Case Study

Situation

Our client, a prominent public sector organisation in New Zealand, found itself at a critical juncture. After an extensive 14-month RFP process to select the right CRM platform, they were on the cusp of embarking on a large multi-year project — but the project had stalled. Salesforce had submitted a four-year, multi-million dollar proposal along with various variations at the client's request. However, these were all submitted before the engagement of the implementation partner.

This created a cloud of uncertainty around project ownership, scope, and the organisation's relationship with Salesforce. The proposed upfront costs for licensing 1,000+ staff were difficult to justify, and several included add-ons lacked clear short-term justification. The client recognised a pressing need to reassess their licensing strategy.

Findings — Uncovering Opportunities for Optimisation

In collaboration with the client, Aequus conducted a thorough examination of the proposed licensing landscape. We examined user roles, high-level use cases, licences, editions, data utilisation, security requirements and integrations — alongside the client's existing technical and commercial environment and future use cases.

• Proposed scope of 1,000+ licences was disproportionate to immediate project requirements
• The proposed industry-specific solution exceeded needs for the initial 2–3 year horizon
• Three add-ons in the vendor proposal could be safely removed without compromising objectives
• A read-only restricted user licence (RUL) would efficiently serve reporting needs for managers

Recommendations

• Reduce scope substantially, focusing on 140 users with a staged rollout over twelve months
• Deliver essential functionality to a core group of 15–20 users within 2.5 months to build momentum
• Opt for a more basic cloud solution aligned with actual needs for the next 2–3 years
• Remove three add-ons without compromising project objectives
• Purchase read-only RUL licences for reporting and dashboarding purposes

Outcome

In summary, our engagement showcased the power of informed decision-making in Salesforce licensing. Through a rigorous assessment and targeted recommendations, Aequus Consulting helped transform a complex challenge into a compelling success story — enabling our client to move forward with confidence, clarity, and substantial cost savings.