What is the Salesforce partner ecosystem?
The Salesforce partner ecosystem explained
What is the Salesforce partner ecosystem?
The Salesforce ecosystem is, essentially, a network of experts (firms or individuals) who have the ability to add services or products on top of Salesforce subscriptions. Whether they are a platinum-level consultancy or a third-party provider, if they’re enabling more people to use Salesforce, then they are part of the partner ecosystem.
Salesforce boasts a record partner ecosystem like no other tech company in the world.
Whilst the official number of Salesforce partners operating in the UK is unclear, there are over 150,000 registered partners working around the globe and this number is only predicted to grow in the next few years.
The future of the Salesforce ecosystem
The Salesforce partner ecosystem is one of the only ecosystems in the world that grows as it spends.
According to research by IDC, Salesforce partners collectively around the globe are expected to make 5x the annual market cap that Salesforce could make by 2024.
Additionally, the market research giant has revealed that by 2024, cloud computing will account for almost 50% of all software sales – a statistic Salesforce will fit nicely into and most likely benefit from. IDC has also predicted that Salesforce and the ecosystem will create 4.2 million new jobs over the same 5 year period. We have summarised this below so you can see how each industry will benefit from an influx of jobs.
How does Salesforce support the partner ecosystem?
Dreamforce is one example of how Salesforce celebrates the ecosystem’s achievements and brings the community together every year. Last year’s Dreamforce event featured appearances from Barack Obama and Fleetwood Mac and showcased Salesforce’s most innovative plans for the future.
Similarly, there is the Salesforce World Tour which takes place earlier in the year and is essentially a global exhibition of best practices and knowledge from industry experts.
"It's a virtuous cycle that keeps giving back to itself"
To quote Salesforce directly, the partner ecosystem is “a virtuous cycle that keeps giving back to itself”, so why shouldn’t it be celebrated with something extravagant?
Navigating your way around the Salesforce ecosystem
You might be wondering given the sheer volume of consulting partners, how does Salesforce recognise and regulate every service provided? More importantly, how do you know which partner to work with?
Salesforce rank it’s partners predominantly by going off a points-based system, comparing factors like customer ratings, contract value and certifications. In March 2020, Salesforce unveiled the new ‘Partner Trailblazer Score’ which allows consulting partners to improve their point ratings even more.
Regardless of where a consulting partner is based, if they have a registered status, you can guarantee they have been trusted to deliver solutions to the high standard set by Salesforce. Browsing the AppExchange is a brilliant way to find your perfect consulting partner – and you might discover the solution you’re looking for is already made. The Salesforce AppExchange highlights the very best talent and innovative ideas to come from the partner ecosystem.