Salesforce: Our 'pure cloud' partner strategy is better than rivals'

Cloud giant claims the likes of Microsoft, Oracle and SAP suffer 'tension' in their partner businesses

Salesforce's partner boss has claimed her firm's strategy is superior to that of rivals such as Microsoft and Oracle because its own "pure cloud" approach bypasses "tension" felt by others.

Just under half of Salesforce's business is touched by its partner base, which consists of ISVs and consulting firms, and it operates a "true indirect" model only in emerging markets.

Salesforce's senior vice president of partner programmes and enablement Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh told CRN at today's Salesforce World Tour in London that she believes the company's partner strategy avoids a lot of its rivals' pitfalls.

When asked what her advice would be to a new partner wondering what cloud strategy to take, she said:

"I think if it is a new partner, they are already thinking about cloud.

"The question is, do they want to go to a company with a very hybrid model - where there frankly is a bit of tension oftentimes between the classic on-prem business and the cloud, and shareholder pressures and all - or do they want to come to Salesforce where we have been growing at a phenomenal rate - still, after many years - and where it is pure cloud.

"We are the market share leader on so many fronts on the cloud if you look at the Gartner things and the Magic Quadrants; we are in the top end for a huge variety of solutions and that basically is our value proposition. What's been really nice for me and what never fails to amaze me is just how much customers like using our products. That's a big part of... working with partners. It is a so much better place to be. When we talk to partners, we talk about a world where clients are talking about digital transformation."

She added that she believes that the way Salesforce organises its partners is superior.

"I run the partner programme so I look at the comparable Oracle partner programme, and the Microsoft and SAP ones, and it is funny because their tiering is based on how 'cloud' you are, as opposed to where we start where everyone is cloud," she said.

"Thhere is a revenue component, obviously, but then there is a huge measure of expertise. If you're focused on customer success, you want skilled resources. So we measure our partners on their certified individuals."

Salesforce releases its financial results for Q1. For the three months to 30 April, the firm's revenue rose 27 per cent annually to $1.92bn (£1.31bn), while net income skyrocketed to $38.8m, compared with just $4m a year ago.

On the earnings call, Salesforce's chief executive Marc Benioff thanked the company's partners which he said are "second to none", while its chief operating officer Keith Block added that driving its partner ecosystem has been a recent priority.