Salesforce solution architect · Melbourne

From complex requirements to CRM that works.

Salesforce solution architecture for financial services — AI-accelerated discovery and design, delivered alongside your developers, testers and people.

Get in touch See how I work

Platforms

Financial Services Cloud
Experience Cloud
OmniStudio
Data Cloud
Agentforce
MuleSoft
Boomi

Introduction

More about me

I'm Tariq, a solution architect specialising in Salesforce and enterprise CRM. I help insurers, wealth managers and the consulting partners who serve them turn business problems into solutions that get built, tested and adopted. I use AI to move faster through discovery and design — and I stay with the team until it's live.

Based: Melbourne, Australia
Works with: End clients and consulting partners
Industries: Insurance, wealth management, banking
Focus: Salesforce and enterprise CRM

What I do

Four core services. Four more cover build, testing, adoption and AI readiness.

AI-accelerated discovery and requirements

Uncover the real requirements fast — from your data, systems and people, not just workshops.

You getA validated requirements baseline, data dictionary, and a list of decisions with owners.

Customer journey and process design

Map how work happens today and design how it should happen tomorrow.

You getClear journey maps and process diagrams business and IT both sign off.

Solution architecture and design

Turn requirements into a solution developers can build without guesswork.

You getDeveloper-ready design documents, published to your Confluence or documentation tool.

Integration architecture

Connect CRM to the systems that run your business.

You getAn integration design that de-risks your critical path.

All eight services

How I work

AI does the heavy lifting on analysis and documentation. I do the thinking, the decisions, and the work with your people.

AI-accelerated

01
Discover
02
Map the journeys
03
Design the solution

With your people

04
Build with developers
05
Test with testers
06
Change and adoption

See the full method

Experience

21 years of experience delivering CRM and enterprise solutions across many projects, working directly with end clients such as realestate.com.au, Bendigo Bank and ANZ, and as a specialist subcontractor to consulting partners and Salesforce Professional Services.

Why work with me

AI-augmented, human-led
I use AI to analyse data, map processes and draft designs in days, not weeks — and I own every decision.
Data before assumptions
I find requirements in your data and systems, so workshops start from evidence.
Standard first
Configuration before customisation, so your platform stays upgradeable and adoptable.
Developer-ready designs
Specs structured so developers — and their AI tools — can build without guesswork.
Scope you can trust
Fixed-fee experience means scoping first and estimating honestly.
With you to go-live
Design, build, test, release and handover — not a document drop.

Services

I turn business problems into buildable CRM solutions, then stay until they work.

CRM first: Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, Experience Cloud, Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, with core-system integration through middleware.

Services: 8
Engagement models: 4
Sector: Financial services

AI-accelerated discovery and requirements

Uncover the real requirements fast — from your data, systems and people, not just workshops.

Data-first discovery: analyse source extracts and legacy data to find how the business actually works before anyone writes a requirement
AI-assisted analysis of large data files, transcripts and existing documentation
Data dictionaries, lifecycle analysis and gap analysis
Stakeholder interviews and workshops, framed around evidence

You getA validated requirements baseline, data dictionary, and a list of decisions with owners.

Customer journey and process design

As-is → to-be

Map how work happens today and design how it should happen tomorrow.

As-is process and journey mapping across teams and systems
To-be journeys designed around standard platform capability first
Workflow and state diagrams (e.g. quote-to-policy, onboarding, fact-find)
Personas and role-based access design

You getClear journey maps and process diagrams business and IT both sign off.

Solution architecture and design

Turn requirements into a solution developers can build without guesswork.

High-level design (HLD) and component-level designs (CLDs)
Data model, sharing and security model, automation design, UI specs
Platform-standard-first design: configuration before customisation
Every decision documented with its rationale

You getDeveloper-ready design documents, published to your Confluence or documentation tool.

Integration architecture

CRM and core systems

Connect CRM to the systems that run your business.

Integration patterns via middleware (MuleSoft, Boomi) and APIs
Staging and ingestion design, idempotency and error handling
Integration with core platforms, document signing, file scanning and storage
Clear must-have vs nice-to-have asks for integration teams

You getAn integration design that de-risks your critical path.

Build partnership with developers

I don't hand over a document and leave — I work alongside the build team.

Design walkthroughs and handover to onshore and offshore developers
Design reviews of developer-authored components
Hands-on problem solving on platform constraints
Specs structured so AI coding tools can generate build artefacts from them

You getA faster build with fewer reworks.

Testing and quality

Make sure what was built is what was designed.

