Salesforce, a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, has transformed the way businesses interact with their customers. However, managing changes within a Salesforce organization (org) is not without its challenges. This article provides a roundup of some of the immediate and potential issues Salesforce users face, based on insights shared by members of an online community.
Current Issues in Salesforce Management
Salesforce Data Integrity
Data integrity is a major concern for many Salesforce admins. This issue often arises from disparate data sources leading to inconsistency and redundancy. Without proper ownership and oversight, this problem could escalate quickly, affecting business operations and decision-making.
Storage for Files In Salesforce
Several users have expressed dissatisfaction with Salesforce’s current file storage system, especially in relation to Salesforce communities. The existing setup does not efficiently support the increasing need for paperless solutions and the storage costs for adding gigabytes are considered excessive. This issue is anticipated to become more pressing as the external user base continues to grow.
Technical Debt and Short-Sighted Decisions
Some organizations are now facing the consequences of accumulated technical debt and decisions made without considering long-term implications. For instance, these include running out of custom fields in major objects due to lack of cleanup after initiatives, or uninstalling packages after partnerships have ended.
Permissions Management
Managing permissions, profiles, and roles for a large user base is another significant challenge. This task is complex and time-consuming, demanding dedicated support personnel in larger organizations.
Inefficient Development Practices
Many organizations are realizing the impact of inefficient or low-quality development practices in the early stages of Salesforce implementation. This includes problematic backend build and inappropriate data types in field labels which require extensive conversion and modification efforts.
Future Challenges in Salesforce Management
Over Customization
In the long term, many Salesforce admins foresee the potential pitfalls of over-customization. While Salesforce’s flexibility allows for extensive customization to cater to unique business processes, this can result in overly complex systems that are difficult to maintain and adapt to future changes.
Compliance with Salesforce Policies
Organizations also need to prepare for Salesforce’s policies, such as maintaining a minimum 75% code coverage for Apex code. Non-compliance could potentially disrupt business operations.
Technical Debt and Data Quality
Lastly, the future also holds challenges in the form of increasing technical debt and data quality issues, especially with a high number of integrations.
In summary, Salesforce orgs face a variety of challenges, both present and future. By sharing these insights, organizations can learn from each other and develop proactive strategies to manage their Salesforce environments effectively.