Anyone in the CRM industry knows that Salesforce is the leading CRM provider.
With over 150,000 customers around the world today and ranked as #1 CRM provider in 2023 by International Data Corporation (IDC), it looks like Salesforce has no plans to give up its leading position in the foreseeable future, as the company’s revenue hit $34.9 billion mark in 2024, signaling an increase of 11% over the previous year.
Key Benefits of Using Salesforce
Businesses choose Salesforce for many reasons. First, because it is entirely cloud-based, which means you can access the CRM solution from anywhere with an internet connection. You can collaborate, share data, and manage customer interaction remotely – a simple necessity nowadays.
It’s also a highly flexible and customizable platform that fits individual needs and processes like sales and customer support all in one place, no matter if you're a small business or a big company.
Salesforce also connects smoothly with other tools and business apps, which helps businesses save time, avoid double work, and keep data consistent across systems.
But all of these features are not unique enough to make the company a global leader. So, what makes Salesforce so successful globally?
UNDERSTANDING THE SALESFORCE PARTNER ECOSYSTEM
What truly solidifies Salesforce’s reputation is its solid worldwide partner community – a network of dedicated and professional partners who provide outstanding customer service to their customers.
Indeed, they are the cornerstone of the Salesforce customer success strategy! And it’s also one of the largest partner ecosystems in the world.
Broadly speaking, the Salesforce partner ecosystem refers to all companies that are doing business based on the Salesforce solutions. Working with a Salesforce partner is pivotal to the success of your Salesforce CRM implementation.
Who is the best Salesforce implementation or consultant partner for your business? What if you need to integrate Salesforce with another solution? Where can you find the best Salesforce integration partner for your business?
Let’s find out together!
TYPES OF SALESFORCE PARTNERS
To begin, we need to clarify who is who in the Salesforce partner community, so that you know what type of partner you need.
There are 3 main types of Salesforce partners:
Salesforce integration partner. A company that specializes in connecting Salesforce with other software systems. Such as, for example, Rapidi that helps businesses integrate Salesforce with their ERP systems.
▪️ Integration partners are usually data management firms, API developers, Cloud integration service providers, and enterprise software integration specialists.
Salesforce implementation partner. A company that can help you set up and deploy Salesforce solutions. For example, Accenture assists companies in customizing and launching Salesforce for their specific needs.
▪️ Implementation partners are usually IT consulting companies, Cloud technology deployment companies, CRM implementation specialists, and digital transformation agencies.
Salesforce consulting partner: A company that offers expert advice on how to use Salesforce effectively. As an example we can mention Deloitte that offers strategic guidance on how to maximize Salesforce's capabilities for business growth.
▪️ Consulting partners often are represented by management consulting companies, business process optimization experts, CRM strategy consultancies, and industry-specific advisory services.
Navigating the Salesforce partner communities
According to IDC, by 2026 the Salesforce partner ecosystem is set to grow nearly 6X the size of Salesforce itself. However, the Salesforce partner community is not only the largest tech community in the world, it’s also one of the best connected in the world.
There are many Salesforce user groups around the globe, which are fairly easy to find following these Salesforce instructions. Did you know that there are more than 3,000 Salesforcerelated groups on LinkedIn alone?
It can, however, be difficult to navigate between these LinkedIn groups. Here is a simpler way to find a Salesforce integration consulting partner for you.
HOW TO FIND A SALESFORCE INTEGRATION PARTNER
STEP 1. Let’s start with the place where you can find a Salesforce partner.
The best place for this is Salesforce AppExchange – a platform where Salesforce Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners can promote and sell their solutions, apps and components.
Salesforce AppExchange is also the place to find Salesforce consultants, developers and consulting or implementation firms. In other words, AppExchange works like a partner portal where businesses can find the right partner by searching in such categories:
- Salesforce expertise (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Community Cloud, Pardot, Heroku, Einstein, Lightning, non-profit, etc.)
- Industry expertise (Auto and Manufacturing, Consumer Goods and Retail, Energy, Financial Services, Public Sector, etc.)
- Country and state/region
- Number of certified experts
- Current AppExchange ratings
STEP 2. The next step in your quest to find the best Salesforce integration partner is to check a partner’s credentials.
