transactions, we will lower the entry barrier for developers wanting to work with Cardano.
2. Attracting New Developers and Users: As Salesforce is a widely adopted platform, our project could potentially introduce a large pool of Salesforce developers and businesses to Cardano, strengthening the developer community and broadening the user base.
3. Ecosystem Strength: As more businesses adopt our solution, we anticipate an increase in the usage and transactions on Cardano, strengthening its network effect and boosting its overall value.
4. Solving Key Issue: Our project tackles the challenge of bringing enterprise-level solutions into the web3 world, offering a key solution for businesses hesitant about blockchain adoption due to regulatory compliance and privacy concerns.

In terms of quantifiable impact, while it's challenging to provide precise numbers at this early stage, we expect a notable increase in the number of developers engaging with Cardano within a year of project completion, given Salesforce's extensive developer community. Additionally, as businesses adopt our solution, we anticipate a steady growth in the volume of transactions on the CRM sidechain, reinforcing Cardano's position as a versatile and scalable blockchain platform.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

The success of our project will be evaluated using metrics that capture the breadth of our project's impact on Cardano's ecosystem.

1. User Feedback: We will seek regular feedback from developers and businesses using our solution, gaining insights into how well the sidechain meets their needs and how it can be improved.
2. Community Engagement: We will gauge the level of interest and discussion around the project in Cardano's community forums, such as Cardano Stack Exchange, Discord, and Telegram.
3. Innovation and Quality: By tracking the amount and quality of new ideas and improvements suggested by the community, we can gauge how our project inspires innovation within the Cardano ecosystem.

In the short term, the project is expected to attract more developers to Cardano, enhance the quality and quantity of dApp development, and stimulate community engagement.

In the long term, as more businesses onboard and use the CRM sidechain, we anticipate an increase in the overall usage of the Cardano network, which will contribute to Cardano's growth and network effect. Furthermore, by providing a GDPR-compliant, enterprise-ready solution, we're helping bridge the gap between traditional business models and the new web3 world, which has immense long-term implications for Cardano's position as a leading blockchain platform.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

We are dedicated to sharing the outputs and results of our project in a transparent and collaborative manner. Here are our plans:

1. Documentation: Comprehensive documentation detailing the functionality, usage, and integration of our CRM sidechain will be publicly available. This will include detailed setup instructions, example use-cases, and technical documentation for developers.
2. Community Engagement: We will actively engage with the Cardano community through forums like Cardano Stack Exchange, Discord, Telegram, and Catalyst town halls. We aim to provide regular updates, seek feedback, and answer queries from the community.
3. Blog Posts & Tutorials: We plan to publish blog posts detailing our progress, insights, and tutorials on how to use our CRM sidechain. This will help educate interested developers and businesses about our project and how it can benefit them.
4. Workshops and Webinars: We plan to conduct workshops and webinars to demonstrate our CRM sidechain solution, its features, and potential applications. This will help encourage adoption and solicit real-time feedback.

The outputs and opportunities generated from the project will be invaluable for our future research and development activities. They will guide us in identifying areas for improvement, potential new features, and use cases for our CRM sidechain. Moreover, user feedback and the level of community involvement will help us assess the demand for further enhancements or the development of additional sidechains for different use-cases.

In addition, the project's results could be used to foster strategic partnerships with other businesses or projects in the Cardano ecosystem, driving broader adoption and creating synergies that benefit the entire community.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team has extensive experience and robust capabilities to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability, demonstrated through our team composition, previous work, and approach to project management:

