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AshwinMor - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Test Lead at HCL Technologies
Real User
Top 5
May 22, 2024
A reliable and powerful application used for testing purposes
Pros and Cons
  • "Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application."
  • "The solution's UI is not user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution to automate the Salesforce application. We are using the automation tool Tricentis Tosca to automate Salesforce. I am not sure of the function because we just started.

What is most valuable?

Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application.

What needs improvement?

Salesforce Essentials is not a very straightforward application when it comes to testing and automating. We are finding it a little difficult to automate the application.

The solution's UI is not user-friendly. Too many things are on the page, and you must know Salesforce properly to understand it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Regarding automation, I rate the solution's stability three and a half out of five because we face a lot of wait time and delays during automation.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Around 25 to 30 users are using the tool daily in our organization.

What was our ROI?

We use the solution for entire testing purposes. The entire development of the application and testing are done on a daily basis.

What other advice do I have?

Salesforce Essentials is a proper web-based application. I would recommend Salesforce Essentials to other users because, from what I've heard and seen, Salesforce is a very powerful application.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SadeepaPalliyaguru - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Innovation Officer at VS ONE World
Real User
Top 5
Aug 25, 2024
Standardized processes for vendor portal, offers high availability but lacks AI-based features
Pros and Cons
  • "High availability is really important for us when getting our reports as a vendor."
  • "I have seen Salesforce evaluate a lot of AI and analytics into that. But as an end user, I don’t have that much input."

What is our primary use case?

I use it when I’m collaborating with organizations. I use it to register opportunities and collaborate with different vendors. 

For example, I work with Zendax. So I use it, and that uses Salesforce. I log in to the product, create opportunities, and download marketing materials. All of my interactions with them are through Salesforce.

For me, registering these opportunities with the customer has been seamless. I can register for opportunities and get updates very easily.

What is most valuable?

We use it as a vendor portal, so the processes have been standardized. 

What needs improvement?

I have seen Salesforce evaluate a lot of AI and analytics into that. But as an end user, I don’t have that much input.

So, I would like to have more AI functionality here. That would be really helpful.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

High availability is really important for us to get our reports as a vendor.

It is very stable. I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of this solution a nine out of ten. It is quite scalable. That’s why a lot of enterprises are adopting it because scalability is good.

There are around five to six end users. We log into the portal two to three times a week because we are a sales organization. So, our usage is not regular or extensive. But we log into the portal to update the opportunities weekly. 

We do not plan to increase the further usage. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support can improve. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

Zoho CRM is what we use internally.

How was the initial setup?

We need people to maintain Salesforce Essentials. It requires consultants.

At least we would need four or five people, including a consultant. I'm not quite sure if we need more if we are integrating with different sources. That would differ.

We are trying to integrate, and we are seeing about integration possibilities of Salesforce with Tableau. That is their own analytics platform. Now they have made it out of the box. So it’s a very seamless integration because now they are part of Salesforce.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is in terms of accelerating sales, helping the sales team with opportunities and the next steps, and automating the sales process.

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

The pricing is a bit on the expensive side, maybe when we compare it with other solutions.

I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price. The licensing is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it a seven out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Essentials
March 2026
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reviewer1973925 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner / Consultant at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
Mar 26, 2024
We could easily prepare for customer visits, streamline the process, and provide accurate information for better negotiations
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

We focus on managing requirements of the customer data by recording it accurate, sanitized, and easily accessible for future retrieval. Since we work in a B2B environment, we mainly deal with basic customer data such as complaints, contact information, specific needs, customer profiles, and industry details.

How has it helped my organization?

The implementation of Salesforce majorly improved our processes by digitalizing it. There was an increased workload during the early days of Salesforce, as it didn't automate everything as expected. But after some time, it helped in consolidating data, making it easier to locate customer information in one place. We could easily prepare for customer visits, streamline the process, and provide accurate information for better negotiations.

