Embarking on a Salesforce career path can be exciting and rewarding, but navigating the array of available certifications and their associated costs can be daunting. To help you make informed decisions, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to Salesforce certifications and their costs. In this blog, we’ll explore Salesforce’s different certification paths, from entry-level to advanced credentials, providing detailed information on each certification’s focus, prerequisites, and exam fees. This article lists different Salesforce Certification lists and the cost of obtaining these certifications. It also sheds some light on the industry demand for Salesforce experts. According to a Mason Frank report, professionals with certifications see a 45% increase in marketability and earning potential. As the demand for Salesforce experts grows, gaining the right certifications can significantly enhance your career prospects.
Salesforce Certifications: List and Cost
Salesforce certifications are categorized according to various roles, each with distinct credential requirements. These certifications necessitate varying levels of experience and may include specific prerequisites. Salesforce offers multiple certification pathways, each demanding unique skills and expertise. Below is a detailed list of Salesforce credentials along with their associated costs, organized by role.
| Products | Exchange Only | Files & collaboration | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange | |||
| OneDrive | |||
| SharePoint | |||
| Groups | |||
| Teams | |||
| Minimum Level | No Minimum | No Minimum | No Minimum |
| Requirements | No Requirements | No Requirements | Requires Activation of all Exchange Users. |
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| Terms | Per User | Per 10 GB (Per Service) | Per User |
| Products | Google Workspace User Based | Workspace Drives Storage Based | Google Workspace Complete User Based |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar | |||
| Contacts | |||
| Tasks | |||
| Drive | |||
| Shared Drive | |||
| Minimum Level | No Minimum | No Minimum | No Minimum |
| Requirements | No Requirements | No Requirements | Requires Activation of all G Suite Users. |
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| Terms | Per User | Per 10 GB | Per User |
| Attribute | Backup | Archive |
|---|---|---|
| Data Recovery | Easier, faster and more cost-effective way to restore to a previous point in time. A requirement for quick disaster recovery. | Sub-optimal RTO (time to recover) and RPO (data you're OK with losing). However, as archives take up less space they can be used for long-term retention. |
| Regulatory Implications | Depends on the industry. With increasing breaches, many laws such as the GDPR mandate timely recoverability and data protection; only possible with backup. | Archives are required for legal purposes and retention policies as a long-term repository of corporate knowledge and historical data. |
| Business Continuity | Backup is a must for seamless business continuity. Secure and reliable backup blunts the impact of a breach by minimizing downtime with quick data recovery. | Email and file archival can work alongside backup to reduce the volume of data on the email server, leading to a faster recovery. |
| Feature | Native Microsoft Office 365 Backup | Third Party Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | Manual and tedious backup and recovery. No data preview. Bulk backup and recovery. | Automated backup and recovery - set-it-and-forget-it. Backup data snapshots. Granular recovery at any level. |
| Recovery time objective (RTO) | High RTO, that is time required to recover your data after a breach/data loss incident. | Optimal RTO with ability to recover data with a few clicks. |
| Recovery Time Limit | Without a retention policy, recovery is limited to 14+30 days. Even with a retention policy, recovery is time-bound. | Unlimited point-in-time recovery from any point-in-time. No retention limits. |
| Ease of Business Continuity | As data is outdated and recovery is slow, the data recovered does not facilitate smooth business continuity. Downtime continues to be impacted. | Seamless business continuity as a true copy of data is recovered quickly for employees and customers to access. Minimized downtime. |
| Data Accuracy | Data is not a true copy and is not recovered "as-is". Site looks/themes, permission settings, etc. are lost. | Apart from the data being an accurate copy taken from a daily backup, all permissions, folder structures, etc. are maintained as-is. |
| Parameter | OneDrive | Google Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Structure User/Month | The editions offered include: - $5 OneDrive for Business Plan 1: 1TB storage. No Microsoft 365 apps included. - $10 OneDrive for Business Plan 2: Unlimited storage. No Microsoft 365 apps included. - $5/$6 Microsoft 365 Business Basic: 1TB storage. Includes mobile and web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Desktop versions not included. - $15 Microsoft 365 Business Standard: 1TB storage. Only plan that includes Teams, Planner, and Yammer – essential for remote teams. Includes all versions of Microsoft 365 apps – web, mobile, and desktop. | Google Workspace pricing options available are: - $6 Business Starter edition with 30GB storage - $12 Business Standard edition with 2TB storage - $18 Business Plus edition with 5TB storage - Customized Pricing for the Enterprise Edition with Unlimited Storage |
| File Sharing Features Essential to collaborate across distributed teams | - Apart from view, comment, and edit sharing, you can password-protect your files and set expiration dates to provide temporary access. - Upload and share files up to 100GB in size with no need of signing in to a Microsoft account. - Ability to see all files you’ve shared. | - Share Google Drive files with anyone on the web, anyone with a link, and to specific people (requires a Gmail account sign-in). - View, comment, and edit sharing permissions. No support to password-protect or set expiration dates for links. - File size limit is 1 TB, but it depends upon the file type. |
