Should your educational institution have all departments in one salesforce environment (a single org)? This depends on a number of factors and the relevance of having one org can vary from team to team. At the highest level, understanding current pain-points, identifying goals and understanding how Salesforce can help achieve these goals will determine your Salesforce org strategy. However, we can help hone in on which route is best for your school.
Here are five things to consider:
Existing Silos
Many schools struggle with the challenge of having siloed information. Departments working in separate systems or teams not having student information readily available to them can lead to a number of common pain-points like inefficient processes, duplicated information and miscommunication. Institutions looking to consolidate systems typically pursue a connected campus implementation to help break down departmental silos. It’s important to remember that while many connected campuses may start off with a single org strategy, a multi-org strategy can also provide a connected campus.
Salesforce Maintenance
A single Salesforce org means just one environment to maintain and typically includes one integration with the SIS. This is a benefit to institutions that have limited IT department resources and reduces complexity of maining integration for multiple orgs and between orgs.
Cost
One org can also reduce licensing costs as there are most likely going to be users, such as a Salesforce Administrator, who need to access all of the orgs on campus. In addition, one org can also reduce implementation costs since you or your implementation partner are not having to set up and configure multiple orgs.
Data Sharing and Security
Teams that prefer to utilize one Salesforce environment for all of their departments typically require an open sharing model. If an organization is concerned about information sharing between departments, then separate orgs may need to be considered. When separate Salesforce environments are best, we ensure process integration and the sharing of necessary information through integration.
Size of the School
Large institutions are another instance where multiple orgs can be a good idea. When teams need to maintain large amounts of data, it can be beneficial to have separate orgs broken down by departments or academic schools. This strategy allows for large data storage and process specific automation to be implemented without constant worry of the system speed.
For organizations getting started with Salesforce or for those looking to reevaluate an existing org, it’s important to take into consideration both the current state and the future state needs of a connection campus implementation.
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