Becoming a Salesforce ISV

Becoming a Salesforce ISV is a journey, but like any great journey, it’s not all smooth sailing…

Here are some quick pointers that include the good and the challenging…

The Good

1. Massive Built-in Market
   Salesforce has over 150,000 customers globally, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 enterprises. As an ISV, you get instant access to a mature, tech-savvy customer base that’s actively looking for solutions.

2. Trust and Credibility
   Listing your product on the Salesforce AppExchange means you’re associated with one of the most trusted enterprise platforms.

3. Platform Power
   You get to build secure, scalable, multi-tenant apps without worrying about the core infrastructure.

4. Integration-First Mindset
   Because you're building on top of Salesforce, your app starts with native access to CRM data. That tight integration is a huge value-add for customers who want seamless workflows.

5. Go-to-Market Support

   Salesforce has an evolving strategy and partners must be dedicated, nimble, and adaptive. See also in the bad.

The Challenge

1. Long and Costly Security Review
   Before listing on AppExchange, every app goes through a rigorous security review—which can take months and costs thousands of dollars. And that’s just the beginning.

2. Revenue Sharing
   Salesforce takes a cut typically 15% of your gross revenue. It’s the price of admission, but for small ISVs, it can sting.

3. Steep Learning Curve
   The Salesforce platform is vast and evolving. Between Apex quirks, packaging nuances, and managed vs. unmanaged code dilemmas, there’s a lot to master.

4. Dependency Risks
   You're tied to Salesforce’s release cycles and roadmap decisions. Platform changes (like API deprecations or Lightning requirements) can force unexpected rework.

5. Competitive Noise
   The AppExchange is crowded. Unless your solution is hyper-differentiated or you’re laser-focused on GTM, it's easy to get lost in the mix.

6. Go-to-Market Support

   Salesforce has an evolving strategy and partners must be dedicated, nimble, and adaptive. See also in the good.

Being a Salesforce ISV offers massive opportunity especially if you can align closely with Salesforce’s strategic focus areas (like AI, automation, and industry clouds) it’s also a serious commitment.

Success requires not just technical savvy, but also a deep understanding of Salesforce’s ecosystem dynamics and driving value for Salesforce customers.