I remember being at a conference back in 2018, and Parker Harris made a comment that the Salesforce Developer role would become redundant…it definitely ruffled some feathers in the dev coop. Fast forward to 2026, and this statement arguably rings more true for the Salesforce Administrator role as we know it.
I’m Jenny Bamber, Head of Salesforce Success at Desynit, a Salesforce Partner based in Bristol. I’ve lived the Admin life for over a decade, seeing the role transition from password reset & page layout config to seasoned Flow Architects.
And today, I believe we are standing on the edge of the next great shift: the move from Standard Admin to Data 360/AI Admin.
The catalyst? Data 360.
We’ve seen the headlines lately. 1000’s of layoffs due to AI. Some of those were possibly doing Salesforce tasks that you, as a Salesforce Administrator, may be doing day-to-day. So, I believe you need to start thinking about how you can fit into this new way of working, before, quite frankly, you don’t, and you become a statistic on LinkedIn. Start thinking, how can I do a Salesforce job that AI can’t… (for now).
Come with me as I dive into the future of a Salesforce Admin and what a Data 360/AI Admin might look like in this Agentic Era.
With Salesforce in its Agentic Era, and AI agents being only as smart as the data they can see, Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) is probably the centre of the Salesforce universe right now.
Data 360: Zero Copy Data, the solution to the biggest black hole in CRM history.
I like to think of Salesforce Data 360 as a giant master brain that pulls together every scattered piece of information a company has about you. Normally, your data, like your past orders, total lifetime spend, and customer service chats, is stuck in separate, disconnected sources (like Snowflake, BigQuery, AWS, your website, etc.); however, Data 360 merges them into one single, perfect unified profile in real-time.
Businesses are then able to instantly recognise who you are and what you need, so their AI and reps across all departments can give you exactly the right help the second you ask for it. Yup, looks like Salesforce has finally resolved its data siloing problem!
Data is no longer stored and exported/imported; it’s now live to use by AI and reps alike. Still not making sense? Think downloading a movie to watch (the old way) vs watching something on Netflix (live streaming, new way).
Data is now instantly available from anywhere it’s stored!
This is known as Zero Copy Data. A buzzword you will hear a lot of in the Agentic era, and rightly so, as it’s possibly the biggest breakthrough in ending the endless, expensive, and error-prone cycle of moving data from point A to point B.
That’s great, but how does an Admin fit into this, I hear you ask?
Would you believe me if I said that Data 360 now carries more weight than the Salesforce Admin cert? As AI within Salesforce grows, so will your need to deep dive into the realms of data architecture.
The Salesforce Admin role may have split into two, but there is one thing that will help navigate this new AI landscape for any Salesforce admin embarking on the new Data 360/AI Admin path.
Built into every Salesforce Admin is the importance of data integrity, and if it isn’t, then may I say, are you even a Salesforce admin? Whilst this gives you a head start, in 2026, data integrity is much more than duplicate management, albeit still important, as businesses rely more and more on data for AI, you can guarantee that if your data is messy, your AI Agents will be confidently wrong.
So it’s time to start thinking more:
This is the art of mastering Zero-Copy setups. This is no longer about importing CSVs, but creating new Data Shares (so that’s reading data from Salesforce) with warehouses like Snowflake, AWS, etc, with no export required. And then Ingestion, allowing Salesforce to read data from other systems. To create Data Streams that allow for real-time flow and processing of data.
This is all about mapping data. Shifting from simple field creation to advanced data modelling by harmonising disparate sources (like linking a Subscriber ID to a Customer ID) to ensure schema consistency across your entire ecosystem.
Admins already know how to do this one; it’s just a little more sophisticated. Match and Reconciliation Rules. These rules will automatically unify fragmented customer data from across your stack into a single, trusted identity. The Golden Record.
With all that raw data, it’s time to create real-time metrics. Effectively, this is grounding Agentforce with the deep customer context it needs to deliver accurate, personalised interactions.
Moving your static insight dashboard created above to a proactive engine that turns business interactions into a business outcome. This is about creating real-time workflows (refunds) with Flows Builder, or creating Data Actions that push high-value segments directly to Marketing Cloud.
If Salesforce Admins are to evolve into this new data strategist role, then I believe you really need to know how to bridge the gap between technical architecture and business impact.
Data 360 isn’t just another tool in your Salesforce belt; it’s a fundamental shift in how the platform functions. The 2026 Data360/AI Admin role isn’t for the faint-hearted, but neither was becoming an Advanced Admin back in the day. And just like Visual Flow, it wasn’t used by all Salesforce Admins when it was first released, but it is now a fundamental tool used by Admins and Devs alike to create masterful automation.
This is how I see the future of Data 360, especially when the future is AI. So, really, it is only a matter of time before your Admin paths cross.
Whilst there will always be room for the Standard Salesforce Admin, there is definitely a new, more sought-after path, one that works with AI rather than one that is made redundant by it.
This is just a drop in the lake when it comes to roles that a Data/AI Admin will be responsible for. There really is so much more to becoming a Data 360/AI Admin than this blog could cover, but thankfully, there is enough content out there to help you.
My advice for dipping your toes into this new role is to put some focus on Trailhead and become Data Cloud Consultant Certified for 2026.
If you’d like a more technical overview of what being a Salesforce Data 360/AI Admin may entail, then you may like: The AI-Ready Admin: 5 Technical Keys to Mastering Salesforce Data 360.
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