Why fixing your Salesforce foundation is critical for Agentic AI success

Lawrence Coppin,

Vice President, Technology, Salesforce at Virtusa

Published: June 20, 2025

We’re entering a new era of enterprise productivity—one where AI doesn’t just assist; it acts. Agentic AI (or agent AI)—the practical application layer of generative AI (genAI) within enterprise systems—is emerging as the next big leap in intelligent automation. It has the power to transform how businesses serve customers, support employees, and scale operations, all on its own.

According to Gartner, by 2029, Agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues without human intervention, leading to a 30% reduction in operational costs.

As the excitement for the tech builds, however, one truth is becoming clear: The success of agent AI hinges not just on innovation, but on seamless integration. And that depends on the health of your existing tech ecosystem—especially Salesforce.

Hype vs reality

Agentforce—one of Salesforce’s fastest-growing Agentic AI innovations—is being hailed as a game-changer for service automation and AI-powered productivity. With over 10,000 licenses already sold, the momentum for Agentforce is undeniable. But here’s the catch: only a small fraction of customers has gone live in production. 

What’s holding them back? In most cases, it’s not the AI. It’s the organization. Specifically, the operational complexity within their Salesforce environments. Due to this, most organizations are not fully prepared for implementing Agentforce and reaping its benefits.

The hard truth

Salesforce’s power lies in its flexibility. But after years of rapid app development, iterative enhancements, and shifting priorities, many companies are left with deeply customized—and often fragile—Salesforce environments.

We see such overly customized organizations all the time, where even the most mature teams struggle to manage complexities. All that tech debt becomes a critical blocker when it comes to adopting Agentforce.

Why? Because genAI isn’t like traditional automation. It depends on clarity, which requires an organization’s data clouds to be thoroughly cleaned. When the environment is cluttered with duplicate logic, poor data structures, and unpredictable flows, Agentforce simply can’t deliver. 

What you get as a result is poor customer service quality, breakdown in automation, missed strategic value and wasted investment.

 

 

How tech debt undermines Agentforce

Tech Debt Issue 

Impact on Agentforce

Poor Metadata Hygiene

Redundant or obsolete classes and flows create logic conflicts and design complexity

 

Confuses LLMs, increases hallucinations

Inconsistent or Low-Quality Data

Duplicates, missing fields, or inconsistent picklists

 

Reduces accuracy and relevance of AI output

Excessive Custom Code

Overreliance on unmanaged or opaque Apex

 

Low observability, fragile performance

 

Automation Conflicts

Unpredictable flows and logic overlaps

 

Breaks agent suggestions, causes inconsistent outcomes

UI/UX Inconsistencies

Cluttered or inconsistent Lightning layouts 

 

 

Reduces user adoption of Agentforce

 

Virtusa’s solution: Fixing the foundation first

Getting ahead of this challenge requires a thorough evaluation of the Salesforce org health as a strategic lever for long-term GenAI success. Virtusa has a fixed-price, outcome-based Salesforce Org Health and Agentforce Readiness Assessment, powered by our partnership with Quality Clouds, which can help identify the gaps.

Going beyond assessment, we accelerate your journey to AI readiness. We do this by identifying and prioritizing areas of tech debt remediation. We also simplify and streamline automation logic, to identify data issues that could impact genAI performance.

Our approach also includes identifying high-value Agentforce use cases, assessing license utilization and platform readiness for scale. Furthermore, we deliver a clear, prioritized roadmap to ensure your organization is fully prepared to unlock the benefits of Agentforce.

Why it matters

When you fix the foundation first, your genAI investments begin delivering ROI faster, AI assistance becomes more trusted and widely adopted by users, and customers benefit from smarter, more consistent service experiences. At the same time, you reduce the cost to serve while increasing your organization’s agility. Whether you’re preparing for a pilot or planning an enterprise-scale rollout, the question to answer isn’t “Are you enabled?”—it’s “Are you ready?”

Why Virtusa

Virtusa brings proven Salesforce leadership, with over 15 years of experience delivering large-scale programs—including the world’s first genAI-powered Service Cloud call center at a Fortune 5 company. Our deep industry expertise ensures a domain-first approach, aligning genAI with core business processes for maximum impact. With our enterprise-grade AI capability, powered by Virtusa Helio, we seamlessly integrate Salesforce with broader data and genAI strategies at scale. And through focused, long-term partnerships, we work closely with a select group of clients in key industries to deliver sustained, measurable value.

Before you switch on the agents, let’s make sure your organization is ready. Request your assessment now!

Lawrence Coppin

Lawrence Coppin

Vice President, Technology, Salesforce

Lawrence Coppin is a seasoned Salesforce leader with over a decade of experience driving digital transformation across global enterprises. Based in London, he heads Virtusa’s global Salesforce practice, shaping innovative, industry-aligned solutions for clients worldwide.
With 20 Salesforce certifications—including specialties in Agentforce and Data Cloud—Lawrence brings deep technical expertise and strategic insight to every engagement. His impact spans key industries such as healthcare, telecommunications, and real estate, where he has led successful transformation initiatives by aligning business goals with Salesforce capabilities.
Recognized for his thought leadership, Lawrence is one of just 12 global members appointed to the prestigious Salesforce Health Cloud Partner Advisory Board. He also chairs Virtusa’s Agentforce Guild, driving innovation and collaboration across the company’s Salesforce community.


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