Migrating from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud? Know the Risks

Migrating from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) is being touted as a “strategic move” to optimize revenue operations, but the reality is far more complex and risky. 

As Salesforce CPQ nears end-of-life and support fades, many RevOps leaders are being encouraged to “upgrade” to RCA. But this isn’t just a version update, it’s a complete architecture shift that may leave your team facing months of reimplementation and uncertainty.

While Revenue Cloud Advanced promises a more integrated approach to managing the entire revenue lifecycle, it also brings with it a host of uncertainties and challenges that many businesses may not be prepared to handle.

Moving to RCA might seem like the next logical step, but this “next-gen” solution comes with significant risks you should carefully consider before taking the plunge.

Below, we get real about the process. Keep in mind, there is no direct migration. Revenue Cloud isn’t an upgrade; it’s a full implementation.

Understanding the Risks of Migrating from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud

Salesforce CPQ has long been a tool for managing complex pricing and quoting processes. Now, with the promise of Revenue Cloud’s “expanded capabilities,” it’s tempting to think that migrating is the logical next step.

However, Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) isn’t a seamless or mature evolution of CPQ. It’s an entirely new, high-complexity system that introduces new uncertainties.

Migrating from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud is complex since they have different architectures. Max Rudman, the CEO of Prodly and founder of Steelbrick CPQ (now Salesforce CPQ), understands this complexity more than others in the Salesforce realm. His recent webinar on the migration process discusses the challenges and lays out a structured approach that minimizes disruption and maximizes the benefits of Revenue Cloud’s more robust infrastructure.

Instead of thinking of moving to Revenue Cloud as a “migration,” think of it as an entirely new system implementation.

Here’s what you need to know:

• No Upgrade Path: A full rebuild is required to implement Revenue Cloud. Many customers report longer implementation times than with legacy CPQ. Since it’s a new system, there will be an increased maintenance burden on IT, additional costs, and operational disruption.
• Revenue Lifecycle Management: While RCA promises to automate the entire revenue process, it also forces you to abandon your carefully structured workflows, creating risks of pricing errors, delays, and revenue leakage.
• Subscription and Usage-Based Billing: If your organization isn’t focused on recurring revenue models, you may find yourself paying for functionality you don’t need, complicating your existing billing processes and creating unnecessary operational overhead.
• AI-Driven Insights: Many customers report that Einstein AI, touted as the revolutionary tool behind RCA, still doesn’t deliver the promised results in real-world scenarios. You might be investing in a tool that looks great on paper but fails to deliver consistent, actionable insights in practice.

With a system that’s still maturing and heavily reliant on complex configurations, implementing RCA could increase your operational risk, leading to unforeseen delays and additional costs.

While Revenue Cloud may look like an appealing upgrade, its complexity and immaturity are key factors that companies often overlook. You could be looking at extended downtimes, broken workflows, and a team suddenly in the dark about their day-to-day operations. The stakes are high, and without a comprehensive strategy, the cost of inaction could quickly outpace the cost of migrating.

Why Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) is Not a Safe Bet

RCA isn’t an easy upgrade for companies already using Salesforce CPQ. Far from being a “natural successor,” RCA introduces high levels of complexity, uncertainty, and operational risk. Here are some reasons why you should reconsider making the leap:

Immaturity of Revenue Cloud Advanced: Unlike Salesforce CPQ, which has years of development and refinement behind it, RCA is still evolving. This means you’ll be adopting an immature platform that’s likely to encounter bugs, instability, and challenges with future updates. It’s unwise to place your critical revenue processes in a system still trying to find its footing.

High Complexity: RCA brings with it a new set of complexities that require significant reconfiguration of your processes. The transition is anything but seamless, and many businesses report lengthy delays and frustration when trying to align RCA with their existing workflows.

AI-Driven Insights Aren’t a Guaranteed Win: Einstein’s predictive capabilities are still far from perfect. Many customers report that it adds complexity without delivering reliable insights, undermining its promise of smarter selling. 

Operational Risks: The migration to RCA comes with operational risks that extend far beyond data migration. With a fundamentally different architecture, RCA can wreak havoc on pricing structures, product catalogs, and integrations, leaving your business vulnerable to pricing errors, delays, and operational bottlenecks.

The Hidden Costs of Migration

If you decide that the time to move to Revenue Cloud has come, be prepared for the hidden costs that will quickly accumulate:

• Consulting Fees and External Assistance: Migrating to RCA often requires bringing in consultants and migration experts. The costs can quickly escalate, especially if your company has a heavily customized Salesforce CPQ environment.
• Integration Overhaul: If your current system is tightly integrated with other business applications, you may face significant challenges ensuring that RCA communicates effectively with your other systems.
• Training and Change Management: As RCA’s user interface is more complex and unfamiliar, extensive training will be necessary. Failure to secure strong user adoption will only delay your ROI and further disrupt your revenue operations.

Don’t Migrate Without a Plan

Migrating from Salesforce CPQ requires careful planning, especially given the platform’s recent changes. Salesforce has stopped selling CPQ to new customers, signaling a shift in focus and resources away from this product. There hasn’t been a major update in over four years and there’s no clear roadmap for the application’s future. As a result, users can expect declining support, slower bug fixes, and an increase in system issues.

Moreover, many Salesforce partners are pivoting away from CPQ, making it more difficult to find experienced support when you need it most. Without a clear migration plan in place, you risk expensive custom rebuilds and unanticipated disruptions to your operations.

Salesforce CPQ users are reporting that Revenue Cloud is complex and has a lengthy implementation. Many customers are proactively seeking alternatives to avoid getting stuck with a malfunctioning, mission-critical system.

The window for a smooth transition is closing as Salesforce CPQ’s sunset begins. The support you rely on may soon be unavailable, leaving your business vulnerable when you need help the most. Now is the time to explore mature, scalable revenue lifecycle management solutions that offer strong user experiences, easy implementation, and ongoing support.

Exploring Your Revenue Lifecycle Management Options

Migrating from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud is a significant step in optimizing your revenue operations. However, before committing to Salesforce’s ecosystem, consider evaluating other revenue lifecycle management solutions that might better fit your business needs.

• Enterprise Companies: DealHub offers a flexible and scalable quote-to-revenue platform tailored for large organizations. DealHub’s no-code environment facilitates smooth application configuration and migration to their platform.
• SMBs & Growth-Stage Companies: Zuora and Subskribe provide intuitive, automated billing and revenue solutions designed for smaller businesses with dynamic pricing models.

Selecting the right platform depends on your business complexity, scalability needs, and integration requirements. Take the time to assess your options and choose a solution that will drive long-term revenue success without lengthy implementation time and costly IT resources.

Explore alternatives and carefully assess whether RCA is really the future of your business, or if the risks of waiting and complexity simply aren’t worth it.