Platform Starter, Platform Plus, Heroku, and the Shield premium (Event Monitoring, Field Audit Trail, Platform Encryption). PSL/PSS sizing economics, custom-app license rationalization, and the Shield premium that determines whether enterprise security is right-sized or over-licensed.
Salesforce Platform is the underlying application platform that powers custom applications outside the core Sales Cloud and Service Cloud licenses. It is sold against Platform Starter (PSL) and Platform Plus (PSS) per-user licenses, with Heroku as the adjacent platform-as-a-service offering for non-Lightning workloads. Shield is the security and compliance premium — Event Monitoring, Field Audit Trail, and Platform Encryption — sold as a per-user add-on on top of the underlying Cloud or Platform license.
The defining negotiation challenge on Platform is custom-app license rationalization. Many enterprises run custom apps on full Sales Cloud or Service Cloud licenses where Platform Starter or Plus would meet the requirement at materially lower cost. The opposite pattern — Platform users who require functionality that the Platform license does not include — also produces material spend leakage.
Shield carries a 25–35% premium over the underlying license cost on a per-user basis. The premium is justified where Event Monitoring, Field Audit Trail, and Platform Encryption are actively used; it is indefensible where Shield was purchased as a security checkbox without active configuration. Audit-shielded usage versus shelfware Shield is a routine renewal-period exercise.
Platform is sold against PSL/PSS per-user licenses with Shield as a per-user add-on premium.
| Edition / SKU | List price reference | Negotiation note |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Starter (PSL) | $25 PUPM list | 10 custom objects. Low-complexity custom apps. |
| Platform Plus (PSS) | $100 PUPM list | 110 custom objects. Material discount at scale. |
| Shield (per user add-on) | 25–35% premium on base license | EM + FAT + Encryption. Audit usage before renewal. |
| Heroku Enterprise | Custom (dyno + add-on metered) | PaaS for non-Lightning workloads. Dyno-based. |
| Sandbox (Full Copy / Partial / Dev) | % of org list value | Full Copy is the expensive tier. Right-size aggressively. |
| Data Storage / File Storage | $125 / GB-month list (data) | Routinely over-provisioned. Audit and right-size. |
| API Call Limits | Tiered by edition; metered overage | Heavy-integration estates need explicit ceiling. |
List prices are reference points published by Salesforce and observed across recent benchmark engagements. Actual contracted prices vary materially by deal size, term, region, and product mix.
Audit custom-app users on full Sales Cloud or Service Cloud licenses. Where the custom app uses only Platform functionality, the license can be right-sized to PSL or PSS at a fraction of the cost. This is the single largest Platform lever on most estates.
The custom-object ceiling is the controlling factor. PSL (10 objects) is materially cheaper than PSS (110 objects). Audit the actual custom-object count per app and select the lower edition where the ceiling fits.
Shield carries a 25–35% premium. Audit Event Monitoring log consumption, Field Audit Trail data retention usage, and Platform Encryption field coverage. Where Shield is unused, the premium is renegotiable as a removal at renewal.
Full Copy sandboxes are the expensive tier. Audit usage patterns and right-size to Partial Copy or Developer Pro where the use case allows.
Data and file storage are routinely over-provisioned. Audit actual consumption and right-size against documented retention policies, not vendor-suggested headroom.
Heavy-integration estates need an explicit API call ceiling and an overage rate negotiated at signature. Open API metering is a silent overage vector.
Heroku Enterprise spend is dominated by dyno count and add-on subscriptions. Audit dyno utilization and add-on usage before each renewal.
Platform and Shield bundled into the Salesforce Enterprise Agreement create cross-product discount leverage materially above the standalone rates.
Across recent Platform optimization engagements, the median Sales Cloud-to-Platform right-sizing pass — identifying users on full Cloud licenses who can be moved to PSL or PSS — recovered 19% of contract value with no functional impact for the affected users.
Custom-app users licensed at full Sales Cloud rates where PSL or PSS would meet the requirement.
PSS licensed where the custom-object count fits within the PSL ceiling.
Shield premium paid without active Event Monitoring, FAT, or Encryption configuration.
Multiple Full Copy sandboxes where Partial Copy would meet the use case.
Heavy-integration estates without negotiated API ceilings expose the contract to overage compounding.
Renewing Platform separately from the broader Salesforce EA sacrifices cross-product leverage.
Platform & Shield advisory is warranted at every Sales Cloud or Service Cloud renewal where custom-app user populations are licensed at full Cloud rates, at every Shield renewal where active usage has not been recently audited, at every sandbox or storage true-up exercise, and at every cross-product bundling discussion with the Salesforce account team. The combination of layered license types, premium add-ons, and sandbox/storage compounding makes Platform & Shield one of the most consistently optimizable line items in modern Salesforce estates.
The highest-leverage diagnostic on Platform is the custom-app license audit: a two-week analysis of user permission sets and app usage patterns routinely identifies 15–25% of full Cloud licenses that can be right-sized to PSL or PSS at the next renewal with no functional impact.
Custom-app right-sizing. Shield active-usage audit. Sandbox optimization. We build the strategy in 48 hours.