Unlike ERP software which are purchased, implemented and managed with IT oversight, Salesforce is a SaaS solution sold directly at departmental levels such as marketing, sales, commerce, and customer service. And, since it doesn’t require a major on-premises installation, it’s so much faster and simpler to deploy and start benefitting from. However, there is still an equal level of investment involved, which is various kinds of experts, such as developers, integration specialists, project managers, business analysts, and more, to manage and scale Salesforce for a growing business. This is one aspect that businesses seldom worry about, more so in the beginning. But, once Salesforce is deployed and needs to be managed, the need is felt sooner than later.
And once the requirement arises, businesses hire a Salesforce Administrator to manage and maintain the platform. These administrators definitely have the knowledge and experience required to customize and maintain the solution, but they seldom have the other specialized skills needed to manage, scale and integrate mission-critical organization-wide software, with the evolving business.
Another situation arises, specially in mid-market businesses, when Salesforce starts with a single department and doesn’t require a full-time team of developers, project managers, analysts, and specialists to support it. But as the usage expands to other departments, courtesy of its awesome features that attracts all the leaders to leverage it, the one Salesforce Administrator gets stretched too thin to meet all the new needs of the business. Which results to an underutilized Salesforce, incapable of delivering the results it ought to.