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Interactive Intelligence vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Interactive Intelligence
Ranking in CRM
70th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Interactive Intelligence is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Luis Teran - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable with very good social media integration and easy to use
The deployment is a bit harder as you sometimes need help. For us, we have experience. It is not so hard, however, we have a dependency on the operative system, such as Microsoft with Windows Server 2019 or 2016. You must get that kind of system. Also, you need to get this updated and you have many dependencies that you have to work with. The deployment is easy, however, when you want to get the IDR or you want to get the integrations as you want them, you need to deal with so many dependencies with other platforms that it can get hard. That's what's hard with the solution. The solution itself is, of course, it's easy for us, for an engineer, however, for untrained people, that is hard. For the deployment, if the contact center is a large contact center, you must get four engineers or five engineers to do the deployment. Most of them will make the integration and the others will configure the IDR. Another will deploy the integration, and that's all. Of course, then, there will be the documentation you need to deal with.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues
I work from home for a heater manufacturing company. They wanted to move away from their current SAP CRM system to Salesforce. There is a fulfillment process, which involves taking an order, delivering it, and providing service. Salesforce is used to manage the order-taking process. Once an order is taken, the backend system, SAP ERP, handles product manufacturing, delivery, and installation. After installation, the Service Cloud in Salesforce takes over for ongoing service management. Once your order is confirmed, integration with the SAP ERP backend will be seamless. The system takes the sales order from Salesforce and starts processing it for procurement, starting with creating a production order, manufacturing, and then delivery. Once the product is delivered, this information is passed back to Salesforce Service Cloud. In the Service Cloud, a service engineer receives a notification indicating that a product needs to be delivered to a specific location for installation. The engineer then inspects and installs the product at the designated site. SAP ERP manages the product manufacturing and delivery processes. After the product is delivered to the customer, Salesforce Service Cloud takes over. It manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues reported by customers. Service Cloud captures the information and creates an incident record when a customer reports a product fault. Engineers receive this information and promptly visit the client site to fix the issue. The solution is easy to implement. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The social media integration is excellent."
"Interactive Intelligence is quite user friendly."
"The solution is very scalable and flexible. It can be customized as per the business need."
"In terms of features, the cloud-based solution and easy deployment are standout elements that have made a difference."
"The CRM system has SAP Sales, SAP Service, and SAP Billing, with everything integrated into an on-premise SAP CRM system. Salesforce Essentials replaced this on-premise system, bringing all functionalities onto the cloud platform."
"The product is stable."
"Salesforce makes tracking every product and customer activity easy, enabling managers to monitor their products, such as key products and their peak performance."
"The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
"The most important feature is how Salesforce Essentials brings together information from multiple channels. The nature of our complex custom product data has been challenging due to our manufacturing nature. Salesforce also allowed business processes like finance, credit lines, customer complaints, and quality issues to integrate seamlessly. I haven’t used the mobile app functionality, because we haven't fully utilized because of our preferance of more personal interactions over using mobile apps."
"I can download the data to Excel, create tables, and do whatever I want. I am very comfortable with the tool's mobile application. Its main benefit is transparency because I can share it with representatives."
 

Cons

"The initial setup can be a bit difficult."
"The problem with this current system is that the support is not great."
"The solution needs to be more user-friendly. It's difficult for a senior to track leads when a salesperson uploads leads. The solution should also improve its integration capabilities."
"Integrating Salesforce with SAP, considering our business relies heavily on SAP for ERP, has been quite challenging due to the intricate product configurations. Unlike standard products like computers with a few options, our products have hundreds of configurable options, making the integration complex. If such integration were possible, it would have been easier to understand the unique nature of our industry and the limited number of customers who buy steel products, unlike consumer electronics."
"When we use mixed languages, it can be uncomfortable because there seems to be no consideration for right-to-left speakers. It feels like these tools were developed by people who only speak left-to-right languages and didn't consider other language types' needs."
"Salesforce should encourage new users by offering smaller license packages, such as packages for three or two users."
"Less integration would be better. It should work independently."
"The solution's UI is not user-friendly."
"Improvements in connectivity issues, especially for the online version, would enhance the user experience for the product."
"The primary area for improvement in Salesforce Essentials is its pricing. There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We chose quarterly payments."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."
"Salesforce Essentials is quite expensive, almost 10 out of 10. I don't have the exact cost, but we found it to be very expensive based on our budget constraints."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
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Company Size

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Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce provides the best they have with the current version. Most of the features we need are already there, and it's very easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Essentials?
The costs associated with Salesforce Essentials are substantial, which is a drawback compared to competitors who offer similar services for less.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?
The primary area for improvement in Salesforce Essentials is its pricing. There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM ( /products/zoho-crm-reviews ), that offer similar features at a lower cost. Sal...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ABC Financial, AFAS Software, Quality Bicycle Products, CryptoLogic & WagerLogic, SERVOData, Shinsei Bank, TENAQUIP, MCAP, Visaya Knowledge Process Outsourcing Corporation, Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari, Memira
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Find out what your peers are saying about Interactive Intelligence vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.