What is most valuable?


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.

What needs improvement?

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. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Salesforce Essentials for the past two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is also around a seven. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate scalability around a seven. Our clients are primarily enterprise businesses. 

How was the initial setup?

Our experience with the initial setup was around a seven on a scale of one to ten. Deployment typically takes about three to four months per project, and we've completed multiple implementations over the course of a year to a year and a half.

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

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.

What other advice do I have?

I think it's suitable for small businesses, according to sector and specific needs. I would rate Salesforce Essentials as a seven out of ten.

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
Valentin Ilie - PeerSpot reviewer
Inside Sales Representative at Veeam Software
Real User
Mar 20, 2024
Provides a single pane of glass and offers great integration capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is stable."
  • "The product's reporting area has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company for opportunity management, report generation, creation of lists, and all the data input and output.

What needs improvement?

The product's reporting area has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required. If you wanna extract a report, you have to know a lot of the things that you want in the report. The reports should be a little user-friendly. Users should be able to draw information from the reports at first glance without having to learn a lot about what you look at in the reports.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Salesforce Essentials since 2014.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. I have nothing to complain about. The product usually announces when there will be downtime, and it is mostly on the weekends so that nobody is affected.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't use the scalability feature of the product.

Around 500 people in my company use the product.

It is used on a daily basis as an admin tool to perform certain duties in our company.

How are customer service and support?

I have contacted the tool's support team. I cannot complain about the product's technical team since they are pretty fast to respond.

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

I have experience with on-premises CRM tools. Basically, it was a CRM tool under another cloud provider.

How was the initial setup?

Though I am not involved in the product's setup phase, I know it can be installed straight out of the box.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

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

There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?


What other advice do I have?

The solution streamlines our company's sales process since it provides a single pane of glass on which I can access all the information I need. For example, I do not have to open a million links to find the contacts, and I can see the full history of interactions in the past, allowing me to see what was lost, after which I can explore whatever is in my interest. The tool also helps me figure out if some information was lost, why was it lost. Basically, the tool brings everything under a single page, including most of the information I need, so I don't have to invest a lot of time doing research.

The product's integration capabilities are great. If you add a voice over IP application, the tool works fast. It works well with Outlook as well. The tool is good in terms of integrations.

Working with the tool's mobile application is very difficult because it requires a lot of configuration. Usually, I just use the browser to use the tool on my cell phone. I have never used the mobile application and prefer to use it over Google Chrome.

The product is very easy to learn, it works fast, and it is very intuitive. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer3329071 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Application Delivery at A W Rostamani Holdings Co. (LLC)
Real User
Oct 17, 2023
A flexible solution that can be customized as per business need
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very scalable and flexible. It can be customized as per the business need."
  • "Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We use Salesforce Essentials to handle leads. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is very scalable and flexible. It can be customized as per the business need. 

What needs improvement?

Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Salesforce Essentials is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. My company has 300 users. 

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

We used Oracle before. We switched to Salesforce Essentials, which is a cloud-based architecture and a highly scalable flexible system to use.

How was the initial setup?

The tool's deployment is very straightforward. It took around six to eight months to complete. We undertook steps like initiation, planning, and execution to complete the installation. 

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

The tool is moderately priced. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Salesforce Essentials an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SAP Consultant at Savic Tech
Real User
Top 5
Jul 12, 2024
Helps to track the performance of salespersons but needs to be more user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
  • "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."

What is most valuable?

The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals. 

What needs improvement?

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. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Salesforce Essentials' stability a six out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My company has 2000 users who use it daily. 

How was the initial setup?

Salesforce Essentials' deployment is complex. It takes 20-30 minutes to complete. 

What about the implementation team?

We can do the deployment in-house once the training is done. 

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

We chose quarterly payments. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall product a six out of ten. I rate its integration capabilities a five out of ten. You need to test the solution thoroughly before going full-scale. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
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