PeterQuigley - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Sales at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Real User
An excellent CRM with great support and the ability to extend
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution scales extremely well."
  • "I don't have any notes for improvement. It serves us well."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution as a CRM for client tracking, renewals, and opportunities and as a database for prospects and other CRM tasks. 

What is most valuable?

From an organizational level, this solution is great for being able to manage your business efficiently day to day.

It is a stable product.

The solution scales extremely well.

Technical support has always been helpful and responsive.

What needs improvement?

I don't have any notes for improvement. It serves us well. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for probably ten years. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. I'd rate the stability nine out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is super scalable. It's easy to expand. 

How are customer service and support?

Salesforce has excellent support. I have no complaints when it comes to their level of service. They do a great job of getting right back to you. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I've never had to set up the solution. I really just get my username and password from the company, and then the company manages all of the data inside. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not sure of the exact pricing. However, they do charge licensing per seat. 

What other advice do I have?

We're customers and end-users.

I'd rate the platform nine out of ten. It's the strongest CRM out there, and they've been around the longest. The support is great.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Solutions Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Comes with workflow capabilities and pricing is cheap
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's most valuable feature is the CRM. Salesforce Platform comes with out-of-the-box capabilities."
  • "Salesforce Platform operates as a cloud system, and within our organization, numerous internal systems handle data processing. While real-time data retrieval is feasible through services, achieving real-time communication poses some challenges."

What is most valuable?

The tool's most valuable feature is the CRM. Salesforce Platform comes with out-of-the-box capabilities. 

What needs improvement?

Salesforce Platform operates as a cloud system, and within our organization, numerous internal systems handle data processing. While real-time data retrieval is feasible through services, achieving real-time communication poses some challenges.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't experienced any issues with stability. 

How are customer service and support?

I haven't contacted the support yet. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Pega CRM before Salesforce Platform. They have different capabilities except for the workflow. Salesforce platform leads in sales automation. 

How was the initial setup?

Big organizations can take three months to complete deployment, but smaller ones can complete it earlier. You would need 20-30 resources for deployment. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Salesforce is cheap. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the product an eight out of ten. Salesforce Platform does offer workflow capabilities, but challenges arise when dealing with real-time data integration, particularly for large organizations, especially in the financial sector.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Salesforce Platform
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Salesforce Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Consultant
Intuitive, quite easy to learn, and stores all kinds of relevant sales information
Pros and Cons
  • "It's an easy platform for salespeople to quickly and efficiently be able to track an opportunity."
  • "Simplification is something it needs. Every time you get the engineers involved, they make things a little too complicated. It might be more beneficial to simplify everything for quick and easy reference."

What is our primary use case?

CRM tool 

How has it helped my organization?

I find that the SalesForce solution can be used to capture everything you're doing during the course of the workday. I'm not a senior executive. I'm the guy in the trenches. I find management is trying to develop a portal to log all the information possible, so that, if I ever left, that they would be able to recreate my funnel and have all the contact information and the customer information and try to better understand the dynamics of the decision making within any of the corporations that I've identified as potential customers.

What is most valuable?

What I really like about Salesforce is that it's very intuitive. It's an easy platform for salespeople to quickly and efficiently be able to track an opportunity and develop custom reports for management. 

At times, companies that have embraced the Salesforce engineering model, have been able to gather resources necessary to facilitate quotes. It'll be able to store all my information, as far as notes from calls, meetings, and tracking the progress of a particular project.

What needs improvement?

There's always room for improvement. Simplification is something it needs for sales. Every time you get the engineers involved, they make things a little too complicated. It might be more beneficial to simplify everything for quick and easy reference.  

The solution should offer a Salesforce version for individuals. You have a number of people that have independent agencies and other independent workers that are out there that want to be able to track what they're doing and be able to put that into some sort of a schedule that coordinates with their calendar and everything else. When I look at Salesforce and I open Salesforce, it's unique to me as an individual. I've used Salesforce with many different companies. Sometimes you can see the visibility of other accounts, and things of that nature. These platforms can be problematic as you have people that are always looking at your stuff and then trying to work their way around you. 

