Connected education and citizen services with Salesforce

In education and public service, digital transformation is not just about launching a portal or automating a form. It is about making complex, high-touch journeys feel simpler for the people who rely on them most, while giving staff the visibility, workflow support and connected data they need to serve at speed. Publicis Sapient helps organizations use Salesforce to design and deliver these end-to-end digital ecosystems, connecting service, communications, case management, portals, data and integration into one more cohesive operating model.

Our approach is built for environments where journeys span multiple teams, systems and moments of need. A parent may begin with an inquiry, move into admissions, upload documents, sign forms, pay fees and later request support. A citizen may apply for assistance, submit eligibility information, respond to follow-up questions and track case progress across multiple touchpoints. In both scenarios, fragmented systems create friction for users and manual work for staff. Publicis Sapient helps replace that fragmentation with connected experiences powered by Salesforce.

Turning disconnected journeys into connected ecosystems

Many organizations in education and public services still operate across legacy platforms, spreadsheets, email chains and siloed databases. That makes even simple journeys harder than they need to be. Users must repeat information, staff lack a complete picture of the case or relationship, and leadership has limited visibility into demand, status and outcomes.

Publicis Sapient addresses these challenges by treating Salesforce as more than a standalone CRM. We use it as part of a broader digital business transformation agenda that brings together strategy, product thinking, experience design, engineering, data and AI. The result is a connected ecosystem that can unify front-office engagement with back-office operations.

A digital-first model for student and parent engagement

Aldar Education provides a strong example of what this looks like in practice. Publicis Sapient helped create a centralized, digital-first education ecosystem designed to improve engagement, simplify operations and deliver a more seamless experience for students, parents and staff.

The transformation brought together Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Education Cloud, an Experience portal, Service Cloud ticketing, DocuSign integration and MuleSoft connectivity across 13 student information systems. Instead of moving through disconnected processes, families could engage through a more unified journey that supported communications, applications, document management and service interactions in one connected environment.

This approach helped create a 360-degree student profile and gave parents a digital portal to track applications and manage documents. It also automated parts of student services, supported secure digital forms for consent and medical information, and gave teams better tools for handling service issues and case-related workflows.

The business impact was significant: a 70% reduction in the enrollment process, 90% of fee collection moved online and more than 21,000 leads managed on a unified platform. The solution also supported more than 16,000 active students, over 5,400 applications and more than 400 cases. Just as important, it created a stronger operational foundation for future growth.

Why the same model matters in citizen services

The needs of public sector and citizen-service organizations are different in context, but often similar in structure. Programs such as application processing, emergency assistance, case handling, recruitment and resident support all require a joined-up model across intake, review, communication, decisioning and follow-through.

Publicis Sapient helps public sector organizations modernize these workflows with Salesforce-powered platforms that improve transparency, speed and operational efficiency. Digital applications can flow directly into Salesforce, supporting documentation can be captured in one place, and staff can see where a person is in the process without relying on disconnected handoffs.

This is especially valuable in high-volume or time-sensitive programs. In application and relief scenarios, for example, teams need to intake requests, assign work, review documentation, track status and maintain audit-ready records. When that process is digitized and centralized, staff can respond faster and with greater consistency. Users benefit from clearer pathways, better communication and less uncertainty.

The same principles apply to other public service use cases, including public safety recruitment and onboarding, support workflows, and broader citizen engagement initiatives. Salesforce can help connect marketing, application management, service, hiring and onboarding into a single experience ecosystem, with personalized communications, help resources, progress visibility and stronger coordination across departments.

Connecting service, communications and operations

What makes these transformations effective is not any one cloud in isolation. It is the way the ecosystem works together.

Publicis Sapient combines Service Cloud for case handling and support workflows, Marketing Cloud for personalized outreach, Experience Cloud for portals and communities, Data Cloud for unifying data and MuleSoft for integration across the wider technology estate. This cross-cloud model helps organizations design around user needs instead of system boundaries.

For end users, that means more seamless journeys across discovery, application, service and follow-up. For staff, it means fewer swivel-chair processes, better access to information and more efficient workflows. For leadership, it means stronger reporting, improved visibility and a clearer view of where bottlenecks, demand spikes or service issues are emerging.

In complex environments, MuleSoft plays a critical role by connecting Salesforce to legacy applications, student information systems, departmental tools and external platforms. Integration reduces duplication, improves data quality and creates a more resilient foundation for change. Data Cloud strengthens that foundation further by helping unify information across touchpoints so organizations can personalize engagement, improve segmentation and ground automation or AI in connected data.

Designed for high-touch, people-first environments

Education and citizen services are not low-friction retail transactions. They are often emotionally important, operationally complex and deeply personal. That is why Publicis Sapient brings a human-centered, experience-led approach to Salesforce transformation.

We design ecosystems that make it easier for people to navigate important journeys while helping organizations operate with greater agility and control. That means simplifying admissions and enrollment. It means making forms, documents and support easier to manage. It means giving staff a single view of the person they are serving. And it means building platforms that can evolve over time rather than locking organizations into a one-time implementation mindset.

For leaders in education, government and adjacent public service environments, the opportunity is clear: connect journeys end to end, remove friction for students, parents and communities, and create a more visible, automated and efficient operating model for the teams behind the experience.