Salesforce Managed Services vs In-house Team: Making the Right Choice

You’ve heard before that you should outsource your workload to a Salesforce managed services provider. That way, you can take advantage of their expertise in the Salesforce platform, and focus on improving your own core business competencies. However, there are also some benefits of self-managing your work internally with an in-house team. This article breaks down both options so that you can make a decision based on your needs.

Also Read: Salesforce Managed Services - Why your company needs it?

What is Salesforce Managed Services?

Salesforce is an enterprise software company that develops CRM products, marketing platforms, and cloud computing. It helps companies of any size to build and sell products, manage customer engagement and service their customers. However, businesses face many challenges in running a Salesforce environment:

Lack of expert resources within an organization
Ever-increasing backlog of requests and projects
Instance not running on peak performance
Challenges in transitioning to newer technologies
Unrealized ROI

Salesforce Managed Services can help you address these challenges by providing a dedicated team of experts who will keep your Salesforce applications up and running. It helps you focus on selling your products and services instead of resolving technical issues.

Salesforce managed services deal with upgrading, maintaining, securing, and supporting your Salesforce platform. With this service, you will have a dedicated team of qualified professionals working in your Salesforce environment 24/7. They will upgrade your environment as new versions come out and take care of patches, security updates, and upgrades for third-party apps and integrations you use for your business. In addition, they can also assist with custom development needs so you don't have to hire internal teams or developers for this purpose.

With this managed service solution you will receive:

Technical support from a dedicated team of Salesforce experts – 24/7/365;
Reliable performance by receiving regular updates;
Reduced costs by eliminating unexpected expenses;
Peace of mind with guaranteed SLA compliance;
Reliability of your data stored on leading-edge infrastructure;
Improved employee productivity with uninterrupted access to business-critical applications;
Predictable budgeting with a fixed cost for ongoing maintenance services;
Optimized use of your time and effort by outsourcing the routine work

Benefits of Salesforce Managed Services

The benefits of Salesforce Managed Services include:

Optimized Processes: Helps in optimizing your business processes by introducing automation, smooth data flow, custom reports, and clean dashboards.
Updated Instance: Deploying Salesforce critical updates and new functionalities keep your Salesforce instance up to date.
Scale: When you're looking to scale quickly, your Salesforce instance has to be able to keep up, too. A managed service provider will take care of all these issues for you, leaving you free to focus on growing your business without worrying about whether or not your systems can keep up with demand.
Increased Productivity - By reducing the amount of time spent on managing the Salesforce environment, your team can spend more time on core activities like generating leads and closing deals.
Reduced Risk - It's not a secret that your Salesforce environment is vital for your business' success. This is why the MSP will perform regular backups and keep your data safe from malicious attacks.
Improved Security - When it comes to security, there is no room for error because even one breach can result in serious consequences for your business. Your MSP provider will make sure that your data is protected from unauthorized access by applying strict security protocols and performing regular data protection audits.

Salesforce MSP vs In-house Teams : Pros & Cons
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Factors Inhouse Teams Salesforce MSP Costs Expensive as good developers come at high salaries. Cost-effective as you can find an MSP as per your budget. Also, there are costs involved in training, benefits, and office space. ControlProvides you complete controlLimited to contract termsScalabilityLimited as it takes time to hire and train peopleHigh scalability as MSPs can quickly allocate more resources as per your needs.ExpertiseDepends on the quality of developers you have in your team.Most MSPs have developers who have experience working on multiple projects across industries.ManagementUsual challenges of managing a team, handling attrition challenges, etc.Easy management with streamlined communication and work review processes.
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Considerations For Hiring a Salesforce Managed Services Provider

There's no shortage of companies out there offering Salesforce services, but deciding who to hire is a challenging task. When it comes to selecting a Salesforce MSP, you want to ask yourself these questions:

1. What kind of services can they provide?

2. What is their cost per hour or service?

3. What kind of support do they offer?

4. What kind of service-level agreements do they have with their customers?

5. Are they a partner that offers other services I need?

6. Can I get references from them?

When it comes to selecting a Salesforce Managed Service Provider, your ultimate goal should be to find a company that will provide the following:

Comprehensive Services: The company must be able to manage your entire Salesforce infrastructure and provide expert solutions for all of your technology needs, including customization, integration, and support.

A Good Reputation: Make sure that the MSP you choose has an extensive track record of success as a Salesforce managed service provider. A good reputation is crucial.

A Great Customer Service Record: You need to feel confident in the fact that your provider has you, their client, as their top priority. That means great 24/7 support coupled with constant communication between you and your provider.

A Competitive Cost Structure: You want to make sure that you are getting a competitive price for all of the services provided by your MSP.
A Dedicated Team: Be sure to select an MSP that is able to provide you with an experienced team of experts who can handle all of your needs quickly and efficiently.

Would You Hire a Salesforce MSP or Build an In-house Team?

Ask yourself these two questions before making a decision:

1. How much time does it take for my team to manage the Salesforce CRM?

This is probably the most important question when deciding whether or not to hire a Salesforce MSP. If it takes a considerable amount of time for your team to maintain and develop the Salesforce platform, then you should seriously consider handing it over to an MSP. An MSP can take over many of the day-to-day tasks involved with maintaining the system, freeing up your internal resources to work on higher-value projects.

2. Do I have a consistent need for development resources?

If you don’t need Salesforce development resources all the time then hiring and building a team is not the right strategy for you. You would save considerable time and money in hiring a Salesforce MSP who can take care of your needs. But, if you need regular support and that too on a long-term basis then building a team can best serve your purpose.

AppShark’s Salesforce Managed Services

AppShark is a Salesforce Gold Consulting & Product Development Partner with an experienced team of certified Salesforce Consultants and Integration experts. Our Salesforce Managed Services helps businesses manage and run their Salesforce instances smoothly. By partnering with us, you will benefit from a scalable and cost-effective option for managing and administering your Salesforce environment—and get the peace of mind that comes from knowing that we are there to support you and ensure your success. Our services include Salesforce consulting, deployment, customization and management to provide expert resources as per your needs. To learn more about our company’s services or discuss your specific requirements, please feel free to contact us, or mail us at sales@appshark.com.