With Salesforce, I do feel that I'm doing a lot of repetitive tasks. We're constantly, re-putting in the same thing over and over and over. And that's something that Salesforce should figure out. They need to remove redundancies, as salespeople want to move on to the next deal. Salespeople want to talk and track the initial and primary points of contact. They want to put in a quick note and move on to the next opportunity. 

For a salesperson, sometimes, you should be able to categorize your opportunities in the vertical markets that can be beneficial as well. I know it makes it a little more complex, however, that way you could see everything at a glance. You could look up which vertical, for example, you are more successful in. You should be able to split those out and dissect everything a bit better.

That way, when you're running your campaigns, you could actually have some consistency. For example, as a salesperson, you could say "today I'm going to call logistics companies" or "today I'm going to call finance companies". 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been in technical sales for about 30 years now and have used Salesforce for almost 20 years now.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The company I work for right now has 400 people.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I actually worked with GoldMine CRM, one of the first CRM tools that were out there. They worked on my internet services and voice services for many years before selling GoldMine to Vendata.

What I liked about their tool, which is something that Salesforce doesn't do, is they actually had a version for individuals as opposed to companies. That way, I would be able to track everything I was doing, too, and coordinate, and be able to save that information without setting up all the alarms that come with downloading something.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I haven't had to buy Salesforce, however, I have heard it's $1500 a user. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I've used Goldmine Software, SEIBEL, Oracle, and Symantec Compass. 

What other advice do I have?

The company I work for has a partnership with Salesforce. 

The product version is the latest and up-to-date. It's all handled through the company I work for.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. Nothing is perfect, however, Salesforce is a good CRM tool. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Consultant and Analyst - Product Engineering Services at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Has a user-friendly and intuitive interface and is easy to sale and navigate
Pros and Cons
  • "The presentation is clear and easy to comprehend."
  • "This platform is indeed on the expensive side."

What is our primary use case?

There are various modules available, and not all of them are fully utilized or engaged extensively. Some modules serve internal purposes, such as tracking employee efforts and utilization. This relates to our customer support services. When you input something, you need to adhere to your specified timelines.

What is most valuable?

I find the user interface to be excellently crafted. It's user-friendly, and intuitive, with a minimalistic design, making it straightforward to navigate. The presentation is clear and easy to comprehend. Overall, it's quite satisfactory.    

What needs improvement?

Companies prioritize quality execution and user convenience over pricing concerns. Their primary focus is on the platform's effectiveness and the positive impact it can make, as well as the time-saving benefits it offers. It's essentially a blend of both factors, striking a balance between quality and cost.

This platform is indeed on the expensive side. One notable aspect is that it offers a comprehensive range of fields and even allows for customization, enabling users to tailor it to their specific tasks and requirements. This flexibility extends to creating customized labels and columns in the backend, making it a highly adaptable and tailored tool. Overall, I haven't encountered any significant challenges.

Pricing could potentially be a deciding factor, but I believe it's unlikely to be a major concern for the company behind this widely used CRM platform. Despite the higher pricing, it remains the most popular CRM tool globally due to its extensive features and capabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Salesforce Platform for the past year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It offers high scalability and is easier to scale and navigate.

How was the initial setup?

I am not a part of the internal team. They are mainly responsible for the deployment.

What other advice do I have?

From a pricing perspective, I believe it's safe to say that this platform ranks as the top choice globally. It offers an incredibly user-friendly experience and provides efficient storage solutions, albeit at a relatively higher cost. Nevertheless, it's also the most widely adopted platform worldwide, owing to its comprehensive set of features and capabilities that cater to organizations of all sizes, particularly larger IT firms. Whether it's big IT companies or any other industry, this platform stands out as a CRM tool for internal purposes, mainly due to its cost-effectiveness.

