Managing software licenses in a business setting can be a bit challenging. Some software packages are more complicated than others. Take Salesforce. It has some of the most complex licensing in business. For that reason alone, our Salesforce license management services could prove invaluable to your company.
Salesforce is near the top in terms of the sheer number of licenses available to customers. As you know, a license allows your organization to legally use a software product for business purposes. A license does not grant ownership. When it comes to Salesforce, there are dozens of licenses for a variety of different needs.
Editions and Licenses: Not the Same Thing
The first thing to know about Salesforce licensing is that editions and licenses are not the same thing. Editions refer to the Salesforce products and features an organization chooses to purchase. Salesforce Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited are all editions.
Licensing refers to the legal right for individual users to access Salesforce and its products and features. Licenses are assigned to users rather than an organization as a whole. A single license pertains to a single user, with three exceptions: the Salesforce Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Pardot licenses.
Licenses for Access and Features
When it comes to Salesforce license management, one of the things that we find is most confusing to our clients is the difference between access and feature licenses. The first-level licenses Salesforce offers are as follows:
- User License – The user license gives a single user access to a basic set of features within the platform. A single user may have only one user license.
- Feature License – Users may be given access to additional features with feature licenses added on. Marketing User and Flow User are examples of feature licenses.
User and feature licenses are baseline licenses. This is where licensing starts. From here, other licenses can be added as needed.
Additional Salesforce Licenses
It would require multiple blog posts for us to go through each and every Salesforce license in detail. So rather than doing so, we have put together a list of the remaining license categories. Note that each of these categories has multiple subcategories underneath.
- Platform Licenses.
- Identity Licenses.
- Einstein Licenses.
- Experience Cloud (Community) Licenses.
- Marketing Cloud Licenses.
- Pardot Licenses.
As a side note, Einstein licenses allow users access to AI features while the Pardot license is based on a per org model. It is often referred to as Salesforce’s bucket license. Both types of licenses have their own set of complex rules.
It’s Okay to Need Help
It is clear from the sheer number of licenses Salesforce offers that choosing the right one is not as easy as counting the number of users you have and making a selection. Different licenses and editions combine to do different things. If you find it all extremely complicated, we understand. We also want you to know that it is okay to need help.
We offer Salesforce license management services designed explicitly to help our clients make the most of Salesforce while maintaining compliance. We focus on cost optimization, improved user adoption, streamlining workflow and processes, and maintaining proper security.
Like nearly every other licensed product in business software, Salesforce is subject to audits. We recommend regular audits to ensure that you are using the right licenses and maintaining compliance with them.
If you would like to know more, or your organization is currently in need of assistance with Salesforce license management, Miro Consulting can help. We are ready to come alongside your organization to make sure you are getting the most from your Salesforce licenses.