Migrate from Sobot Omnichannel Suite to Zoho Desk

Sobot's unified Customer records contain both individual contact fields and organizational data that Zoho Desk separates into Contact and Account objects. We split Sobot Customers during migration by extracting organizational fields (company name, industry, annual revenue, website) into Zoho Desk Accounts and personal fields (first name, last name, phone, email) into Contacts linked via AccountId lookup. The Sobot Customer external ID is preserved as contactExtId and accountExtId for cross-reference. Sobot's customer tags migrate as Zoho Desk tags on Contact.

Sobot Tickets map directly to Zoho Desk Tickets with status, priority, and resolution fields transferred 1:1 where equivalent enumerations exist. Sobot's channel field (email, chat, WhatsApp, phone, social) maps to Zoho Desk's channel picklist. The Sobot ticket closed timestamp and resolution notes preserve as Zoho Desk Resolution fields. Sobot's SLA timers require recalculation in Zoho Desk against the new SLA rules configured pre-migration.

Sobot conversation threads with message history and internal notes transfer as Zoho Desk Ticket Threads. Each Sobot message entry (customer message, agent reply, internal note) becomes a Thread record in Zoho Desk. Agent handoff context from Sobot is preserved as a thread annotation or ticket comment for audit. Sobot's channel origin (which channel the conversation started on) migrates as the ticket channel field value.

Sobot Agent records map to Zoho Desk Agents by email match. Sobot agent role and status fields map to Zoho Desk Agent properties. We resolve agents before ticket migration begins because OwnerId references are required on ticket insert. Agents without a matching Zoho Desk account enter a reconciliation queue for the customer admin to provision.

Sobot's skills-based routing configurations and team structures map to Zoho Desk Departments and Groups. Sobot team assignments with skills metadata convert to Department structure with Groups scoped inside. Sobot's routing rules (which team or agent handles which ticket type or channel) translate to Zoho Desk Blueprint and Assignment rules configured pre-migration. We document the Sobot team hierarchy during scoping so routing logic is not lost in the transition.

Sobot workflow automation rules are extracted as structured definitions with triggers, conditions, actions, and delays documented in a written handoff inventory. Zoho Desk's Blueprint editor uses a different model than Sobot's visual workflow builder, so automation rules do not migrate as code. We deliver a complete list of active Sobot automations with their logic documented in Zoho Desk Blueprint terms for the customer admin or a Zoho specialist to rebuild.

Sobot task workflow bot definitions including knowledge search nodes, variable collection steps, and action invocations export as structured logic rather than visual drag-and-drop files. Zoho Desk does not include a native visual chatbot builder at standard tiers. We extract the Sobot chatbot logic as a structured document describing flow states, branching conditions, and escalation triggers. The customer's admin rebuilds bot logic using Zoho Desk's Blueprint for ticket routing or a third-party bot integration.

Sobot custom fields on Customer records and Tickets require field-level mapping during migration scoping. Sobot field types map to Zoho Desk standard types (string, integer, decimal, currency, checkbox, dropdown, date). We note that Zoho Desk custom fields are scoped to individual departments, so a custom field created in one department is not automatically visible in another. We pre-configure required custom fields in the target department before ticket import begins.

Sobot KB Articles and KB Categories transfer to Zoho Desk as standard articles with category assignments. Sobot's knowledge optimization data (search keywords, related articles, article ratings metadata) maps to article tags and metadata fields in Zoho Desk. Note that Knowledge Base attachments do not migrate; they must be manually re-uploaded to Zoho Desk articles post-migration. Sobot article publication status maps to Zoho Desk article draft or published state.

Sobot's 300+ built-in reports and custom report definitions require manual rebuild in Zoho Desk. Standard Zoho Desk reports are configured during the pre-migration phase. Custom Sobot report definitions are documented in a written handoff with Zoho Desk equivalent report descriptions for the customer admin to rebuild. Dashboard layouts require manual reconstruction in Zoho Desk's analytics module.

Sobot's tagging taxonomy transfers as standard tag assignments on Tickets and Contacts in Zoho Desk. Sobot tag names preserve as Zoho Desk tag values. If Sobot tag categories exist (organized groups of tags), we document the taxonomy in the handoff inventory for the customer admin to optionally re-create as Zoho Desk tag groups.

Sobot channel configurations for email, chat, WhatsApp, and social messaging are preserved as channel-type metadata on Zoho Desk tickets (which channel the ticket originated from). The active channel connections themselves require re-authentication in Zoho Desk post-migration. WhatsApp requires a new WhatsApp Business API account linked to Facebook Business Manager and must go through WhatsApp Business account verification before the channel is live in Zoho Desk.