U.S. Firms Grab Salesforce Tools to Reach AI Potential
MWN-AI** Summary
U.S. firms are increasingly leveraging Salesforce technologies to realize their AI potential, as highlighted in the 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report. The research, conducted by Information Services Group (ISG), reveals a surge in demand for AI and data management solutions from Salesforce, despite a slowdown in the company’s revenue growth in the U.S. This trend underscores the necessity for businesses to modernize their customer relationship management (CRM) systems, transitioning from legacy products to more sophisticated solutions that integrate AI capabilities.
According to ISG, U.S. organizations face budget constraints that drive them to seek rapid returns on their CRM investments. They prioritize CRM tools that align with specific industry needs, particularly those enhancing data usage and AI integration. The report highlights the rise of Salesforce's Data Cloud, which features a Zero Copy capability, allowing companies to access original data sources without replication, thus minimizing storage costs while ensuring data accuracy.
Moreover, Salesforce's industry clouds are gaining traction among businesses, allowing them to avoid the complexities of customizing generic CRM solutions. These tailored offerings help large and midsize enterprises efficiently deploy AI tools into their workflows, fostering enhanced customer engagement—often a pursuit spearheaded by smaller firms aiming to keep pace with larger competitors.
The report identifies prominent players within the Salesforce ecosystem, naming Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte, and IBM as leaders across multiple quadrants. Meanwhile, HCLTech stands out for exceptional customer satisfaction in the CRM space. This evolving landscape shows a clear trajectory toward integrating AI within CRM practices, promising to reshape operational efficiencies across sectors.
MWN-AI** Analysis
As U.S. enterprises increasingly embrace artificial intelligence (AI) within their operations, the adoption of Salesforce tools offers a strategic pathway to harness AI's potential. According to the ISG Provider Lens report, businesses are averting traditional CRM paradigms in favor of modern, industry-focused technologies that enhance data management and automate processes.
Given the current climate, organizations must prioritize the integration of Salesforce’s Data Cloud, especially its Zero Copy capability, which allows firms to access original data sources without duplication. This feature not only optimizes storage costs but also facilitates a streamlined decision-making process crucial for AI-driven operations. Companies should categorize their data needs and align them with suitable Salesforce tools to ensure efficient ROI, particularly with constrained IT budgets.
Moreover, the growing portfolio of Salesforce's industry clouds represents both an opportunity and a challenge. While these offerings can be more costly, they reduce the need for extensive customization of generic solutions, ultimately lowering long-term maintenance expenses. Midsize businesses should capitalize on specialized solutions that cater to specific industry requirements, allowing them to compete more effectively against larger rivals.
The report also notes that smaller companies are not lagging behind; they are rapidly becoming aggressive adopters of AI, leveraging partnerships to develop automated customer engagement solutions. This trend indicates that investment in Salesforce ecosystem tools may level the playing field across business sizes.
To navigate these trends effectively, enterprises should evaluate their existing CRM strategies against industry benchmarks and consider collaboration with leading service providers to enhance their AI capabilities. By judiciously investing in the Salesforce ecosystem, companies can not only optimize their CRM but also position themselves strategically in an increasingly competitive market landscape.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
Service providers help companies modernize CRM with industry-focused technologies for data, automation, ISG Provider Lens™ report says
Enterprises in the U.S. are investing in new technologies and services from the Salesforce ecosystem as they navigate the rapid evolution of AI and explore its potential for their operations, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group ( ISG ) (Nasdaq: III ), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.S. finds strong demand for some AI and data management offerings from Salesforce and related providers even as Salesforce’s revenue growth slows in the U.S. In a mature customer relationship management (CRM) software market like the U.S., investment in CRM-related software and services depends in large part on the replacement of legacy products and the introduction of new products that go beyond traditional CRM functionality, ISG says.
