How Stretch Engage and Elements.cloud Simplify AI Adoption in Salesforce

To announce our strategic partnership with Stretch Engage, we have invited Joachim Sundbø, Senior Salesforce Consultant, at Stretch Engage, to write a special guest article, for the Elements.cloud blog. Read on to see Joachim’s thoughts.

Why better Salesforce documentation is the key to AI success

As a Salesforce consultant, I tend to ask “Why?” quite a lot. Very often, this is followed by asking “How?”.

Depending on the situation, the answers can be anything from enthusiastic “Here, let me show you!” – to uncertainty, or perhaps worse; “because that’s how we’ve always done it”.

Now, as much as I love speaking with enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and driven people in any capacity, there is something special about really digging into the dirt and uncovering a shared understanding of something formerly arcane. And even better than that? Being able to illustrate and share that new knowledge with someone else in a fraction of the time with good documentation later.

Now, documenting Salesforce Solutions has been something of a challenge historically – and however many times you’d ask peers about best practices, you’re likely to end up with about as many answers. Or, like in the case of my colleague – Rachel O’Brien –  who during her admin training received something of a chuckle when asking “Does Salesforce offer anything that keeps track of everything?”

And really – how do you? How do you create track and update and manage all of this knowledge? All the information about the systems, the people, the connections, complexity, and context? In a way that allows for actually valuable and functional collaboration over time?

Like Rachel and many other consultants, I struggled with effective documentation, cascading technical debt, and spiraling complexity. It took us a very long and frustrating time to find the solution to our Org management pains: Elements.cloud.

Our strategic partnership with Elements.cloud, is an exciting venture, enabling Norwegian enterprises to confidently leverage Salesforce to the fullest – including of course the transformative AI platform, Agentforce. This collaboration isn’t just about clear documentation; it’s about fundamentally reducing technical debt, simplifying complexity, and delivering structured, governed solutions that scale with your AI strategy.

Our understanding of these systems, and the processes surrounding them, is at the end of the day what drives agentic AI. Much like I’m reliant on the knowledgeable people at our customers to show me what they do – we need to be able to tell our systems “Here, let me show you what I need you to do for me”.

People –> Processes –> Data –> AI

Why AI implementation needs a structured approach

Salesforce’s Agentforce promises intelligent digital agents that automate tasks and elevate customer interactions. Yet truly successful AI agents require far more than clever prompts and chatbots. The real challenge is ensuring they’re reliable, compliant, and seamlessly embedded within your organization’s broader processes.

Elements.cloud addresses exactly these challenges. Through clear, visual diagrams and structured governance, Elements enables businesses to:

• Precisely identify and scope AI use-cases clearly and strategically.
• Simplify complexity through visual process mapping (using Universal Process Notation – UPN), enabling everyone involved to easily grasp even sophisticated workflows.
• Proactively reduce and manage technical debt within your Salesforce Org, making future changes, including AI integrations, quicker and less risky.
• Design robust AI agents that reflect your brand standards and maintain consistent compliance.
• Accelerate testing, deployment, and continuous refinement cycles by seamlessly integrating with Salesforce’s Agent Builder, ensuring each iteration of your AI strategy delivers incremental, tangible business value.

One big problem with the challenges described in the previous section isn’t just the documentation, but also the layers of accumulated complexity and technical debt driven by this. Discovering Elements.cloud was transformative, not only in addressing documentation but in our overall approach to Salesforce governance and process simplification.

Stretch Engage & Elements.cloud: a perfect match with Change Intelligence

At Stretch Engage, we believe the foundation of a successful Salesforce implementation isn’t just great technology. We firmly believe structured processes, clear governance, and proactive technical debt clean-up, form the foundations of successful digital transformation. That’s why partnering with Elements.cloud made perfect sense.

Moreover, we believe that fully engaging with and helping the customer become the expert of their own solutions is the most surefire way of ensuring project success, platform longevity, and maximizing ROI on their Salesforce investment.

Elements.cloud is built on the principle of Change Intelligence – helping teams document, understand, and manage changes in their Salesforce Orgs before they impact performance. Their UPN-based process mapping ensures transparency across teams, while AI-driven metadata analysis helps eliminate guesswork in decision-making.

When I first saw Elements.cloud in action, it instantly resonated. I almost could not believe that this wasn’t the global default for implementing change. In particular, their visual use of Universal Process Notation (UPN), reflected how I naturally process and communicate complexity. Elements.cloud wasn’t just another documentation tool. It provided clarity, simplification, and actionability, making complex processes and integrations straightforward, understandable, and manageable: the blueprint for sustainable, long-term Salesforce success. Truly awarding the intelligence needed to change the right way.

At Stretch Engage, our mission is powerful yet straightforward: guide businesses strategically through their Salesforce journeys. With Elements.cloud, we amplify our expertise, helping clients proactively simplify complexity, reduce technical debt, and position themselves for confident, future-ready scalability; especially critical as AI capabilities rapidly evolve.

The foundations for scalable AI adoption are structured governance and strategic implementation

Deploying initial AI agents within Salesforce’s Agentforce often starts simply enough. But as enterprises begin pursuing more complex business outcomes, the need for a structured, sustainable foundation quickly becomes apparent.

Elements.cloud addresses these challenges head-on with intuitive visual frameworks, robust documentation, and clear governance. This structured approach provides full visibility into AI agent logic, maintains consistency with your brand and compliance standards, and ensures smooth, agile integration with Salesforce’s Agent Builder. The result? AI agents that are not just reliable today but remain adaptable and future-ready as your enterprise evolves.

However, successful AI implementation isn’t achieved solely by good governance and documentation. To scale sustainably, businesses need strategic understanding and practical execution expertise. Stretch Engage’s experienced Salesforce consultants strategically identify impactful AI use-cases, expertly integrate AI into your broader Salesforce environment, ensure organizational alignment and buy-in, and support continuous optimization of AI capabilities aligned with your evolving business goals.

This harmony between Elements.cloud’s structured Change Intelligence methodology and Stretch Engage’s deep Salesforce consulting expertise, forms an unbeatable foundation for scalable, sustainable AI success.

Empowering Norwegian enterprises together

Norwegian companies lead digital transformation yet often grapple with scaling AI effectively. Stretch Engage’s Salesforce expertise combined with Elements.cloud’s structured approach ensures Norwegian enterprises can:

• Clearly visualize and simplify complex processes through intuitive visual frameworks (UPN).
• Proactively manage technical debt, reducing risk and accelerating development.
• Build robust, compliant AI agents swiftly, supported by structured governance.
• Iterate, refine and continuously optimize AI agents for sustained effectiveness.
• Maintain brand integrity and compliance consistently as AI scales.
• Stay agile and adaptable amid evolving business and technology landscapes.

Ready to scale your Salesforce AI initiatives with confidence?

The AI revolution isn’t coming. It’s already here. Success depends on more than the technology. It requires structured processes, governance, and the right strategic approach.

Stretch Engage and Elements.cloud are ready to partner with you strategically:

• Talk to us – connect with our EMEA team for structured AI frameworks and visual governance.
• Schedule a chat with the Stretch Engage Team for tailored Salesforce strategic guidance and expert implementation support

Together, we’ll transform your Salesforce AI ambitions into actionable, scalable, and sustainable realities.

And in the meantime – peek through the UPN Module on Trailhead and try this exercise: Pretend you’re going to apply for time off for this summer vacation, and draw out the Activities needed to do so, from end-to-end, including the resources involved and handovers between them. How many hidden complexities do you uncover?