Between the necessary preparation, high-level business process workflow, order of operations, process and system integration, data mapping, transformation, and migrations, there’s a lot involved when someone mentions “merge Salesforce orgs.” However, with 56 percent of global executives actively pursuing M&A within the next 12 months, the question of how to handle Salesforce org maintenance as a newly expanded company will naturally come up. 

No matter the particulars of any given M&A situation, stakeholders should carefully consider the question of merging before taking further action. To merge or not to merge? The answer is not the same for every case. And here’s why: 

The case for not merging

There are a handful of reasons merging businesses or acquired companies may choose to keep operations in separate Salesforce orgs, depending on the nature of the integration and long-term strategy of the business units. Here are some example scenarios that often suggest not merging and keeping separate instances:

— If you are operating independent businesses that offer completely different products or services or business units that have little to no need to work closely together or that do not share a single set of business processes, you may be better suited to operate out of separate or multiple orgs. 

— If at most you just need to have data reporting capabilities in check, you may be able to implement a Salesforce-to-Salesforce connection, data warehouse connection, or BI tool to share those specific data points. 

— If you run independent processes or have different products and customers, you are likely better suited to remain in separate orgs that will allow you to scale without limiting independent business practices.

The pros of choosing not to merge include less impact on day-to-day tasks and productivity, allowance for different regions or departments to operate independently, and less need for customization around process differences. However, keep in in mind that maintaining separate orgs may lead to data silos, a decrease in corporate culture unity, and non-standard processes.

In short, if you are operating primarily independent business units or have very different practices, products, and customers, then separate orgs probably makes more sense. It also limits the amount of custom configuration needed to support separate business processes, simplifying your M&A and integration team’s workload.

The case for merging

Many M&A initiatives opt for merging orgs to create greater cultural unity, brand awareness, and…

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