| Depth of Ecosystem Availability of integrated apps | - The full Microsoft 365 suite in desktop, web, and mobile versions is only available in the Business Standard Plan. The plan also includes OneDrive, Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, apart from Outlook, Word, Excel, One Note, Access, and Publisher. - OneDrive for Business Plans 1 and 2 do not include any other app from the Microsoft 365 suite. - Microsoft 365 Business Basic Plan includes only web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This is apart from OneDrive, Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. | The Google ecosystem is vast with applications for your business and collaboration needs. More importantly, every Google Workspace edition includes apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Keep, Currents, and Sites. |
| Ease of Third-Party Integration For seamless integration with devices and apps | - OneDrive for Business does not support third-party app integrations. Business accounts cannot be synced with non-Microsoft apps. - Accessing Google Drive can be cumbersome and involves connecting Google Drive to the OneDrive account. | - Vibrant third-party app and services ecosystem from media players, photo/video editors, and accounting software. - Similar treatment to access Microsoft files, “upload” the files to Google Drive and then download them as PDFs or as Microsoft files. |
| Synchronization capabilities Ability to easily interface and synchronize with local storage | - Desktop clients and mobile apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. - Accessing offline files requires the OneDrive desktop app. - OneDrive offers some advanced sync features such as block-sync for files and a personal vault for sensitive documents. OneDrive’s Vault provides stronger authentication and security measures. | - Sync your files on apps on any platform including Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. - Accessing offline files requires the Backup and Sync desktop app and the files/folders have to be tagged as such. - Google Drive does not use block-sync. Block-sync enables faster syncing by splitting each file into smaller pieces, and only syncing delta changes. |
| File Recovery SaaS data loss affects one in three companies. What are your options to recover deleted data? | - A 30-day history of files with Recycle Bin cleared when the storage limit is reached. - Archival methods such as e-Discovery and Litigation Hold do not offer easy and unlimited point-in-time recovery. Moreover, they are not part of all plans. - No built-in app for point-in-time data backup and recovery | - A 30-day history of files with Trash cleared every 30 days. - Google Vault and Takeout are archival in nature. File recovery is tedious, time-bound, and error-prone. Vault is not a part of all Google Drive plans. - No application tailored for unlimited point-in-time data backup and recovery |
| Parameters | SharePoint Online | SharePoint On-Premises (Server - Standard/Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Hosted entirely on Microsoft cloud data centres | Hosted on your own dedicated onsite hardware. This includes a web front-end, SQL, and application servers. |
| Accessibility | Accessible from anywhere and on any device with a web browser and an internet connection. Data is stored on the cloud. Can connect external users. | No browser-based accessibility. Data is stored on your local network. Connecting external users must be built and adjusted manually. |
| Integration & Customization | Seamless integration with Microsoft Office 365 suite. In addition, can edit documents in the browser itself. Can create custom web apps, but customization, in general, is limited. | Limited integration capability but high-level customization is possible. Ability to have high-level controls and customizations. |
| Collaborative Mechanisms | Team collaboration groupware capabilities such as collaborative document editing (OneDrive for Business), Team sites, shared mailboxes, document libraries, project scheduling apps, and social collaboration (Yammer). | Limited collaboration mechanisms as per your customizations |
| Maintenance | No upkeep of hardware and automatic updates and installation of patches | Your team is responsible both for the maintenance of the hardware and of the software updates and patches |
| Cost | Subscription model - part of your Microsoft 365 plan. No investment in additional hardware, infrastructure, or maintenance. | You have to bear the upfront cost of the server hardware, infrastructure, and upkeep of the same |
| Scalability | Scale at will - Microsoft will manage it | Scalability is your responsibility |
| Security & Backup | Industry-leading security standards - Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Azure Active Directory (AD) Premium. Adopts the Shared Responsibility Model. Microsoft is responsible for the host infrastructure, network controls, and apps. You are responsible for customer data, endpoint devices, and authentication at your end. You have the onus of protection from data loss, backup, and recovery of your data. | You are responsible for the security of the entire stack - hardware infra, data security, authentication, and backup. Helpful if you have to comply with stringent data access controls and compliance requirements. |
| Parameter | SharePoint Online Plan 1 | SharePoint Online Plan 2 |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint Online | Yes | Yes |
| OneDrive / Lists | Yes | Yes |
| Storage | 1TB / user | Unlimited |
| App Catalog and Marketplace | Yes | Yes |
| Collaboration: Team Sites, External sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Standard | Enterprise search |