Test scenarios traced to journeys and requirements
Support for SIT, UAT and production readiness
Security review support and remediation design (sharing, access, file handling)
Deployment and release planning across environments

Release path

dev
test
QA
UAT
prod

You getConfidence at go-live.

Change management and adoption

A solution only works if people use it.

Stakeholder alignment and demos to secure sponsorship and funding
Release planning (technical go-live vs business go-live)
Handover documentation for internal Centres of Excellence
Training content and operational runbooks

You getA team that owns and adopts the solution.

AI and data readiness

Agentforce, Data Cloud

Get your CRM ready for AI — clean data, clear processes, safe automation.

Agentforce and AI agent use-case discovery and roadmap
Data Cloud implementation patterns
Rules-driven automation frameworks that AI can safely act on

You getA practical path from today's CRM to AI-enabled operations.

Ways to engage

Pick the model that fits where you are. If you're not sure which one, get in touch.

Partner-embedded architect: Best forConsulting firms and SIs that need senior architecture on a client engagement.
Direct client engagement: Best forOrganisations that want an independent architect on their side.
Discovery sprint (fixed scope): Best forScoping a new requirement before committing to an estimate.
Design and assurance: Best forReviewing an existing design or rescuing an over-customised org.

Get in touch

Fees and payment

I quote every engagement in writing before work starts, so you know the cost up front.

Engagements are proposed on a time-and-materials or outcome-based basis. The payment schedule is agreed in the proposal for each engagement. Partner-embedded work is charged at a day rate and invoiced monthly.
Quotes and invoices are in Australian dollars (AUD), plus GST. Tax invoices show the ABN and the GST amount.
Invoices are due within 14 days.
Pay by bank transfer to the account on the invoice, or by card through the secure payment link on the invoice. Card payments are processed by Stripe, and card details never reach SF Desk.

Refunds and cancellations

How I work

One architect owns the solution from first data file to adoption.

AI accelerates the first three stages. The last three happen alongside your developers, testers and stakeholders.

Stages: 6
AI-accelerated: Stages 1–3
Owner: One architect

AI-accelerated

01
Discover
Use AI to analyse source data, legacy systems, documents and meeting transcripts. Surface the real requirements and open questions before workshops.
02
Map the journeys
Document as-is processes and design to-be journeys with business owners, using standard platform capability first.
03
Design the solution
Produce the high-level design and component-level designs: data model, security, automation, UI and integration, each decision recorded with its rationale.

With your people

04
Build with developers
Walk developers through the design, review their components, and solve platform constraints together. Designs are structured so AI coding tools can use them directly.
05
Test with testers
Trace test scenarios back to journeys, support SIT and UAT, and plan releases across environments.
06
Change and adoption
Demo to stakeholders, plan technical and business go-live, and hand over documentation so the client's team owns it.

AI-augmented, human-led

I use AI to analyse data, map processes and draft designs in days, not weeks — and I own every decision.

Where AI does the heavy lifting

Analysing source data, legacy systems, documents and meeting transcripts
Data dictionaries, lifecycle analysis and gap analysis
Drafting process maps and design documentation
Structuring specs so AI coding tools can generate build artefacts

Where I stay accountable

Every design decision, recorded with its rationale
Stakeholder interviews and workshops, framed around evidence
Design walkthroughs and reviews with your developers
Test scenarios, release plans and handover with your team

About

Solution architecture for Salesforce and enterprise CRM — designed with AI, delivered with people.

Based: Melbourne
Works with: Partners and end clients
Sector: Financial services

Portrait of Tariq — Tariq · Melbourne, Australia

Bio

Tariq is a Melbourne-based Salesforce Solution Architect with deep experience in Financial Services Cloud, Experience Cloud, OmniStudio, Data Cloud and Agentforce. He has 21 years of experience delivering CRM and enterprise solutions, working directly with end clients such as realestate.com.au, Bendigo Bank and ANZ, and as a specialist subcontractor to consulting partners and Salesforce Professional Services. His approach is data-first and AI-augmented: he analyses real data to uncover requirements, maps as-is and to-be journeys, and produces developer-ready designs. He then works with developers through build, testers through quality, and stakeholders through change and adoption. Clients value his clear decision-making, documented rationale and discipline on scope.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mtariqali82

Who I work with

Each group needs something different from an architect. This is what I bring to each.

