The TCO Calculator for Multi-Org Salesforce

The Problem with Gut-Feel Decisions

VP of IT says: "We need to consolidate these 4 orgs into one. It's costing us a fortune."

CFO asks: "How much will consolidation cost? What's the ROI?"

VP: "Uh... we'll save on licenses?"

This conversation ends with status quo. Every time.

What You Actually Need

A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model that captures:

• Current state costs (all orgs, visible + hidden)
• Future state costs (consolidated, synced, or exited)
• Transition costs (migration, implementation, risk)
• Break-even timeline
• 3-year ROI projection

TCO Framework: Cost Categories

1. Direct Costs (Visible)

// Per-org annual costs
licenses = user_count × license_cost_per_user
storage = (data_GB - included_GB) × storage_cost_per_GB
support = org_count × support_tier_cost
apps = appexchange_subscriptions + managed_packages

direct_total = licenses + storage + support + apps

2. Integration Costs (Semi-Visible)

// Annual integration TCO
engineering_labor = FTE_count × avg_salary × %_time_on_integrations
middleware = (mulesoft + heroku + aws_lambda) annual_cost
api_overages = monthly_overage × 12
incident_response = P1_P2_incidents × hours_per_incident × blended_rate

integration_total = engineering_labor + middleware + api_overages + incident_response

3. Data Management Costs (Hidden)

// Data reconciliation and quality
manual_reconciliation = FTE_count × salary
data_quality_tools = deduplication + validation + enrichment
lost_revenue = deal_loss_rate × pipeline_value

data_mgmt_total = manual_reconciliation + data_quality_tools + lost_revenue

4. Admin and Ops Overhead (Hidden)

// Operational burden
admin_labor = (org_count × admin_per_org) × avg_admin_salary
release_mgmt = deployment_cycles × hours_per_cycle × contractor_rate
training = new_hire_count × onboarding_hours × trainer_rate

ops_total = admin_labor + release_mgmt + training

5. Reporting and Analytics Tax (Hidden)

// Cross-org reporting complexity
bi_labor = FTE_count × salary
data_warehouse = snowflake + tableau + ETL_tools
decision_lag_cost = days_delay × daily_opportunity_cost

reporting_total = bi_labor + data_warehouse + decision_lag_cost

6. Compliance and Audit Burden (Hidden)

// Compliance overhead scales with org count
external_audit = base_fee + (org_count - 1) × incremental_fee
internal_compliance = FTE_count × salary × (org_count / baseline_orgs)
gdpr_sar_cost = requests_per_year × hours_per_request × hourly_rate

compliance_total = external_audit + internal_compliance + gdpr_sar_cost

Real-World Example: 3-Org Financial Services Firm

Current State (Annual)

• Direct: $1.8M (licenses $1.2M, storage $380K, apps $220K)
• Integration: $920K (3 FTE engineers, MuleSoft $240K, incidents $180K)
• Data management: $680K (2 FTE ops, tools $120K, lost deals $400K est.)
• Admin/ops: $540K (3 admins, release mgmt overhead)
• Reporting: $360K (1 BI engineer, Snowflake/Tableau)
• Compliance: $280K (SOC 2 audit $140K, internal compliance 1 FTE)

Total current TCO: $4.58M/year

Option A: Full Consolidation (Merge to 1 Org)

Transition Costs

• Data migration: $1.2M (schema merge, deduplication, validation)
• Metadata consolidation: $680K (flows, validation rules, page layouts)
• Integration rewiring: $540K (48 integrations → 16 integrations)
• UAT and cutover: $320K (testing, parallel run, rollback prep)
• Risk buffer (15%): $411K

Total transition: $3.15M, timeline 14-16 months

Future State (Annual)

• Direct: $1.2M (single org, lower license count after deduplication)
• Integration: $240K (1 FTE, reduced middleware, fewer incidents)
• Data management: $140K (no reconciliation, minimal tools)
• Admin/ops: $210K (1.5 admins)
• Reporting: $90K (simplified data model)
• Compliance: $120K (single org audit)

Future TCO: $2.0M/year

Annual savings: $2.58M

Break-even: 15 months (during migration)