1. Qualified Team: The main proposer, Houssem, is a Certified Salesforce Consultant with five years of experience as a Sales Engineer. His expertise in optimizing CRM solutions provides a deep understanding of Salesforce, its functionalities, and its user requirements. The co-proposer, Oussama, is an active Cardano community member and a Plutus Pioneer, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the Cardano blockchain, its capabilities, and its community. Our technical lead's extensive background in Salesforce and CRM solutions, coupled with the leadership's rich experience in blockchain development and project management, uniquely positions us to deliver this project successfully.
2. Proven Track Record: Our team members have a demonstrated history of delivering high-quality projects within stipulated timelines. For instance, our co-proposer has extensive experience from Connected Car Projects and a role as a Plutus Pioneer, evidencing the capability to handle complex and technologically challenging projects.
3. Transparent Project Management: We follow industry-standard project management methodologies, including agile practices, to ensure a smooth project execution. This includes regular team meetings, maintaining a public project roadmap, tracking issues and progress on GitHub, and keeping the community updated about our progress through regular announcements and engagements.
4. Financial Accountability: We are committed to responsible and transparent fund management. We will provide a detailed breakdown of how the funds are allocated and used, and updates will be shared with the community on a regular basis. All expenditures will be justified and accounted for to ensure there's no misuse of funds.
5. Community Engagement: We believe in the power of community collaboration. We will share our progress, solicit feedback, and actively engage with the community through Cardano forums, Discord, Telegram, and our GitHub repository. We will also educate the community through blog posts, tutorials, and webinars.

By leveraging these strengths and strategies, we are confident that we can deliver our project with the highest level of trust and accountability.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Our project has several overarching goals that align with enhancing the Cardano ecosystem's functionality, growth, and adoption. These goals include:

1. Developing a CRM Sidechain for Salesforce: Our primary goal is to develop a fully-functional sidechain specifically designed for Salesforce, leveraging Cardano's EVM sidechain capabilities. This will involve rigorous software development, testing, and optimization to ensure seamless integration and operation.
2. Enabling Decentralized Transactions: We aim to facilitate secure, decentralized transactions and smart contracts in Salesforce through our CRM sidechain. This will provide Salesforce users a new dimension of data security, transactional integrity, and automation.
3. Compliance with Regulations: Our solution will adhere to regulations like GDPR, thereby addressing privacy concerns and making it more attractive for businesses to adopt.
4. Contributing to Cardano's Scalability: Aligning with the fourth phase of Cardano's roadmap, "BASHO", our project will contribute to the scalability of the Cardano ecosystem through the implementation of a use-case specific sidechain.

User feedback and reviews will be a crucial component of measuring our success. We will actively seek input from users regarding their experience with our sidechain, improvements they'd like to see, and any issues they may have encountered. Positive feedback and constructive suggestions for improvements would indicate that we're heading in the right direction.

For the technical implementation of our project, we will follow industry-standard software development practices. This includes requirement gathering, designing the system architecture, iterative development using agile methodology, extensive testing to ensure software quality and compliance, and finally, deployment and post-deployment support. Our team's combined expertise in Salesforce, blockchain technology, and software development will be instrumental in executing this plan successfully.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone 1: Requirement Gathering and System Design (Month 1)

• Activities: Conduct meetings with stakeholders, define system requirements, create system design, and develop a project roadmap.
• Success Criteria: Completion of system requirements and design documents, approval from stakeholders.

Milestone 2: Development of CRM Sidechain (Month 2-5)

• Activities: Coding the CRM sidechain, creating the necessary smart contracts, integration with Salesforce, and initial testing.
• Success Criteria: Successful execution of smart contracts, seamless integration with Salesforce, passing of initial tests.

Milestone 3: System Testing and Optimization (Month 6-7)

• Activities: Conduct extensive testing to ensure system quality, identify and rectify bugs, optimize system performance.
• Success Criteria: System working as expected without major bugs, meeting performance benchmarks.

Milestone 4: Compliance Checks and Final Adjustments (Month 8-9)

• Activities: Ensure compliance with GDPR and other regulations, make final adjustments based on testing feedback.
• Success Criteria: Full regulatory compliance, readiness for launch after incorporating all necessary adjustments.

Milestone 5: Deployment and Post-deployment Support (Month 10)

• Activities: Deploy the system, provide ongoing support, gather user feedback, and make necessary updates.
• Success Criteria: Successful system deployment, positive user feedback, and resolution of post-deployment issues.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1: Requirement Gathering and System Design

• Deliverables: Documented system requirements, a system design document, and a detailed project roadmap.
• Intended Outcome: Clear understanding of the system requirements and design, providing a foundation for the development phase.
• Metrics for Progress: Completion and approval of the requirements and design documents.