Consulting partners and Salesforce SIs: A senior architect who can drop into a client engagement, own design, and protect fixed-fee scope.
Enterprise clients in financial services: Someone who understands your business and regulatory context and can bridge business, IT and vendors.
CIOs, Heads of CRM and Product Owners: Clear decisions, documented rationale, and a solution your team can maintain.
Developers, testers and BAs: Specs you can build from without guesswork.

Platforms and expertise

CRM platform: Salesforce Financial Services Cloud (FSC)
Sales Cloud
Service Cloud
Experience Cloud (client and partner portals)
Mobile Publisher
Digital journeys: OmniStudio (OmniScript, Integration Procedures, DataRaptors)
Lightning Web Components
Discovery Framework
Automation: Apex
Flow
Metadata-driven rules frameworks
Business Rules Engine
Action Plans
Data and AI: Data Cloud
Agentforce
Tableau / CRM Analytics
AI-assisted data analysis
Integration: MuleSoft
Boomi
REST APIs
Wealth and insurance core systems
DocuSign
Azure storage and APIs
Security: Sharing and visibility architecture
Apex managed sharing
Portal security
Penetration-test remediation design
DevOps: Multi-environment release pipelines (dev → test → QA → UAT → prod)
Flosum
Release and deployment planning
Ways of working: Confluence
Jira
Lucid / Gliffy diagrams
Agile delivery
Fixed-fee scope management

Industries

Insurance: commercial, broker and intermediary channels
Wealth management and financial advice
Banking

Typical problems I solve

Replacing an over-customised legacy CRM with a standards-based platform
Launching secure client portals for onboarding and fact-finds
Giving sales and relationship teams a single view of pipeline, performance and plans
Connecting CRM to core systems through middleware

Policies

Privacy policy

SF Desk collects only what it needs to reply to you, do the work and get paid. It never sells personal information.

Applies to: SF Desk Pty Ltd
Last updated: 22 October 2026

Who we are

SF Desk Pty Ltd (ABN 62 651 301 156) is a Salesforce solution architecture practice based in Melbourne, Australia. In this policy, "we" means SF Desk.

What we collect

What you send when you email, call or message us: your name, company, contact details and what you tell us about your project.
Billing details for invoices: company name, address, ABN and accounts contact.
Payment records. Card payments are processed by Stripe, and we never see or store full card numbers. Bank transfers appear in our bank records.

This website

The site has no forms, no analytics and no tracking cookies.
It's hosted by Cloudflare, which keeps standard server logs, such as IP addresses, to run and protect the site.
Fonts load from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google when a page loads.

Client information

Data we receive while working on your systems is used only for that engagement, under the confidentiality terms of our agreement.

How we use it

To reply to you and prepare quotes
To deliver the work you engage us for
To invoice you and keep the records the law requires

How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as the work needs it. Business records such as invoices are kept for five years, as the Australian Taxation Office requires.

Your choices

Email us to see or correct the personal information we hold about you, or to ask us to delete it. We'll reply within 10 business days, and delete anything we don't need to keep by law.

Contact

Privacy questions: muhammadtariqali82@gmail.com

From complex requirements to CRM that works.

Introduction

What I do

AI-accelerated discovery and requirements

Customer journey and process design

Solution architecture and design

Integration architecture

AI does the heavy lifting on analysis and documentation. I do the thinking, the decisions, and the work with your people.

Discover

Map the journeys

Design the solution

Build with developers

Test with testers

Change and adoption

Experience

Why work with me

AI-augmented, human-led

Data before assumptions

Standard first

Developer-ready designs

Scope you can trust

With you to go-live

I turn business problems into buildable CRM solutions, then stay until they work.

AI-accelerated discovery and requirements

Customer journey and process design

Solution architecture and design

Integration architecture

Build partnership with developers

Testing and quality

Change management and adoption

AI and data readiness

Ways to engage

Fees and payment

One architect owns the solution from first data file to adoption.

Discover

Map the journeys

Design the solution

Build with developers

Test with testers

Change and adoption

AI-augmented, human-led

Where AI does the heavy lifting

Where I stay accountable

Solution architecture for Salesforce and enterprise CRM — designed with AI, delivered with people.

Bio

Who I work with

Platforms and expertise

Industries

Typical problems I solve

Have a CRM problem worth solving?

What to include

Ways to engage

Refunds and cancellations

Refunds

Raising a concern or dispute

Cancellations

When your agreement says otherwise

Privacy policy

Who we are

What we collect

This website

Client information

How we use it

Who we share it with

How long we keep it

Your choices

Contact

Have a CRM problem worth solving?