I would rate it a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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PeerSpot user
Head of IT at a non-profit with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A flexible solution that can be used from anywhere while ensuring that it remains stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's stability is fine. There are no issues with Salesforce's stability."
  • "The initial setup process was a complex thing to do because four different organizations were working together."

What is our primary use case?

We use it as a CRM for our client management. We use it as a rostering and scheduling tool for our main business, which is supporting people with disabilities. We also use it for our payroll system.

How has it helped my organization?

We have increased the visibility of our information and reporting with the tool. Also, I think we now have a more streamlined end-to-end process.

What is most valuable?

I like that everything is on a fairly easy platform, and you can learn the system by yourself. Also, it's very fairly flexible. It's a system that you can use anywhere. So, you can use a mobile phone. You can use it anywhere. So it doesn't tie you to the office.

What needs improvement?

There are a few functions that I would like to see improved. The solution's rostering and scheduling, and payroll functionality need to improve.

We're working with all our vendors on issues that need to be updated and addressed to meet the changing business needs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Salesforce Platform for about two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution's stability is fine. There are no issues with Salesforce's stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution has been fine. We have a year of data in the tool, and there are no differences in performance from when we started using it. Around 550 users in m company use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

Our third parties handle the technical support, and each one is different. Overall, they're all fairly good at what they do.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used a number of different solutions before going with Salesforce. We didn't switch because they weren't fit for purpose, and we wanted to get all our critical business systems onto one platform.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup process was a complex thing to do because four different organizations were working together. We get enhancements and improvements every quarter from our vendors. Also, we enhance the product ourselves. I am responsible for the maintenance of Salesforce platform.

What about the implementation team?

Third parties were involved in the implementation process. We had our in-house project team, but we also worked with a main external provider who organized the other third-party providers since four different organizations were working with us to do the deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Price-wise, the solution is reasonable for what we're getting.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell those planning to use the solution to take more than eight months to implement and ensure they have work in their internal business cases before implementing. I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Digital transformation director at Medmark
Real User
Top 5
Centralized information, highly customizable, and frequent updates
Pros and Cons
  • "The Salesforce Platform's most valuable features are everything in one place, perfect reporting, highly customizable, and easy to receive information you need."
  • "The general reports could be made easier in the Salesforce Platform. Generating needs extensive training to know the exact structure of the design. Whenever you search for something you need to know what are the exact fields that you need to view. It's not an easy process to learn."

What is our primary use case?

The Salesforce Platform is a massive-sized solution. It's a vast digital platform that you can place all your business processes on and you can make the best use of your data and your customer data all in one place. The large data that you can take out of it to base your decisions on, to know your customers better, to be more efficient, and grab all opportunities that are in place and have clear visibility. 

How has it helped my organization?

The Salesforce Platform can help aid you in making the right decisions at the right time. It's easy to use because everything is in one place. It saves the time of the people working, using it in different processes.

What is most valuable?

The Salesforce Platform's most valuable features are everything in one place, perfect reporting, highly customizable, and easy to receive information you need.

Salesforce is very fast in acquiring new companies that are good in certain business processes or modules which they update their solutions.

What needs improvement?

The general reports could be made easier in the Salesforce Platform. Generating needs extensive training to know the exact structure of the design. Whenever you search for something you need to know what are the exact fields that you need to view. It's not an easy process to learn.

For how long have I used the solution?

We're in the implementation phase with the Salesforce Platform. We've launched one of the modules and we're working on the second one we will be working on the sales module later this year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the Salesforce Platform it's very good for what we have used it for. However, I didn't use it extensively yet. I need more time to use it or to see how people are using it to be able to judge and say more details.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Salesforce Platform is scalable.

We have approximately 100 users using this solution and we have plans to increase usage.

How are customer service and support?

I have a vendor on board, and whatever issues we might have they are my reference if I need something. I have not contacted Salesforce directly. 

I'm pushing people in my team to get certified to be administrators. They go on the Salesforce training on their website and they are doing their own training online. This is the only direct contact between my team and Salesforce directly.

How was the initial setup?

