Salesforce Managed Services vs full-time Salesforce Administrator
Salesforce is arguably the best known and most powerful CRM in the world, it’s also a complex platform that requires expertise to maintain and optimise. Salesforce Managed Services can help you manage and maximise your investment in the platform without having to hire additional full-time staff.
This article discusses what Salesforce Managed Services are, what activities are covered under it, and what the benefits are.
One point of note, generally speaking, the vast majority of SMB’s do not require a full-time Salesforce Administrator. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) enable businesses to access certified Salesforce professionals for as much, or as little, as they need them, which in turn enables businesses to effectively manage their platform while reducing costs.
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Managed Service Benefits
Cost Saving
Being the world’s most popular CRM Platform, Salesforce certified professionals are highly qualified, in-demand and will often charge a premium for their skillset. Instead of paying full time salaries for Administrators, Developers, etc, you instead pay a flat monthly fee for your Managed Service support package.
Additionally, MSPs offer tiered levels of support with packages to suit every budget and business need with support plans ranging from 24/7, to just a few hours a week.
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Expertise
MSPs will provide your business with access to a range of certified Salesforce experts, ranging from Advanced Administrators, Developers, to Consultants and Architects. Systep’s team of experts have extensive experience adhering to and implementing Salesforce best practice.
Utilising an MSP provides your business with access to significantly more knowledge than you would gain with a typical Salesforce administrator. Many admins will only have the base level Administrator Credential and will often progress out of the role of administrator meaning the admin you hire today, might well move on to being a Developer elsewhere in a year or so.
Time Saving
By outsourcing your Salesforce administration to an MSP, a company can very quickly obtain the full support structure they need for their business users. Onboarding of new clients will proceed much quicker than the typical hiring process of a part-time or full-time administrator without the inherent recruitment costs.
Staff Augmentation
Perhaps you already have a solid Salesforce administrator but they’re not keeping up with demand. With Salesforce Managed Services, you can provide additional resource to your organisation and current admin. Additionally, you will ensure continuity when your admin goes on holiday or is out sick by simply using more of the hours from the Managed Service support package.
Flexibility and Scalability
As your business grows it may require additional support. MSPs offer a range of packages to suit your business’s needs, if your business requires more support hours you can simply contact your provider and request a package change. Additionally, if for whatever reason you require a reduction in support hours that can usually be accommodated.
Enhancements/Customisation
Salesforce MSPs provide businesses with the expertise to implement bespoke customisation to the Salesforce platform. From automating essential business processes with Apex and Flows to creating reports and dashboards, managed service providers can help to make your users more efficient and enhance business productivity.
Increased service levels
One of the key elements of a Managed Service agreement is a service-level agreement (SLA) for response times. This ensures your business users will always receive a rapid response to a query or request as meeting SLA times is a top priority for MSP’s.
CompTIA survey shows Managed Service Providers save you money
A Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) poll of 400 IT and business professionals found that:
At least 46% of companies using managed services reduced their budget by 25% or more.
13% out of these 46% estimated their total savings at 50% percent or more.
Another 50% of participants reported that they have cut annual IT costs by 1% to 24%
This translates into a staggering 96% of participants saying Managed Services saved them money. Additionally, 89% of current Managed Services users have stated that they are satisfied with their experience, citing uptime, security, agreeable contract terms and flexibility among the reasons for their satisfaction.
A Direct Comparison
| Salesforce Administrator | Salesforce Managed Services | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Savings | There are many costs associated with an in-house employee, including salary, employee costs, office space, training, etc. | Managed Services providers allow business to access Salesforce expertise when they need it, in turn significantly reducing costs when compared to a full-time employee. |
| Recruiting and retaining | Recruiting and retaining skilled employees, as well as establishing a good Salesforce team can be difficult. It requires businesses to post job adverts, conduct lengthy interviews and potentially pay pricey recruitment fees. Additionally, if an employee leaves it can take a great deal of time to replace them. | From the second you select your provider and support package you are good to go and have a wealth of Salesforce knowledge at your fingertips. |
| Flexibility | A Salesforce Administrator is always full-time irrespective of their workload and the business requirements. | MSPS provide flexibility to suit your business requirements. If the business requires additional support hours they can opt for a higher package. Additionally, they can reduce their support package if less support is required. |
| Expertise | Most Admins will only have the base level Administrator Credential. Additionally, once an admin has acquired additional credentials, they will often move out of the role of Administrator, meaning your Admin may well move on after a few more certifications. | Salesforce Managed Services providers provide businesses with access to Certified Advanced Administrators, Developers, Consultants, and Architects. |
Summary
Whether you are a start-up, an established SMB or an enterprise, using a Systep’s Salesforce Managed Services to outsource your Salesforce administration is an efficient and cost effective way to manage your Salesforce system.
It not only allows you to reduce costs, but also provides your business with a flexible team of experts with expertise far beyond a typical Salesforce Administrator.
With each release, Salesforce adds and improves a range of new features, keeping up with all the platform enhancements can be quite challenging for a Salesforce administrator.
Fundamentally though, MSPs provide businesses with peace of mind knowing that they have a team of experts always at their disposal to ensure continuous support as the platform evolves and develops alongside their business.