Build or buy a Salesforce data management solution? [2025 guide]

The critical role of robust data management in Salesforce

Why data quality cannot be compromised?

Clean, unified and valuable Salesforce data powers:

• Confident, data-driven decision making
• Streamlined customer experiences across channels
• Compliance with regulations (i.e., GDPR, CCPA)
• Efficiency in operations (automation, reporting, AI, and analytics readiness)

The cost of poor data quality

According to recent studies, poor CRM data can reduce operational revenue by 15% to 20%, delay go-to-market, and put businesses at risk for security and compliance issues.

What makes an enterprise-grade Salesforce data management solution?

Whether you build or buy, an effective solution must deliver a couple of things, which we will mention below. But beforehand, it is good to note that customization and integration are embedded in the Plauti DNA. If you’re eager to read more on that, be sure to have a look at our Software Development Kit.

1. Automated data deduplication
   Maintains a single source of truth by proactively identifying, merging, and preventing duplicate records across leads, contacts, accounts, and custom objects.
2. Advanced data validation and enrichment
   Real-time validation of business attributes, addresses, phone numbers, and emails. Powered by automation and third-party data services.
3. Seamless enterprise integration
   Compliance and interoperability are ensured with native Salesforce integration and expandable connectors for marketing, support, ERP, and other areas.
4. Scalable architecture
   As your company expands, you’ll need to handle millions of records and large transaction volumes without sacrificing accuracy or speed.
5. Automation & orchestration
   Automatic data cleansing, enrichment, error handling, scheduling, and reporting so that teams have their hands free for strategic work.
6. Regulatory compliance & security
   Out-of-the-box adherence to GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and robust encryption, with built-in audit trails and automated consent management.

Keep in mind that reliability, scale, and compliance aren’t features in a data management platform; they’re mission-critical expectations for modern enterprises.

Gartner Insights: How software buyers make their purchase list

Recent Gartner research highlights the evolving priorities of software buyers, offering critical takeaways for decision-makers.

• 82% of growth businesses plan to spend more on software in 2025 than in 2024, highlighting software’s central role in competitiveness.
• 53% of buyers start their vendor list with reputable brands. They choose trusted names with industry prominence.
• 48% are influenced by previous good experiences, and 32% turn to peer recommendations.
• Customer reviews are key: 41% of the buyers list them as a major shortlist factor, with this figure even higher (48%) for large enterprises.

Product trials matter: 62% of the buyers want hands-on product trials before purchasing. For large enterprises, this jumps to 72%.

How Plauti dedicates resources to make your buying process easier

Plauti’s reputation, transparent customer feedback, and strong track record mean enterprise buyers are more likely to shortlist Plauti. Our extended free trial experience and robust support ensure decision-makers can evaluate and trust the platform without risk.

From the moment a potential customer contacts us, we guide them through the entire process. We understand that enterprises have to deal with more complex requirements and security needs, so we offer customized demos and guided trials if necessary.

Good to know; for large or complex organizations, Plauti can arrange a tailored Proof of Concept. This involves deep configuration, advanced use cases, and direct cooperation with Plauti’s solution engineers.

All of Plauti’s products are available through Salesforce AppExchange. It is possible to try out every one of our products in a sandbox environment. But if you prefer a production environment, that’s possible as well.

ROI reality check: Most enterprises underestimate the lifecycle costs of building and supporting custom tools, often realizing higher long-term TCO and slower payback.

Speed to value

• Build: Full development cycles for requirements gathering, architecture, implementation, User Acceptance Testing, and deployment can take months or even years.
• Buy: Pre-built, Salesforce native apps like Plauti Deduplicate integrate in a matter of days. Automation and support accelerate time to value.

Executives at enterprise companies prefer rapid deployment and fast payback, because that’s key in competitive markets.

Fit for scale and business evolution

• Build: Risk of architectural limitations, tech-debt, and bottlenecks as data and user counts grow.
• Buy: Platforms like Plauti are architected for enterprise-scale, with proven performance for millions of records and flexible licensing as organizations grow.

Security, compliance, and trust

• Build: Custom compliance and security frameworks must be continuously updated; breaches or missteps are costly.
• Buy: Leading vendors provide always-on monitoring, certified compliance, and dynamic updates, minimizing risk.

Innovation, automation, and user experience

• Build: Relying solely on in-house expertise may hinder agile innovation and access to next-gen features (like AI, deduplication based on machine learning)
• Buy: Platforms benefit from continuous research & development, customer feedback, and rapidly evolving best practices, keeping your data stack future-proof.

Resource allocation and strategic focus

• Build: High internal IT/CRM resource investment. Focus shifts to support and troubleshooting, not business growth.
• Buy: Free up IT to drive transformational projects while dedicated support teams manage platform reliability and updates.

Decision framework - should you build or buy?

Opt to build if:

• Your requirements are truly unique, with no commercial software able to address your core needs.
• You maintain a large, skilled DevOps/CRM engineering team with ongoing availability.
• Your budget and risk tolerance are ready for significant, unpredictable costs and potential compliance liabilities.

Opt to buy if:

• Rapid implementation, low risk, and proven scalability are priorities.
• Your data management requirements align with best practices and established vendor capabilities.
• You demand laser-focused compliance, support, and future-proof architecture.

Real-world benefits of buying: key use cases to consider

• Mass validate emails for reliable outreach: Bounces hurt your reputation, lower engagement, and put future campaigns at risk. Clean your lists before every send.
• Duplicate and forget: Records edited over the years by multiple people lead to inconsistencies and errors. That’s why leading enterprises rely on automation.
• Let managers manage lead assignment: Allow your regional or country managers to take control of routing and assignment, adjust teams in real-time, and balance workloads. All of this without having to rely on IT.

Addressing post-purchase regret

Gartner found that 59% of the buyers regretted a software purchase in the past 18 months, citing increased costs, lower productivity, and security concerns.

At Plauti we try to mitigate regret and maximize ROI by having:

• Transparent pricing and clear value
• World-class onboarding and customer success
• Certified security and compliance standards
• Scalability and adaptability as business needs evolve
• Continuous customer engagement and responsive support

So, with Plauti, enterprises can avoid the cycle of regret and achieve lasting value for their Salesforce investments.

Next steps? Unlock strategic value with Plauti!

Making the right investment in data management will impact your company’s agility, compliance posture, and competitive edge for years to come. Plauti offers different kinds of free trials to help you see our value immediately.

• Start your free trial for Plauti Data Management here
• Discover how to calculate the value of clean Salesforce data
• Explore Plauti’s Salesforce-native solutions

Transform your Salesforce data from a liability to a strategic asset. Choose wisely… choose a platform engineered for enterprise success.

Plauti. Trusted data. Confident action.