Salesforce Launches New AppExchange Partner Program Empowering Millions of Developers and ISVs to Blaze New Trails in the $389 Billion Salesforce Economy

• Tom Smith


• 1 Jun 2017

Salesforce has launched the Salesforce AppExchange Partner Program. The new program—coupled with latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) from Salesforce Einstein and the power of the Salesforce Trailhead guided learning platform—accelerates the ability of any developer, startup or ISV to build, market and sell intelligent apps for the $389 billion Salesforce economy.

“The convergence of AI, IoT and massive datasets has created incredible new opportunities for developers to move beyond the app—and build components, intelligent bots, data streams and more,” said Leyla Seka, executive vice president of AppExchange, Salesforce. “The new AppExchange Partner Program empowers the next generation of Salesforce ISVs with a single destination for everything they need to succeed—the training to create solutions on cutting-edge Salesforce technology and the programs to turn them into businesses with global reach.”

New Opportunities in the World’s Largest ISV Ecosystem
The Salesforce AppExchange, the world’s largest and longest-running enterprise app marketplace, is home to more than 3,000 solutions for sales, service, marketing and more that have been installed more than 4 million times. Nearly 90 percent of the Fortune 100 have already installed apps from the AppExchange.

Salesforce enables anyone to turn their ideas into businesses using its breakthrough training, technology and programs. Salesforce Trailhead, the online, interactive learning platform that empowers everyone to skill-up for free, educates developers at every level on how to build apps, components and more on Salesforce. With Einstein embedded into the Salesforce Platform, developers can access state-of-the-art AI technologies like machine learning and natural-language processing, making those solutions smarter than ever before.

Today, Salesforce unveiled its new AppExchange Partner Program, replacing the current ISV Partner Program. Key new features of the AppExchange Partner Program include:

New Business Model: Developers, startups and ISVs can now take advantage of a new pricing structure that provides enablement and support based on the partner’s AppExchange Trailblazer Score—a new, point-based system that supports partners for their growth and activities including:

• Customer success, based on AppExchange reviews and ratings;
• Product success, based on security review status and adoption of latest Salesforce technology;
• Team readiness, calculated via Trailhead trails completed and certifications gained;
• Giving back through participation in the Pledge 1% program.

Salesforce is lowering the baseline percent-net-revenue (PNR) model for all new AppExchange Partner Program partners from 25 percent to 15 percent. Existing partners are eligible for the new PNR terms upon renewal of their current contracts.

New Onboarding Experience: To accelerate time-to-market, the AppExchange Partner Program will include several new onboarding tools to streamline a partner’s journey from idea to app, including:

• Onboarding wizard enables partners to get up-and-running quickly on the AppExchange with automated guides and checklists, reducing the amount of manual data entry to a few, simple, click-through screens.
• Payment tools include support for Single Euro Payments and Automatic Clearing House (ACH), in addition to credit cards. And Salesforce will also open up API support for its Channel Order App, so partners can connect their payment systems directly to Salesforce and automate their order submission process.
• New AppExchange Partner Program dashboard provides real-time access to partners’ AppExchange Trailblazer Score and onboarding checklist progress.

New Technology Tools: With updates three times a year to the entire Salesforce Platform, partners benefit from Salesforce’s continuous innovation. The AppExchange Partner Program provides partners with the latest technology tools such as:

• Salesforce DX enables new levels of productivity, collaboration and control by helping developers deliver innovative apps faster with scratch environments, an improved integrated development environment, seamless GitHub integration and more.
• Free Heroku access allows developers, ISVs and startups to build apps in the language of their choice. In addition to a free developer org, partners will also receive Heroku credits that can be used toward purchasing dynos and add-on services.
• New Platform Fund Supercharges Development of New, Intelligent Solutions
  To supercharge the development of new ecosystem solutions and create additional jobs worldwide, Salesforce Ventures—Salesforce’s corporate investment group—today announced the new Salesforce Platform Fund with$100 million in new funding. Following the successful Salesforce Lightning Fund launch last year, which has been fully deployed, the new Salesforce Platform Fund invests in entrepreneurs and companies who are building intelligent, transformative apps and components on the Salesforce Platform, extending the power of Salesforce for customers. Salesforce Ventures will also partner with other venture capital firms to identify joint investment opportunities, further fueling the growth of the Salesforce ecosystem.

  Salesforce Partners Champion the New AppExchange Program
  “Building our company on the Salesforce Platform brings us instant credibility. Right out of the box, our Sales Management System has enterprise-grade security, uptime, mobile access, a full reporting suite and a robust open API,” said Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven. “Because our technology helps keep salespeople focused on what matters—and, most importantly, builds world-class front-line sales managers—customers get more value from their investment in Salesforce. So we both win. That’s the definition of a strong partner ecosystem.”

  “MapAnything has been part of the Salesforce Partner Program for eight years now. It has enabled us to accelerate our time-to-market, giving us the ability to create amazing geo-productivity apps and connect with customers in new ways,” said John Stewart, CEO of MapAnything. “Salesforce is a company that shares our vision for innovation and growth, while also providing us with an easy-to-access and comprehensive program that helps us connect with an expanding customer base.”

  “The Salesforce Partner Program has allowed us to build, test and bring customer feedback intelligence to the Salesforce ecosystem, and in doing so, has given us the ability to serve a whole new class of customers,” saidDeepa Subramanian, CEO of Wootric. “We’re excited to partner with a company that shares our focus on customer centricity, while also providing us with a battle-tested partner program.”

• Comments On The News
  “At Lightspeed, we’re focused on growing the next generation of industry leaders,” said Ravi Mhatre, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners. “There’s never been a better time to be a part of the rapidly growing Salesforce ecosystem, and we’re excited to partner with Salesforce Ventures to empower a new generation of enterprise cloud startups built on the Salesforce Platform.”

  “I see a real opportunity in the ‘Salesforce economy,'” said Esteban Kolsky, Principal & Founder, ThinkJar. “Following a strong adoption cycle for its platform, Salesforce and its partners have clearly invested in the AppExchange Program. The partners I’ve talked to expressed interest in the new tools that make it easier and more profitable to participate. This is the right direction for a platform provider in building an ecosystem.”