| Compliance | No | E-discovery, ACM, Advanced DLP, In-place holds |
| Business Intelligence | View-only Access, InfoPath Forms, Excel, and Visio Services | Create, edit, and view Access, InfoPath Forms, Excel, and Visio Services. PowerPivot and PowerView access |
| Price | $5 | $10 |
| Online Backup | Manual Backup | |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | Cloud backup leverages cutting-edge technology, including compression, encryption,storage virtualization, data deduplication, disk-based backup, server & and application-specific protection to maximize the reliability and efficiency of the backups. Backups reliably occur at scheduled intervals with no intervention required. | Manual tape backups typically have a 30-year shelf life. However, their reliability also hinges on the maintenance of their transport and supported infrastructure. Additionally, because of the nature of manual processes, such backups are error-prone. |
| Scalability | Public clouds such as AWS and Azure offer effortless scalability. This is particularly helpful for SMBs that can pay-as-they-grow. | Scaling manual backup essentially means adding more tapes, purchasing additional infrastructure and maintaining it. This can be cost prohibitive in the long run. |
| Accessibility | Cloud storage ensures access from any location with an internet connection | Access is limited to the physical location and network. |
| Security | Cloud backup, while not offline, is offsite and air-gapped. The cloud backup needs to have security features such as encryption, immutability, and secure authentication. It should also comply with data regulatory laws such as HIPAA and GDPR. | Tapes are in essence "offline", making them secure and impervious to ransomware, malware, and other online breaches. |
| Redundancy | Online backup on public clouds inherently includes multi-site data redundancy. In addition, public clouds such as AWS S3 offer additional redundancy on Glacier too. | To achieve redundancy, you have to create one more manual copy and store it in another location. Apart from being cumbersome, transport and maintenance of the additional backup can be costly. |
| Ease of Recovery | Recovery from online storage requires no transport and related effort in retrieving the data. Most cloud backup solutions will offer recovery on the click of a button from your chose point in time | In the case of tape storage, an operator needs to recall the tape, load it, locate the data, and recover the data. |
| Setup Cost | Online backup solutions typically have a monthly or annual subscription. Apart from that there is no other cost of infrastructure at your end. | When compared to online backup, the initial investment may be more. However, the costs can even out if the storage size grows in the petabyte realm. |
| Maintenance Cost | Here too, the cost of maintenance is typically borne by the cloud backup company. However, check the fine print for additional costs for added storage, data recovery, and other fine print | The cost of supported infrastructure such as tape drives, archive software, and tape libraries can spiral. Add to this power and cooling requirements. And the cost of maintenance staff |
Market Demand for Salesforce Certifications
According to research conducted by Lightcast, commissioned by Salesforce in 2022, it has projected 9.3 million jobs by 2026. Salesforce leads the CRM markets in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific (including Japan) and is the top CRM provider globally. Thus, Salesforce, being used by many companies, will need expertise in managing Salesforce CRM by businesses and companies.
In Conclusion
Certifications from Salesforce demonstrate in-depth knowledge in a particular role and are an excellent means to grab job opportunities and projects that fit specified criteria. It serves candidates as well as recruiters. On top of getting a competitive salary, becoming certified in Salesforce and maintaining it implies that your skills are up to date with the most recent updates. Furthermore, preparing for a certification exam can help you organize your learning to master every aspect of the Salesforce capabilities relevant to your intended role.
Salesforce certifications have different costs depending on the certification level. To get started, select the certification that most closely matches your experience level and needs. The right assistance can make your Salesforce career exploration easier.
In conclusion, navigating the diverse landscape of Salesforce certifications can be complex, with each certification tailored to specific roles and requiring varying levels of expertise and prerequisites. Receiving a competitive salary, becoming Salesforce certified, and maintaining it indicates that your skills are current with the latest updates. Additionally, preparing for a certification exam can help you structure your learning process to master every aspect of Salesforce relevant to your desired role. To optimize this process, understanding the costs and requirements associated with each certification is crucial for effective career planning and professional development in the Salesforce ecosystem.
To further enhance your knowledge and skills in Salesforce, we highly recommend enrolling in our flagship course, “Principles of Salesforce SaaS Data Protection with Francis Pindar,” available for free at CloudAlly Academy. Guided by Francis Pindar, an 8x Salesforce MVP, this course offers in-depth insights into data protection within Salesforce, combining detailed video tutorials, hands-on labs, and practical pointers. Furthermore, you can gain practical experience executing a Salesforce backup through a 14-day trial of CloudAlly’s highly-rated Backup and Salesforce recovery service. Initiate your free trial here. Join us at CloudAlly Academy and take a significant step towards mastering Salesforce data protection, ensuring you are well-equipped to safeguard your organization’s critical data.
