The rise of the Salesforce admin
Tal Frankfurt
Founder & CEO @ Cloud for Good | Salesforce Partner | Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame
When data is the king, the database administrator (DBA) is the knight protecting the most valuable resource a company has. More than anyone else, DBAs are the guardians of the king, implementing security measures to protect him from his enemies. DBAs also serve as internal consultants ensuring the technology supports the organization's mission, constantly improving and testing it to make sure it brings the most value.
Salesforce DBAs (admins) are often not your typical "IT people" because they often wear many hats and operate more like business analysts than DBAs. Salesforce admins are required to analyze complex problems, understand data, provide advice about taking action on data, formulate complex solutions, and often work closely with C-level executives on initiatives. Salesforce admins are not developers, but they have special powers to make things happen.
The combination of the growing Salesforce skill and the available positions (3,240 job opening over the last 12 months in the U.S.) are making this position very desirable. Salesforce is investing in growing the admin ecosystem (follow #AwesomeAdmin on Twitter), providing various tools for both employers who want to evaluate admins and people who want to start their admin career.