Salesforce License Optimization -Maximize your contract

Today we’re going to look at Salesforce license optimization.

Salesforce is one of the most popular and powerful CRM platforms used by businesses of all sizes across industries.

However, Salesforce licenses can be expensive, and companies often struggle to maximize their investment in the platform. Salesforce optimization is the process of fine-tuning your Salesforce usage to get the most out of your investment.

In this article, we’ll cover what Salesforce optimization is, why it’s important, and how you can optimize your Salesforce license to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and drive better business outcomes.

What is Salesforce License Optimization?

Salesforce optimization analyzes your usage and identifies opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and drive better business outcomes.

It involves evaluating your Salesforce licenses, user roles, data usage, and integrations to determine areas where you can streamline operations, reduce waste, and leverage the full power of the platform. Salesforce optimization can help you:

• Reduce costs: By identifying unnecessary licenses, redundant data, and inefficient processes, you can save on licensing and maintenance fees.
• Improve productivity: By optimizing user roles, automating processes, and integrating Salesforce with other systems, you can improve productivity and collaboration across your organization.
• Drive better business results: By leveraging the full power of the Salesforce platform, you can improve sales, marketing, customer service, and other key business functions.

How do I optimize a Salesforce license?

To optimize your Salesforce license, you need to take a systematic approach to evaluating your Salesforce usage and identifying opportunities for improvement. Here are some steps you can take to optimize your Salesforce license:

Step 1: Evaluate your current Salesforce usage

The first step in optimizing your Salesforce license is to evaluate your current usage. This involves analyzing your Salesforce data, user roles, and licenses to identify areas where you can streamline operations, reduce waste, and leverage the full power of the platform. Some key areas to evaluate include:

• User roles: Are your users assigned to the right roles and permissions? Are there any redundant or unnecessary user roles?
• Licenses: Do you have the right number and type of licenses for your organization? Are you paying for any unnecessary licenses?
• Data usage: Are you storing and using your data effectively? Are there any unnecessary or redundant data fields?

Step 2: Identify areas for improvement

Once you’ve evaluated your Salesforce usage, the next step is to identify areas for improvement. This involves analyzing your Salesforce data and identifying areas where you can optimize your usage and save costs. Some areas to consider include:

• User roles: Can you consolidate or eliminate roles to reduce complexity and save costs?
• Licenses: Can you downgrade or eliminate any unnecessary licenses to save costs?
• Data usage: Can you clean up and streamline your data usage to reduce clutter and improve efficiency?

Step 3: Implement optimization strategies

The final step in optimizing your Salesforce license is to implement strategies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and drive better business outcomes. Some strategies to consider include:

• User role optimization: Consolidate or eliminate unnecessary user roles to simplify operations and reduce costs.
• License optimization: Downgrade or eliminate unnecessary licenses to save costs.
• Data optimization: Clean up and streamline data usage to improve efficiency and reduce clutter.
• Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and workflows to improve productivity and reduce errors.
• Integration: Integrate Salesforce with other systems to improve collaboration and streamline operations.

FAQs:

Q: What are some common mistakes companies make regarding Salesforce optimization?
A: Some common mistakes include overprovisioning licenses, not properly managing user roles, and failing to leverage Salesforce’s automation.

Q: How often should I evaluate my Salesforce usage for optimization?
A: It’s recommended to evaluate your Salesforce usage for optimization at least once a year or whenever there are significant changes to your organization or Salesforce usage.

Q: How can I measure the effectiveness of my Salesforce optimization efforts?
A: You can measure the effectiveness of your Salesforce optimization efforts by tracking metrics such as license utilization, user adoption, and business outcomes such as increased sales or improved customer satisfaction.

A step-by-step guide to approaches for optimizing your Salesforce license usage and costs

Step 1: Determine license level based on features required When assigning licenses to users, it’s essential to consider their individual needs and determine which license level and features they require. This will help to avoid over-licensing and reduce unnecessary costs.

Step 2: Conduct periodic audits to identify unused, under-used, and misused licenses. Periodically auditing your Salesforce usage will help you identify areas where licenses are unused or under-utilized. This can help you spot cases of over-licensing, which can become candidates for license downsizing.

Step 3: Recycle unused licenses and right-size under-used and misused licenses. Recycling unused licenses and right-sizing under-used and misused licenses can help to reduce costs and optimize your Salesforce license usage. This involves identifying no longer needed licenses and re-assigning them to other users who require them.

Step 4: Have the courage to right-size licenses of senior persons. Licensing challenges often arise when senior-level users are assigned higher-level licenses than required. A robust IT organization must be able to persuade senior users to accept lower-cost licenses in line with their actual usage.

Step 5: Use connectors to access Salesforce data instead of licenses If your organization continues to use other applications, not all users need to be migrated to Salesforce. Connectors to Salesforce can be built, and users can continue to use other applications while still being able to access the data they need from Salesforce.

