CRM Architecture
Salesforce and CRM Architecture that Supports
Your Organization Two Years From Now.
Complete architecture planning — Solution, Data, Security, Automation, Integration, and Environment — to ensure the system works today and can continue to scale.
Who is the service for?
When to Bring in a Salesforce Architect
- Organizations planning their first Salesforce implementation.
- Existing systems that have lost clarity and architectural order.
- Organizations planning deep integrations with ERP, finance, or BI.
- CRM teams looking to reduce technical debt before a new phase.
Problems the service solves
Signs Your System Has Lost Architecture
Fields that accumulated without a model
After two to three years, every department added its own fields. The result: objects with 300+ fields, unreliable reports, and failing automations. Architecture defines ownership, addition rules, and lifecycle for each field.
Conflicting Automations
Flow, Process Builder, and Trigger running concurrently on the same event. We consolidate into a single automation layer with a predictable execution order.
Permissions that became a security hole
Profiles that were 'temporarily' opened two years ago and remained open. We build a model based on Permission Sets and actual roles.
Ownerless Integrations
When someone leaves, no one knows how they work. The architecture includes documentation, logs, and clear ownership for every connection.
Layers
The Architecture Layers We Will Design
Solution Architecture
Alignment between the organization's core processes and Salesforce products, including prioritization of what goes into the first version and what into subsequent phases.
Data Architecture
Object and relationship model, sources of truth, data quality rules, and a plan for cleaning and consolidating existing records.
Security & Sharing
Profiles, roles, public groups, sharing model, protected fields, and access policies for sensitive information.
Automation Architecture
Conscious choice between Flow, Apex, and asynchronous automations, preventing parallel automations on the same event.
Integration Architecture
Flow directions, techniques (REST, Events, Middleware), error handling, and logs for critical business integrations.
Environment & Release
Sandbox structure, deployment methodology, backups, version control, and ongoing maintenance activities.
Working principles
Principles Guiding Every Decision
- Configuration before code — custom development only when there's no simpler way.
- Every architectural change is documented and approved.
- A simple and clear permission model, even at the cost of some flexibility.
- No two automations run concurrently on the same event.
- Every integration includes a log, error handling, and clear areas of responsibility.
- New deployments go through Sandbox before Production.
Environments
Recommended environment structure
Developer
For daily development, free of real data.
Integration / QA
For system testing and integration testing between components.
UAT
A copy with production-like data for user acceptance testing.
Staging / Pre-Prod
A staging environment for Go Live and Hotfix corrections.
Production
The production environment, with an organized deployment process only.
Decision Point
Submit your architecture for review
A short conversation helps understand whether a new architecture plan is needed or a pinpoint Refactor for critical components.
Decision Considerations
Four decisions that determine system stability
Multi-Org or Single-Org
When is separation into a separate organization preferable to clever use of Record Types and Sharing? A decision with long-term implications.
Master Data Management
Is Salesforce the Source of Truth for customers, or does the truth reside in the ERP? The answer determines the flow direction of each integration.
Automation strategy
When Flow, when Apex, when Platform Events. A wrong choice creates a system that is difficult to maintain.
Custom field policy
Who is authorized to add a field, and through what process. Without such a policy, every system fills with unnecessary fields within a year.
What you will get
Potential service deliverables
Architecture document
Solution + Data + Security + Integrations, with a level of detail that enables development.
Integration map
Flow directions, technique, event type, and failure scenarios for every significant connection.
Data model
Objects, relationships, key fields, and initial quality rules.
Permissions model
Profiles, roles, and sharing policies that fit the organizational structure.
Common Mistakes
Patterns to avoid
- Giving each department its own data model without an organizational-wide view.
- Building automations in Flow and code simultaneously for the same event.
- Deploying directly to Production without going through Sandbox.
- Leaving behind 'temporary' profiles with All Modify Data and not reverting them.
- Developing a one-off integration without documenting it — it becomes a black box within months.
Guides and related services
Deep dive into the knowledge center
Frequently Asked Questions
CRM Architecture — Recurring Questions
The Next Step