Salesforce Administrators have always been at the center of how organizations run their most critical systems. But as AI, automation, and agents reshape the way work gets done, the admin role is evolving faster than ever.
“The Next Gen Admin: Conversations Shaping the Role in the AI Era” is a new series exploring how Salesforce Admins are evolving to run the Agentic Enterprise. We spotlight leaders who are experimenting, advising, and redefining how modern systems are built, governed, and scaled.
Tony Nguyen is the Salesforce Platform Manager and People Leader at Minnesota IT Services, where he leads Salesforce strategy and delivery supporting the Minnesota Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).
A Salesforce Golden Hoodie recipient with 11 Salesforce Certifications, Tony brings experience across multiple industries from his work as both a Salesforce Consultant and enterprise platform leader. His journey into the Salesforce ecosystem has been featured in publications including Salesforce News, Forbes, Business Insider, TechRepublic, and TechTarget, as well as Salesforce’s “How I Solved It” series.
Beyond his platform leadership, Tony is passionate about growing the Salesforce ecosystem through teaching and mentorship, having helped train over 1,000 aspiring Salesforce professionals as they launch careers in the industry.
The technical bar is no longer just about knowing the platform; it’s about the breadth of responsibility. There’s a reason the Salesforce Certified Administrator certification is often considered the hardest. You have to know a little bit of everything, including security, data models, DevOps, and governance.
Today, the shining admins are those who have moved beyond the fix-it mentality to become strategic stewards of the organization. In the public sector especially, we’re seeing the role evolve into a high-stakes position where you’re managing not just an org, but the trust of the residents you serve. Companies now expect admins to do more than ever, particularly in areas like security and DevOps, which used to be siloed off.
As we wait to see what features come to Public Sector and Gov Cloud, I’m having my team skill up. We’re getting the team certified and achieving Agentblazer status so that they’re ready the moment the technology is cleared for use.
Given our work in the public sector, we’re operating in an environment where we can’t just roll things out the moment they hit the market due to strict data and security requirements.
We’re excited for Setup with Agentforce. We’re looking at how AI can analyze the mechanical parts of our internal team’s work, like auditing user permissions. Our team spends a significant amount of time on these tasks; if AI can summarize and audit those, it frees us to focus on higher-value architecture.
In government, the work is endless, so maximizing the efficiency of every dollar spent to get services to residents faster will be a huge win.
As a manager of a technical team, I’m looking for a specific evolution of skills.
To be a next-gen, AI-first admin is to be a leader who catches up with the speed of AI without sacrificing the security of the foundation. It means acting as the Chief Security and Data Steward of your org.
It’s about knowing when to say, “I’m going to give you what you need, not just what you say you want.” The next-gen admin bridges the gap between executive hype and actual, quantifiable use cases. You are the one ensuring that as the team moves toward a hands-off, automated future, the governance guardrails and standards are so solid that the system remains trustworthy for every resident who interacts with it.
The next-gen admin is still being defined — and your voice matters. What skills are you building? What questions are you wrestling with? Join the conversation.
Check out the conversation with Ishrat Bhatti for more Next-Gen Admin content.
Salesforce Administrators have always been at the center of how organizations run their most critical systems. But as AI, automation, and agents reshape the way work gets done, the admin role is evolving faster than ever. “The Next Gen Admin: Conversations Shaping the Role in the AI Era” is a new series exploring how Salesforce […]
We’re standing at the edge of the biggest shift our industry has ever seen. The Agentic Enterprise is transforming how businesses operate and how we work. Salesforce Admins aren’t observing this shift from the sidelines. You’re building it, piece by piece, every day. This is the natural evolution of a community that spans 160+ user […]
TDX 2026 returns to San Francisco and Salesforce+ on April 15–16. This year we’re introducing brand-new experiences designed to help you go deeper on the Agentforce 360 Platform and connect directly with the experts building it. TDX is where admins, developers, and architects come together to sharpen technical skills and have real conversations about what’s […]