By following these steps, you can optimize your Salesforce license usage and costs and ensure you are getting the most out of your investment in the platform.

Three tips on Salesforce license optimization

For feature-specific Salesforce licenses: Some users may require additional functionality beyond what their Salesforce licenses provide. These features are available through “Feature licenses,” which come at an additional monthly cost. However, these functionalities can also be built using custom code by Salesforce experts, internally or through a third party. The one-time cost of building custom code can save you thousands of dollars in recurring monthly costs.

For AppExchange products: The Salesforce marketplace offers a variety of products, including free options that should be considered before purchasing Salesforce feature licenses or investing in custom functionality. Even paid AppExchange products can be cost-effective, as they may be available at a one-time cost instead of an equivalent functionality through recurring Salesforce license costs. Consider building custom functionalities if an AppExchange product does not fully meet your needs.

For Community licenses: Community licenses are the least expensive Salesforce licenses and are designed for use by customers and suppliers within your organization’s ecosystem. You can purchase a specific number of “logins” or a certain number of user licenses based on your number of users. To save on licensing costs, audit your Community license usage to detect overestimated usage.

How to determine your Salesforce Licensing Usage

Step-by-step guide for determining the correct set of Salesforce licenses:

1. Collect data on user login behavior: To gain transparency into your user’s login activity, collect data on their login behavior. This will give you complete visibility into which product licenses are being used and by whom.
   
2. Organize data based on community and license type: Organize your data based on community type, license type, number of logins, and login frequency. This will help you understand which licenses are used most frequently and which types of users.
   
3. Reassign users to cost-efficient license types: Reassign users to the most cost-efficient license type based on their usage patterns. Measure the savings of each combination and permutation without compromising user needs. This will help you identify the most cost-effective license type for each user.

Common Salesforce optimization opportunities

Salesforce license usage and operational opportunities:

1. Overspending on Salesforce setup: Organizations often overspend on their setup, preventing them from realizing potential ROI. This is mainly due to under-utilized licenses, which leads to overshooting expenses.
   
2. Under-utilized license features: Users may be assigned a Salesforce license type that does not match their product usage requirement. This can result in under-utilized license features, which further adds to the costs.
   
3. Under-leveraged license entitlements: Entitlements in the contract, such as multiple installation rights on the same device, downgrade or upgrade rights, and the right of second use, may not be required based on usage. This can result in under-leveraged license entitlements, which lead to additional expenses.
   
4. Lesser number of licenses being used: Resources counted while purchasing a Salesforce license may not match the actual usage. This can result in fewer licenses being used, leading to additional expenses.

Organizations can optimize their Salesforce license usage, reduce costs, and increase ROI by identifying and addressing these issues.

Best practices for Salesforce license optimization

1. Salesforce usage report: Periodically review your Salesforce usage report to identify areas for optimization. Match the reported usage with the data generated from Salesforce to ensure accuracy.
   
2. Renewals: On license renewal, consider the data collected above to determine the number of user licenses. This will help you avoid overspending on licenses that are not being fully utilized.
   
3. License reduction on renewal: Ask for a license reduction through your admin or account executive at the time of renewals. This will help you save on licensing costs without compromising your Salesforce usage.
   
4. Access allocation: List all stakeholder departments and the feature used by respective users. This will facilitate optimal allocation and access to the right license type, eventually reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).
   
5. Adoption approach: A top-down approach is critical to systematically adopting Salesforce within the organization as it multiplies advantages derived from planned implementation. Ensure that the adoption approach is well-communicated and understood throughout the organization.
   
6. Agreement: Client organizations should study the End User License Agreement (EULA) to understand entitlements conferred after the purchase. Understanding the EULA will help you make informed decisions about your licensing needs and avoid unnecessary expenses.

By following these best practices, organizations can optimize their Salesforce license usage, reduce costs, and maximize ROI.

Salesforce license optimization service:

• Review of Salesforce agreement: Our team will review your Salesforce agreement to identify any areas for improvement and suggest ways to optimize your licensing.
  
• Salesforce usage review: We will review your usage to identify areas where licenses are being underutilized or not being used.
  
• Match users to the correct edition: Our team will help you match your users to the right Salesforce edition based on their usage patterns and business needs.
  
• Proposed optimized licensing: Based on our findings, we will propose an optimized way of licensing Salesforce to help you reduce costs and maximize ROI.
  
• Salesforce negotiation advisory: Our team will provide advisory services to help you negotiate better terms with Salesforce and reduce licensing costs.

By leveraging our Salesforce license optimization service, you can ensure that you are getting the most value out of your Salesforce investment and reduce licensing costs.

Our experts at Redress Compliance will work with you to identify areas for improvement, optimize your licensing, and negotiate better terms with Salesforce. Contact us today for help!