When looking for a Salesforce partner, find out whether they are a part of the Salesforce partner program, where partners are tiered according to their trailblazer score, number of certifications and an annual fee.
Trailblazer points can be collected in the Salesforce Trailhead – an online learning platform where you can learn about Salesforce and earn badges to become a trailblazer.
The Salesforce partner program consists of:
- Registered partners
- Silver partners
- Gold partners
- Platinum partners
- Global strategic partners
These partners can without a doubt help you implement Salesforce.com to optimize your business processes or support your full business transformation.
STEP 3. Next, you need to assess a partner’s relevance to your needs – select a partner with extensive experience within that industry.
Consider this example: You are looking for a partner who can provide you with a Salesforce data integration solution. You might want to connect Salesforce with an ERP solution, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, to bring financial insight to your customer data.
Great idea! But in this case, the Salesforce consulting partner program might not be the place to start. Instead, looking through the AppExchange apps can be a more effective approach. All apps are delivered by a partner, which is a more straightforward way.
On AppExchange, apps are sorted by:
- Price level (free, paid and discounted for non-profit)
- The Salesforce version they are compatible with (Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, Force.com, Developer)
- Clouds and features (Financial Service Cloud, Health Cloud, Government Cloud, Lightning Experience, etc.)
- Language
- Current AppExchange ratings
This still does not give you an option to select "ERP integration". Therefore, the best way to go about it is to use the search field (see illustration below).
And here you go – you can see now a number of Salesforce system integration solutions currently available in the market. You can filter them by rating, price, industries or needs, and many more categories.
NOT ALL SALESFORCE PARTNERS ARE DATA INTEGRATION PARTNERS
It’s also important to understand that being a Salesforce partner does not mean they are a Salesforce data integration partner.
When selecting a Salesforce data integration partner, look for expertise, reliability, and the ability to meet your specific needs.
A good Salesforce data integration partner should be able to offer:
High Salesforce expertise
- have a deep understanding of Salesforce's tools, such as APIs, connectors, and native integration capabilities.
- be Salesforce-certified and experienced in working with various Salesforce clouds (Sales, Service, and Marketing).
- be able to develop custom solutions when out-of-the-box integration options are insufficient.
Data integration experience
- have experience integrating Salesforce with other platforms (ERPs, CRMs, databases, etc.).
- understand various data protocols (SOAP, REST, OData) and middleware tools (Mulesoft, Informatica, Boomi).
- know how to handle data transformations, ensure data integrity, and align Salesforce data structures with external systems.
Security and compliance knowledge
- ensure that all data transfers comply with security protocols, such as encryption and access control.
- be familiar with industry regulations (GDPR, HIPAA) and be able to maintain compliance in all data-handling practices.
- have experience with Salesforce Shield for encryption and monitoring, especially for organizations with strict regulatory requirements.
Ongoing support and scalability
- offer ongoing support for troubleshooting, upgrades, and future integrations.
- design scalable integration architectures that can adapt to your future growth needs without significant rework.
These are the basic characteristics that a Salesforce integration partner should have. If you find one that has them all, you'll be well-positioned to achieve a seamless, secure, and scalable integration.
FINDING THE RIGHT SALESFORCE - MICROSOFT DYNAMICS ERP INTEGRATION PARTNER
Connecting data sources can be a difficult task, especially at the age of "big data" and large data warehouses. To build a reliable Salesforce - ERP integration, it’s not enough to just create a solution that extracts data.
So, how do you find the right Salesforce - ERP integration partner?
The short answer: you need to look for a partner that is also a specialist in the other systems you wish to integrate with.
Typically, organizations that use Salesforce also need to connect with a strong and solid ERP. They do that to strengthen their customer business with insightful financial information.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP (for example, Dynamics 365 Business Central or Finance) is often used as an addition to Salesforce. And many vendors offer API integrations to such solutions.
However, the best integrations between these solutions are made by experts in:
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP
- Data integration
That kind of partner can be hard to find but not impossible.
A company like Rapidi provides a cloud-based data integration solution based on expert knowledge in all these areas.
Rapidi Data Integration Solutions is a robust solution that was designed to make Salesforce - Microsoft Dynamics integration simple. It provides pre-configured templates and is priced to remain affordable and can be used by companies of all sizes.
Contact us today and find out how we can help you!
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