Salesforce Platform has been easy to set up.

What about the implementation team?

We are having a vendor do the implementation of the Salesforce Platform. It is not taking too much time as other CRMs do. 

If you have the people with the implementation knowledge they can do it internally, but I don't think this is the right approach. It's very costly to find somebody who's capable and I don't think you would need them as a full-time employee. Once you have your processes set up and ready, you might need only one administrator, you don't need developers or architects. You need only an administrator to sustain and maintain what is already there.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Salesforce Platform to others.

I rate Salesforce Platform an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sales Director at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Fully functional, customizable, and has a good mobile app
Pros and Cons
  • "When compared to Siebel, the Salesforce Platform is easier to use."
  • "It may be slow, but that is relative. When compared to Siebel CRM, which was large, clunky, and extremely slow, Salesforce seemed fast to me."

What is our primary use case?

Salesforce Platform is our CRM used to manage the business and the sales opportunities.

What is most valuable?

I like the mobile app.

When compared to Siebel, the Salesforce Platform is easier to use. I really like Salesforce.

The user interface is user-friendly.

The customization is good, you can set it up and do whatever you wanted with it. You can easily customize it, and automate reports.

It's fully functional in my opinion.

What needs improvement?

It may be slow, but that is relative. When compared to Siebel CRM, which was large, clunky, and extremely slow, Salesforce seemed fast to me.

For how long have I used the solution?

I used Salesforce Platform every day for six years and stopped using it one month ago.

I am working with the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have no issues with the stability of the Salesforce Platform.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the Salesforce Platform is very good, you can easily add people and grow the product.

With the Sprint acquisition, we have approximately 40,000 or 50,000 users.

How are customer service and support?

I personally have not contacted technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have cursory knowledge in Microsoft Intune or VMware Workspace ONE. We used to resell. I worked for Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T, and we were a major reseller of Microsoft Office and Intune at the time of their launch.

How was the initial setup?

I was not involved in the installation. It has been in place for years.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't have any information regarding the price of the Salesforce Platform.

In general, the price is an area where there is always room for improvement.

What other advice do I have?

I am primarily in sales and work with a technical team and engineers.

I would highly recommend this solution to those who are considering using it.

I would rate Salesforce Platform a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager - Key Accounts at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Modular, stable, scalable, and usable on various devices
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very modular in approach. It is very light, and it can be used on various devices. It could be used on an Android phone or a laptop, which makes it good for the sales team on the road."
  • "It could have a lot more customization options in terms of fonts and reports. There should be an even lighter version with just two or three fields. It could be a bit more light if the field guys want to use it on a mobile phone on the road. For deploying it for CRM, maybe we can have our customer database, project funnels, and projects to help us in managing our supply chain business."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to manage the customer base, sales funnel, and sales team. We also intend to use it for CRM.

What is most valuable?

It is very modular in approach. It is very light, and it can be used on various devices. It could be used on an Android phone or a laptop, which makes it good for the sales team on the road.

What needs improvement?

It could have a lot more customization options in terms of fonts and reports. 

There should be an even lighter version with just two or three fields. It could be a bit more light if the field guys want to use it on a mobile phone on the road. 

For deploying it for CRM, maybe we can have our customer database, project funnels, and projects to help us in managing our supply chain business.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost ten or eleven years. In my current organization, we have been using it for the last two years. I have also used it in my previous company.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been quite stable. We didn't have any challenges.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, it has been good so far. I have seen it working fine for a team of 10 people as well as for a team of 1,000 people. There are probably more than 1,000 users in our organization globally.

In this organization, it is primarily for managing the sales team and sales funnel, but we also intend to use it for CRM around three years down the line.

How are customer service and technical support?

I am a sales guy, and from my point of view, I never had any problem.

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have heard that it is fairly priced. It offers ROI.

What other advice do I have?

It is a good platform. To deploy it in your organization, users should identify their problems and needs. They should align it with their needs in terms of customization. 

I would rate Salesforce Platform an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Salesforce Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Salesforce Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.