Roles › Chief Executive Officer › Chief Information Officer › Enterprise Applications

What does a Business Systems Administrator do?

Administer the business systems where most company data is originally created.

Steady demand Team: Enterprise Applications Reports into: Chief Information Officer

What they actually do

Configure and maintain Salesforce, SAP/NetSuite, Workday, etc.
Build integrations between systems.
Field change requests from business teams; own the "source of truth" for customers, orders, employees.

Hiring demand

Steady demand. Regular postings, but fewer than the busiest roles. Expect a longer search or more specialization.

Ad space

Who they work with

Business departmentsData pipeline engineersData stewards

Typical tools

SalesforceSAP / Oracle / NetSuiteWorkdayMuleSoft / Boomi

Skills to get there

Application configuration
Business process
Integration

Title ladder

Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.

Level	Typical titles
Entry	Junior / Associate Business Systems Administrator · Business Systems Administrator I
Mid	Business Systems Administrator · Business Systems Administrator II
Senior	Senior Business Systems Administrator · Lead Business Systems Administrator
Expert (IC track)	Staff / Principal Business Systems Administrator
Management track	Manager, Enterprise Applications → Director of Enterprise Applications → VP

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Searching for: Business Systems Administrator · anywhere in the US · change

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How to get here

Salary (US) as of 2026-11

Median$106K

Typical range$80K–$139K

Sources:

No exact BLS code; 15-1211 is nearest for ERP/CRM/HRIS admins. Salesforce admins (Glassdoor) are the best-documented sub-title; Workday and NetSuite admins are similar but fewer data points. Salary proxy: BLS 15-1211 Computer Systems Analysts median.

Experience to get here

Entry level1-2 years (often as a power user, support analyst, or junior admin)

Typical title2-5 years

Bachelor's common but not strictly required; a platform certification plus 2+ years administering the system is what postings ask for. Business-side people (sales ops, finance, HR) often cross over.

Typical prior roles

Sales / Revenue Operations AnalystBusiness AnalystIT Support SpecialistJunior Salesforce Administrator

Must have

2+ years administering the platform (Salesforce, NetSuite, Workday, etc.)
Declarative configuration (Salesforce Flow, objects, roles, permissions)
Data management and reporting (Excel, dashboards)
Stakeholder management with business teams
Agile ticket/change workflow (Jira, Asana)

Milestones people hit first

Owned the admin seat for a company-wide system and its release cycle
Built an integration or automation (Flow, MuleSoft/Boomi) that removed manual work
Cleaned and governed a core object (accounts, orders, employees) as source of truth
Earned the platform's administrator certification

Certifications

Salesforce Certified AdministratorSalesforce

Requiredin postings: often

Exam fee	$200
Training	Trailhead free; retake $100
Renewal	annual release maintenance modules (free) or credential expires
Typical total	$200-500 incl. retake/prep (third-party figure; vendor page does not list fees)

Time: 2-3 months with 6+ months hands-on recommended
Prerequisites: None formal; Salesforce recommends 6+ months as an admin

The current Salesforce Administrator posting listed the cert as required; it is the baseline for CRM admin roles.

ITIL 4 FoundationPeopleCert / Axelos

Nice to havein postings: rarely

Exam fee	not published
Training	exam bundle $690 incl. eBook; eLearning bundle $1,029
Renewal	every 3 years; 60 CPD points or new exam
Typical total	$690-1,340 (bundle pricing)

Time: 2-3 weeks
Prerequisites: None

Useful vocabulary for change/release management in IT-run application teams; rarely required for admins.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)Microsoft

Nice to havein postings: rarely

Exam fee	not published
Training	Microsoft Learn free
Renewal	free yearly assessment
Typical total	exam priced by region; pricing on request

Time: 1-3 months
Prerequisites: None formal

Relevant only for Dynamics 365 / Microsoft-stack business systems admins who also manage identity (Entra ID).

Training & learning

Trailhead: Admin Beginner trail FREE Salesforce · learning path · free · ~7.5 hoursSalesforce's own free hands-on path toward the Administrator exam.
Salesforce Certified Administrator exam guide FREE Salesforce · course · free (exam $200) · 1 hour to read; weeks to prepOfficial exam outline with section weights and recommended experience.
Microsoft Learn FREE Microsoft · learning path · free (self-paced modules) · self-pacedFree modules for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Entra ID admins.
ITIL 4 Foundation exam bundle PeopleCert · course · $690 · 15-20 hoursStructured intro to service management for admins moving into IT leadership.

Sources & notes

Workday and NetSuite administrator certifications are restricted to customers/partners, so they are omitted; postings for those admins typically ask for hands-on experience instead. ITIL standalone exam price is not shown (bundle only). Salary median uses BLS 15-1211 as the nearest code; the Glassdoor Salesforce-admin median ($114K) is close.

Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.

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