Milestone 2: Development of CRM Sidechain

• Deliverables: Functioning CRM sidechain integrated with Salesforce, smart contracts for secure transactions.
• Intended Outcome: A fully functional CRM sidechain that interacts seamlessly with Salesforce.
• Metrics for Progress: Successful execution of smart contracts, seamless integration with Salesforce.

Milestone 3: System Testing and Optimization

• Deliverables: Detailed testing reports highlighting the performance of the system, bug reports and resolutions, system optimization reports.
• Intended Outcome: A robust and optimized CRM sidechain that performs efficiently.
• Metrics for Progress: System working as expected without major bugs, system performance meeting defined benchmarks.

Milestone 4: Compliance Checks and Final Adjustments

• Deliverables: Compliance report ensuring the CRM sidechain is in line with GDPR and other regulations, final version of the system after incorporating necessary adjustments.
• Intended Outcome: A CRM sidechain that complies with necessary regulations and is ready for deployment.
• Metrics for Progress: Full compliance with regulatory standards, readiness for launch after incorporating all adjustments.

Milestone 5: Deployment and Post-deployment Support

• Deliverables: The live CRM sidechain, ongoing support and system updates, user feedback reports.
• Intended Outcome: A fully functional CRM sidechain that provides value to Salesforce users and enhances the Cardano ecosystem.
• Metrics for Progress: Successful system deployment, user satisfaction levels, and the resolution of post-deployment issues.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Development Resources - 150,000 ADA

This covers the cost of the development team, which includes blockchain developers, Salesforce developers, and UI/UX designers. It also includes the purchase of development tools, testing tools, and server costs.

Compliance and Security Audits - 50,000 ADA

This budget will cater for compliance checks with GDPR and other regulatory frameworks. Additionally, it will cover the cost of independent security audits to ensure the integrity and security of the CRM sidechain and its transactions.

Project Management - 50,000 ADA

This allocation is for project management costs, including project management tools, meetings, and other administrative tasks.

Documentation - 20,000 ADA

This covers the cost of creating and maintaining detailed project documentation, including system requirements, design documents, user manuals, and other necessary technical documentation.

Marketing and Community Engagement - 30,000 ADA

This budget will cover publicity, marketing, community engagement, and promotional activities to build awareness and encourage adoption. This may include social media campaigns, developer forums, and other marketing efforts.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Our project is estimated to cost 300,000 ADA, which we believe provides excellent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem for several reasons.

1. Expertise and Skillset: Our team comprises experienced professionals who possess the necessary skills to execute this project. We have priced our services in line with industry standards for professionals with our experience level and expertise. Houssem's expertise in Salesforce and Oussama's knowledge of blockchain development, along with additional team members to be recruited, ensure that the project is in safe hands.
2. Leverage Existing Infrastructure: Salesforce is a widely used CRM system across industries globally. By integrating Cardano with Salesforce, we leverage an existing, robust infrastructure, providing value at a fraction of the cost compared to building a similar infrastructure from scratch.
3. Reach and Impact: Given Salesforce's widespread adoption, our solution can potentially reach millions of users, bringing significant new user engagement and transactions into the Cardano ecosystem. The cost of acquisition of each new user or business coming into Cardano through this project will be extremely cost-efficient.
4. Future Proofing and Scalability: The project focuses on a scalable solution that can grow with the Cardano ecosystem. This means that the initial investment will continue to provide value as the system expands and evolves.
5. Cost-effectiveness: Our project's costs are mainly composed of human resources. Our budget is primarily devoted to development, testing, marketing, and community engagement, ensuring the project's success and widespread adoption.

In conclusion, when considering the potential reach of this project, the strategic importance of bridging the gap between Cardano and Salesforce, and the quality of the team assembled, we firmly believe that our budget proposal offers excellent value for the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept