Replacing the Break-and-Fix Model: Explaining Managed Services for Salesforce

While there’s no doubt Salesforce is the leading and most powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software today, it’s effectiveness and efficiency is heavily reliant on how effectively it’s managed and updated. Most people are accustomed to the traditional way of handling Salesforce administration- which has its ups and downs. However, there’s a different approach to do this more effectively. It’s Managed Services for Salesforce, which, with Plumlogix, can be found here Companies that utilize Salesforce usually have a de facto administrator, who in most cases, is an expensive, full-time admin dedicated to Salesforce. Quite often, companies rely on their IT personnel who are already assigned to other duties to also managed their Salesforce org. We have even witnessed CXOs who have responsibilities tied to running Salesforce. For many small and mid-sized companies, acquiring outsourced professional services, either to act as the primary administrator or to give support to someone on the internal team who handles that role, this can seem like the only practical way. However, there are other options. As you’ll soon discover, the old model is ineffective and reactive to solving problems that have already occurred. It does very little to prevent problems from developing. Thankfully, with managed services for Salesforce, there’s a preemptive solution. Considering the ability to leverage the expertise of thoroughly staffed Salesforce admin teams available with the managed services option, it’s undoubtedly far more cost-effective.

Before There Was Managed Services for Salesforce (The Break-And-Fix Era)

Before Managed Services for Salesforce, there was only one way to know when there was a tech problem with a server, desktop, or any other essential networking device: when it failed. There was then a chaotic scramble to repair the devices, a pattern known as the break-fix model for handling tech issues. Productivity and revenue loss were among the results of this debacle, making it costly and outdated. Although the break-and-fix model was probably the only solution available then, it was always tiresome, frustrating, slow, and inefficient. And as time passed, the IT industry has evolved with key leaders investing heavily in problem-solving research to discover new and modern techniques to resolve the break-and-fix model’s inefficiencies. This paid off and opened opportunities for growth, change, and a far better way of accomplishing critical technology goals.

Managed Services for Salesforce—The Better Way

With the advent of Managed Services for Salesforce, the real solution has been presented to replace the break-fix model. The managed services model supports and employs the philosophy of a more pro-active approach to preventing problems than the reactive approach. Systems that signal problems approaching and identify solutions are developed, effectively blocking many risk factors. This system focuses on preventing the issues that can disrupt employees’ workflow, interfere with management, or derail revenue avenues. The managed services for the Salesforce method has been used since the 1990s, only then it was reserved only for Fortune 500 companies that could afford its implementation. This was costly to operate for small businesses, and cost-prohibitive. The concept of managed services has been around for some time, but managed services for Salesforce is relatively new. By 2005, however, the system matured in some industries, allowing small and mid-sized companies to take advantage of managed services for Salesforce without going bankrupt.  The same principles apply, and it’s a tested and proven model.

The Challenges Of The Break-And-Fix Mentality

There are numerous pitfalls associated with the break-fix mentality. If, for example, there is an overworked and overwhelmed IT department, it may very well be unable to keep up with patches and security updates. The system then becomes vulnerable to outages and disruption, which may lead to more severe problems in the near or distant future. Companies would most likely want their teams to focus on developing strong customer relationships, rather than the distraction of fixing tech problems, or creating reports and researching answers to questions around the tech problems and features. This is what has been happening under the break-fix method. Users experience problems under the break-fix system and are forced to wait for an admin or the IT department to address them. Again, productivity is affected, and teams become frustrated, which decreases engagement levels, which in turn may affect data quality, analytics, and reports.

Enter The Benefits Of Salesforce Managed Services

Systems are always up to date under this model. Users in the IT field need not concern themselves with staying abreast of the latest upgrades, patches, and security protocols–those are already built into the system. With managed services for Salesforce, questions about new developments can be answered by the click of a button or a simple phone call empowering organizations to cut down on costs, limit frustrations, and allow seamless workflow. Engagement then increases for the user, along with the quality of data within the system. Better data means that reports and analytics are more accurate, which consequently leads to better business decisions by the management. Sales and marketing campaigns can now be designed to be more relevant to the intended target market. Problems and risk factors can be identified well before a crisis develops, decreasing the potential disruption that definitely leads to frustrations. Sales teams are more productive when they focus on core values, like building customer relationships, as this is the backbone of any sales and marketing entity.

Use Managed Services for Salesforce to Increase Sales and Reduce Costs

If you haven’t realized it yet, using managed services for Salesforce can be the single most influential decision to supercharge your growing company to greater heights. Managed services for Salesforce brings a comprehensive solution through the adoption of a whole team of experts with excellent Salesforce records and experience, able to handle all issues related to your org. In a real sense, this method is far less costly than hiring a whole in-house team, including admins and consultants. The services administered under this arrangement can vary from one organization to another. Still, it definitely covers issues such as keeping the database clean and optimized, identifying poor usage of reports, facilitating higher user adoption rates, and deploying other creative approaches aimed at ensuring your Salesforce investment pays off. Using managed services for Salesforce allows companies to predict their monthly expenditure, as most companies that offer this service charge a fixed monthly fee, making planning easy and predictable. As the latest statistics have proven, companies that have adopted this modern approach report improved sales, efficiency, and reduced expenditure on Salesforce administration and management costs. This is even made better if your org is appropriately configured, managed, and administrated. Sales flows are optimized, allowing for faster closing of deals and better customer relationships. As for management, they have immediate access to the reporting, making the decision-making process much quicker and more data-guided. Managed services for Salesforce represents a revolution in IT, and it is proven to be a superior service model in a variety of industries. This model improves organizations and the way of life for users. If you are ready to start the journey to making your Salesforce org more efficient, benefit higher ROIs, and more, talk to us today. We will walk the journey with you. If you are not sure whether managed services for Salesforce is for you and would prefer to your org investment audited and reviewed, follow this link.