3-year ROI: 2.5x

Option B: Multi-Org Sync (Keep 3 Orgs, Deploy Sync Center)

Transition Costs

• Sync Center implementation: $180K (config, field mapping, testing)
• Data cleanup: $120K (External IDs, deduplication prep)
• Integration refactoring: $80K (remove redundant cross-org syncs)
• Training: $40K

Total transition: $420K, timeline 10-12 weeks

Future State (Annual)

• Direct: $1.8M (same—3 orgs remain)
• Integration: $340K (reduced from $920K—sync handles cross-org data flow)
• Data management: $160K (sync eliminates manual reconciliation)
• Admin/ops: $420K (2.5 admins, reduced from 3)
• Reporting: $180K (unified data model via sync)
• Compliance: $240K (audit logging built into sync)
• Sync Center license: $180K/year

Future TCO: $3.32M/year

Annual savings: $1.26M

Break-even: 4 months

3-year ROI: 9.0x

Option C: Exit to Different Platform

Transition Costs

• New platform licenses (3 years upfront): $2.1M
• Migration services: $1.8M
• Integration rebuild: $1.2M
• Customization re-implementation: $940K
• Training and change management: $380K
• Risk buffer (20%): $1.28M

Total transition: $7.7M, timeline 18-24 months

Future State (Annual, Year 4+)

• Platform licenses: $840K (lower than SF)
• Integration: $280K
• Data management: $120K
• Admin/ops: $340K
• Reporting: $140K
• Compliance: $180K

Future TCO: $1.9M/year

Annual savings: $2.68M

Break-even: 35 months

3-year ROI: 0.05x (negative in first 3 years)

Decision Matrix

Metric	Consolidate	Sync	Exit
Upfront cost	$3.15M	$420K	$7.7M
Timeline	14-16 mo	10-12 wk	18-24 mo
Break-even	15 mo	4 mo	35 mo
Annual savings	$2.58M	$1.26M	$2.68M
3-year ROI	2.5x	9.0x	0.05x
Risk level	High	Low	Very High

How to Build Your Own TCO Model

Step 1: Baseline Current State

1. Pull Salesforce invoices for all orgs (12 months)
2. Survey engineering team: % time on SF integrations
3. Count integration incidents (P1/P2 in last 12 months)
4. Interview ops team: hours/week on data reconciliation
5. Get BI team costs (FTE + tools) for cross-org reporting
6. Pull compliance audit fees (last 2 years)

Step 2: Model Future States

For each option (consolidate/sync/exit):

1. Estimate transition costs (get 3 vendor quotes)
2. Project future state costs (assume 80% reduction in overhead categories for consolidation, 60% for sync)
3. Add risk buffer (15% consolidation, 10% sync, 20% exit)
4. Calculate break-even: transition_cost / annual_savings

Step 3: Sensitivity Analysis

Test assumptions with +/- 25% variance:

• What if migration takes 20% longer?
• What if we only achieve 70% of projected savings?
• What if compliance costs increase 30%?

Red Flags That Invalidate the Model

• Regulatory constraints: GDPR data residency may prohibit consolidation
• M&A activity: Acquiring more companies = more orgs, consolidation wastes money
• License architecture: Partner communities can't merge into Enterprise orgs without exploding costs
• Technical debt: If schema is a mess, cleanup costs dominate migration costs

When Each Option Wins

Consolidation Wins If:

• Org sprawl is stable (no new orgs expected)
• Data models are similar enough to merge
• No regulatory barriers to combining data
• You have 12-18 months and executive buy-in

Sync Wins If:

• Orgs must stay separate (compliance, licensing, M&A)
• Need fast ROI (3-6 month break-even)
• Data models differ significantly
• Want reversible decision (can still consolidate later)

Exit Wins If:

• Platform no longer fits business model
• License costs will exceed 5% of revenue long-term
• Vendor roadmap misaligns with your needs
• You have 2+ years and $5M+ budget

Recommended Decision Process

1. Build TCO model with Finance (2 weeks)
2. Get 3 vendor quotes for each option (4 weeks)
3. Run sensitivity analysis (1 week)
4. Present to exec team with recommendation
5. If approved: pilot on 10% of data before full rollout