“Though U.S. companies are first to adopt many new Salesforce features, most are facing limited IT budgets and need a quick return on CRM investments,” said Bill Huber, partner, digital platforms and solutions, for ISG. “Their attention is focused on accelerated time to business case realization for CRM tools and services that meet their industry’s needs, especially when it comes to data and AI.”
The ability to access and use big data is the main source of CRM’s enterprise value, and the growing capabilities of AI can extend its value through analytics, automation and efficiency, ISG says. Many large companies in the U.S. have already implemented data lakes, data quality and governance tools and one or more generative AI large language models (LLMs) for proprietary data.
Demand for Salesforce Data Cloud is rising on the strength of its Zero Copy capability, which allows organizations to access data from original sources instead of replicating it in multiple locations, ISG says. As the need for high-quality, easily available data increases with new AI applications, zero replication can reduce storage costs while providing a single source of truth for each bit of data needed for human or AI-driven decision-making.
U.S. enterprises are also quickly adopting Salesforce’s industry clouds, designed for use by industries including communications, utilities and the public sector, ISG says. Salesforce improved industry clouds and expanded their availability in 2024. Though they can be more expensive than standard Salesforce cloud offerings, the industry clouds prevent companies from having to customize industry-agnostic CRM applications, ultimately saving money on software maintenance and updates.
Midsize enterprises in the U.S. are embracing offerings from Salesforce ecosystem providers that distill industry-focused large-enterprise CRM capabilities into more affordable packages, ISG says. These include tools for integrating GenAI into existing processes and creating new AI-enabled workflows.
“In some cases in the U.S., smaller companies are the most aggressive adopters of AI,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “They are partnering with providers to build autonomous agents for customer engagement capabilities to match bigger rivals.”
The report also explores other trends in the U.S. Salesforce ecosystem, including the company’s growing portfolio of Agentforce AI agents and the impact of its verticalization strategy.
For more insights into the challenges facing U.S. enterprises using Salesforce, including how to harmonize the AI strategies of different vendors and how to integrate human and digital workforces, plus ISG’s advice for solving them, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here .
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 52 providers across six quadrants: AI-Powered Multicloud Implementation Services — Large Enterprises, Implementation Services for Core Clouds and AI Agents — Midmarket, Implementation Services for Marketing and Commerce with AI Enablement, Managed Application Services — Large Enterprises, Managed Application Services — Midmarket and Implementation Services for Industry Clouds.
The report names Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte, IBM, Infosys, TCS and Wipro as Leaders in four quadrants each. It names Coastal and Tech Mahindra as Leaders in three quadrants each. Coforge, DemandBlue, Grazitti Interactive, HCLTech, Hexaware, Jade Global, LTIMindtree, Mphasis Silverline, Neuraflash, Perficient and PwC are named as Leaders in two quadrants each. Customertimes, OSF Digital and RafterOne are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, NTT DATA and Publicis Sapient are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in two quadrants each. Myridius, Persistent Systems, PwC, RafterOne and Tech Mahindra are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
In the area of customer experience, HCLTech is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among Salesforce Ecosystem U.S providers. HCLTech earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program , the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.
Customized versions of the report are available from Coastal , Cognizant and Grazitti Interactive .
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Salesforce Ecosystem Partners report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage .
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage .
About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III ) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250416455714/en/
Press Contacts:
Will Thoretz, ISG
+1 203 517 3119
will.thoretz@isg-one.com
Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG
+1 978 518 4520
isg@matternow.com
FAQ**
What insights does the Information Services Group Inc. III report provide regarding the evolving demand for AI and data management offerings within the Salesforce ecosystem?
2. How is the Information Services Group Inc. III addressing the need for U.S. enterprises to balance limited IT budgets with the implementation of modern CRM technologies?
3. What trends in customer engagement are highlighted in the Information Services Group Inc. III report, particularly among smaller companies adopting AI?
4. How does the Information Services Group Inc. III evaluate the effectiveness of the Salesforce industry clouds compared to standard offerings, particularly in cost and customization?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about Information Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ: III).
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