Salesforce plays a vital role across public sector agencies, but it handles sensitive data that requires strong security and management practices to avoid risks that can lead to data loss, breach, corruption, or worse, exfiltration. Establishing the right data practices is therefore crucial for compliance, business continuity, and the effective use of new AI tools like Salesforce Einstein 1 and Agentforce. Without a secure data foundation, public sector agencies risk costly fines and inefficiencies, particularly in the face of increasing global cyberattacks.
In this blog entry, we’ll cover the data security role of Salesforce in the public sector, the risks arising from poor data management and the need for a strong data foundation for public sector organizations, and how Salesforce is seeking to work better for public sector organizations.
The Data Security Role of Salesforce in the Public Sector
Most associate Salesforce with the private sector as a CRM platform, but Salesforce public sector has over 50 individual use cases across government agencies, and the company has occasionally outpaced other major government contractors in terms of the scope and scale of its business.
Government agencies use Salesforce to deliver critical services, coordinate digital employee experience internally, and much more.
Salesforce provides significant advantages for government organizations by enabling them to consolidate disparate, disconnected data, including analog data into a unified system. However, this integration can introduce potential challenges and vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is essential for public sector entities to ensure that their data is adequately secured and maintained for the following reasons:
- Risks of Financial Loss and Reputational Damage: Salesforce holds a wealth of sensitive data, ranging from sensitive details of users or citizens to financial records. Unauthorized access or breaches can lead to significant financial losses and damage to an organization’s reputation. Like AvePoint, Salesforce Government Cloud is FedRAMP-authorized, providing confidence to government entities when it comes to meeting security and compliance standards. It is also suitable for government contractors who handle International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) data for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
- Serious Legal Repercussions for Non-Compliance to Regulations: Adhering to data protection regulations like CCPA, HIPAA, NIST, CMMC, and others is a priority for both private and public sector entities. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines and legal consequences, particularly for public sector organizations, aside from facing public and political consequences for mismanagement. Salesforce is designed to adhere to compliance standards needed for proper data handling, which is why it is trusted by many organizations in the public sector.
- Heightened Need to Protect Operational Continuity: Strong data security measures help prevent data loss and ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum in the event of disruptions due to a breach or human error. Salesforce offers internal resources and backups, but these tools are generally not sufficient to prevent the most catastrophic case of data loss. According to a 2024 IBM report, the average cost of a data breach is almost $5 million, highlighting the impact of inadequate data security. Many organizations leveraging Salesforce in the public sector elect to work with an established cloud backup partner in order to properly manage their data effectively and securely.
The Risks of Poor Data Management and the Need for a Strong Data Foundation
Similar to data security, a strong foundation of healthy data management plays a pivotal role in the public sector, especially for organizations looking to advance their technology adoption in the midst of the evolving threat-landscape. It’s crucial that companies focus on proper data management; a few things to keep in mind when considering the risks associated with poor data management:
- Increased Vulnerability to Cyberattacks: Poor data management exposes public sector organizations to heightened risks of cyberattacks, including ransomware, phishing, and data breaches. Without proper encryption, access controls, or real-time threat monitoring, sensitive government and citizen information can be easily compromised. This not only disrupts operations but can also result in substantial financial losses and a loss of public trust.
- Operational Inefficiencies and Poor Decision-Making: Disorganized and siloed data hinders an organization’s ability to function effectively. Inaccurate or inaccessible data impairs decision-making processes, delays service delivery, and erodes citizen confidence. For example, insufficient data integration across departments can result in duplicated efforts, wasted resources, and missed opportunities for modernization initiatives.
- Loss of Public Trust and Credibility: Mishandling or losing sensitive data because of sloppy data management can severely damage the public’s trust in government institutions. High-profile data breaches or operational failures due to poor data management can spark public backlash, reduce citizen engagement, and undermine confidence in the organization’s ability to protect personal and national information. This loss of trust can have long-term repercussions, making it harder to implement future initiatives or reforms.
New Salesforce Functionalities to Improve Data Management in the Public Sector
In September 2024, Salesforce launched Industries AI, an initiative that provides new AI capabilities and use case libraries embedded within 15 of its industry clouds. Designed to address industry-specific pain points, each cloud is dedicated to essential industries like the public sector, energy and utilities, healthcare, education, and communications.
In the public sector cloud, Salesforce aims to improve data management by introducing new functionalities such as Digital Assessment Generation to simplify the conversion of paper-based assessments into a digital format as the government continues to digitize and work towards an electronic government instead of a paper government. Salesforce is also helping with Inspection Preparation to enable government inspectors to know a license holder’s history of violations, as well as compiling a list of expired, expiring, and non-compliant licenses.
To enhance efficiency and productivity, Salesforce also helps public sector entities to automate administrative tasks with the launch of Einstein 1, an AI chatbot specifically for the public sector released in early 2024. It’s essential to note, however, that Einstein 1 is only as useful as the data that powers it. That’s why public sector organizations need to prioritize the quality and integrity of their Salesforce data.
Lastly, Salesforce launched Agentforce in September 2024, an evolution and consolidation of its existing AI products, now available to private and public sector organizations. Agentforce offers integrated workflows and AI chatbots that can serve various public-facing roles and use cases for the federal government agencies. Like Salesforce’s other large language model (LLM) and AI solutions, both the customer- and internal-facing bots embedded in Agentforce need a strong data management foundation to operate effectively and sustainably.
Building a Platform of Trust for Your Data
Establishing strong data security and management practices within Salesforce is not just a technical necessity but a critical imperative for public sector organizations. By safeguarding sensitive information, adhering to compliance requirements, and implementing data governance to achieve quality data, government agencies can unlock the full potential of Salesforce, driving better outcomes for the public and minimizing the possibility of disasters that come with severe financial, legal, and political repercussions.
Government entities looking to leverage Salesforce and its new AI tools will need to ensure that they have a properly established data foundation to build strong resilience, and a platform they can trust for future organizational growth.
