Salesforce and ISVs: Unlocking Customized Tech Solutions for Businesses

With forecasts around Salesforce growing to be a company worth more than Microsoft by the end of 2030, there is definitely something great about being a part of the Salesforce ecosystem. More and more companies across the globe are adopting cloud-based CRM solutions, so, it is a thriving universe for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to accelerate their business growth. By building custom apps, ISVs extend Salesforce functionalities, catering to exclusive requirements of businesses. This gives them access to a larger playing field.

Salesforce ISVs create products on the Salesforce platform, which become available on AppExchange for organizations to use as per their requirements. They focus on building packaged applications that get seamlessly installed into the Salesforce Org. Predominantly, there are three reasons why ISVs are attracted to offer applications on Salesforce:

• It helps them collaborate with fast-growing companies
• It gives them a host of Salesforce tools and technologies to launch apps
• It gives massive exposure to their work through millions of Salesforce users on AppExchange

How has Salesforce Transformed Because of ISVs?

ISVs have primarily helped Salesforce extend its functionalities. If Salesforce is the favorite battleground for ISVs, ISVs receive equal reception from Salesforce as they help it meet specific business requirements of organizations at a granular level. A lot of organizations use Sales Cloud to sell more effectively. So, the focus area for ISVs in Salesforce is sales with approximately 34.4% ISVs focused on it.

Not all organizations can fulfill their business needs with out-of-the-box solutions. This makes AppExchange the go-to destination for them as they get access to hundreds of Salesforce-native, security-vetted, ready-made applications, which are fully customizable to solve business needs. Also, many of these applications are free. So, ISVs have given Salesforce an added advantage by providing a host of extended customizable capabilities to solve varied business problems, strengthening its market potential and helping it become more than a CRM platform.

Historically, 2010 was a booming year for Salesforce ISVs as most ISV apps were published on AppExchange in that year. During Dreamforce 2011, Salesforce CEO and Chairman, Marc Benioff, indicated the increasing push for ISVs. In a Q&A session, he said, “They (ISVs) want to be on this train. And we want them to be on the train. It’s a win-win for both of us to have them on board.” And since then there has been a large number of ISVs who got onboarded on Salesforce and others that kept updating their app functionalities year after year.

Popular ISVs That Have Encashed the Salesforce Customization Game

Salesforce partner ecosystem and AppExchange is a prime opportunity for leading app developers to display their finesse in the field and monetize their offerings. These ISVs extend the Salesforce platform by adding apps with customized capabilities that help organizations improve the functionality of their core products and solve specific business problems. This helps them attract major investments from organizations as they solve a range of business purposes for them. Let’s take a look at a few ISVs that have taken the customization game up a notch:

• Sonar: Sonar offers a change intelligence platform. It helps organizations smoothly navigate through their tech-stack integrations. Their dependable offerings have garnered them Series A funding of $12m^[i] in March 2021.
• Spekit: What began as a data dictionary to automatically map and document all fields in a Salesforce Org has now grown to improve employee experiences. It is a contextual learning and documentation platform that seamlessly helps employees with Salesforce onboarding and drives adoption with smart walkthroughs. With its valuable offering, Spekit was able to raise $12.2m^[ii] worth of funding in March 2021.
• Scratchpad: It is a workspace developed for sales teams. It combines sales notes, spreadsheets, tasks, Kanban boards, search, collaboration, and sales process adherence in a single, intuitive workspace, which is connected to Salesforce and significantly reduces the time that would otherwise be spent browsing through different tabs. Scratchpad has been able to raise Series A funding of $16.6m^[iii] in February 2021.
• AppOmni: AppOmni offers an SSPM (SaaS Security Posture Management) solution. It is a platform that makes it easy for security teams to align with their IT counterparts to monitor and secure SaaS deployments. AppOmni has raised $53m^[iv] in its Series A and Series B funding.
• Qualified: Qualified is a sales and marketing platform purpose-built for Salesforce. It hooks into Salesforce Sales Cloud data to let companies know the moment when open opportunities, leads, contacts from target accounts arrive on their site. It opens doors for businesses to connect with high-intent buyers through real-time conversations via chatbots and live meetings. In 2021, they were also selected to provide AppExchange with live chat. Their valuable offering has mustered them $68m^[v] of funding.
• Grazitti Interactive: Grazitti Interactive has developed an array of products to help various organizations start and grow in their Salesforce journey. With products like Sinergify (A Salesforce and Jira Integration Connector), Scorenotch (A Salesforce native and lightning-ready gamification product for Salesforce communities), IdeasPro (An idea management product for Salesforce communities), and expertise in building innovative solutions, Grazitti Interactive has been making organizations digital future-ready that has won it the trust of 100+ Silicon Valley companies.

What is the Future of ISVs With Salesforce?

ISVs and Salesforce together can unlock a bright future. More than 80% of Salesforce customers^[vi] are already using apps on AppExchange. So, it is a good time for ISVs to be Salesforce partners. Business leaders are increasingly comprehending the value of having a cloud-based infrastructure. And not just the large enterprises but organizations of all shapes and sizes have started to use Salesforce. This represents heightened opportunities for ISVs to offer solutions on the platform. Also, the complexity of various business-critical projects now requires Salesforce and ISVs to work together. So, the future will unfold more ISVs showcasing their solutions on the platform.

Conclusion

Demands for tailored solutions to meet specific business needs are dramatically increasing. Salesforce’s revenue currently stands at $230 billion^[vii] and its partner ecosystem revenue is projected to be almost 6 times larger than Salesforce’s revenue by 2024. And with Salesforce’s focus on increasing applications on AppExchange, it is a promising time for ISVs to be on the block.

Statistics References:

^{[i], [ii], [iii], [iv], [v], [vii]} https://www.salesforceben.com/salesforce-isvs-whove-raised-millions/
^[vi] https://fortyseven47.com/news/top-3-salesforce-sales-cloud-apps-on-appexchange-a-quick-overview/