Here's Who Made The 2017 Forrester Wave For Salesforce Implementation Partners

Knowing The Technology Is Not Enough

In today's fast-moving world, business strategy and creative design capabilities are critical for a successful Salesforce partner. Yet too many end users rest on old selection criteria that focused on technology, but not enough on design and strategy, according to Cambridge-Mass.-based Forrester Research.

Successful Salesforce partners must be able to structure innovation to be creative, profitable and scalable, Forrester said, with most leading partners offering digital studios and bringing design-thinking methodologies to the relationship.

The best Salesforce partners also have proven chops in real business consulting aimed at directly improving the top or bottom line, according to Forrester, meaning they have mastered areas such as change management, organizational design, industry understanding and risk consulting.

Salesforce partners should strive for mastery in distinctive areas such as Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce IoT Cloud, and Einstein Analytics, Forrester said.

Following are the leaders in "The Forrester Wave: Salesforce Implementation Partners, Q3 2017" report, released in late July.

Methodology

Solution providers included in Forrester's Salesforce implementation partners assessment needed to have at least $50 million in annual revenue from Salesforce work, at least 500 practitioners dedicated to Salesforce work, at least 50 customers for Salesforce work with revenue over $1 billion, as well as global, cross-industry capabilities and presence.

After selecting the 11 Salesforce partners that matter most for digital transformation, Forrester said it examined past research, reviewed client demand, and conducted vendor and expert interviews to develop a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria.

Forrester evaluated Salesforce's biggest and more global partners against 35 criteria, which were grouped into three high-level categories: current offerings, strategy and market presence.

Leader: Accenture

Current Offering: 4.84 (out of 5)

Strategy: 4.7 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Enel, Pearson, Schneider Electric

Accenture's 8,000 Salesforce-focused practitioners make it the largest provider of Salesforce services globally, according to Forrester, with roughly twice as many experienced practitioners as the next largest providers.

The Dublin, Ireland-based company, No. 2 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, received a perfect score for several Forrester criteria, including business transformation, prebuilt intellectual property, market approach, innovation road map and partner ecosystem.

Accenture's lowest score – 3 out of 5 – came in commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Accenture

Assets: Accenture is Salesforce's only Diamond partner, Forrester said, meaning the solution provider is often a first-mover on newer products and invests significantly in co-innovation with both Salesforce and the vendor's customers. The company's studio covers the full range of customer needs, from ideation and using the Salesforce Ignite and Spark methodologies, to implementation and ongoing support.

Challenges: Accenture's Salesforce practice is best-suited for larger, global, and more complex deployments, Forrester said, where business transformation is a goal, as well as customers looking to be on the bleeding edge of technology. The company might not be the best choice or value for smaller-scale work or more classic Salesforce projects, according to Forrester.

Leader: Deloitte

Current Offering: 4.39 (out of 5)

Strategy: 4.15 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Virgin Media, Zurich Insurance, Mars, Syngenta

Deloitte has more than 4,400 Salesforce practitioners across more than 30 countries, according to Forrester, making it one of Salesforce's largest and most global partners.

The London-based company, No. 15 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, earned perfect scores in the Forrester criteria of business transformation, prebuilt intellectual property, market approach and innovation road map.

Deloitte's lowest score – 1 out of 5 – came in commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Deloitte

Assets: Deloitte has experience across all of the major Salesforce clouds, according to Forrester, and the company often co-innovates with Salesforce and customers on new products. The company's Salesforce capabilities span from design and consulting to implementation and network support. Deloitte takes an IP-heavy approach to Salesforce work, including 13 certified industry-focused solutions.

Challenges: Deloitte is best suited for larger customers seeking to leverage Salesforce as a platform for major business model transformation, according to Forrester.

Leader: IBM

Current Offering: 3.64 (out of 5)

Strategy: 4.75 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: General Motors, AmerisourceBergen

IBM has scale and experience across all major Salesforce clouds, according to Forrester, and relies on established, proven methodologies. Bluewolf is the brand for IBM's entire Salesforce practice, although Forrester said significant value comes from other groups as well.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based company, whose Global Services practice is No. 1 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, received perfect scores on the Forrester criteria of market approach, innovation road map and commercial models.

IBM's lowest score – 2.9 out of 5 – came in reference to its geographic strength.

IBM

Assets: IBM can bring to bear both massive scale of business consulting and experience design, while at the same time working with smaller firms through its pre-packaged, quick-start Go packages. The company has amped up its focus on bringing artificial intelligence and cognitive solutions to Salesforce customers, and is actively working with IBM Watson to bring innovative solutions to the market.

Challenges: IBM had been a late entrant to the Salesforce market and was a smaller, still-emerging partner at the time it purchased Bluewolf in early 2016, according to Forrester. Serving companies of all sizes in all industries would have been unrealistically ambitious for Bluewolf on its own.

Strong Performer: PwC

Current Offering: 2.96 (out of 5)

Strategy: 3.6 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Sam's Club, Lenovo

PwC worked with more than 300 Salesforce clients in 2016 in all major geographic areas, according to Forrester. It is best-suited for midsize and large customers seeking major business transformation based in Salesforce in verticals such as manufacturing, retail, financial services and health care.

The London-based consultancy earned a perfect score on the Forrester criteria of innovation road map, which looks at the company's ability to drive new innovation in its practice.

PwC's lowest score – 2.42 out of 5 – came in the area of practitioners and skills, which considers the depth of the company's skills across Salesforce's growing portfolio.

PwC

Assets: PwC has quickly evolved into a partner that can combine business, experience and technology into meaningful business solutions for clients, according to Forrester. The company has made massive investments to capture its vast industry knowledge into prebuilt solutions for next-generation financial advisers, claims processing and personalized customer experience in retail, Forrester said.

Challenges: PwC has significant technology depth in the Salesforce space, in line with other top Salesforce partners, according to Forrester. However, Forrester said the company still gravitates more toward consulting and implementation work rather than technical deployment and ongoing support. The company has historically focused more on strategic consulting and business transformation.

Strong Performer: Wipro

Current Offering: 3.05 (out of 5)

Strategy: 3.3 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Philips, YP

Wipro has more than 1,000 practitioners dedicated to Salesforce, according to Salesforce, and tens of thousands of resources it can tap into in areas such as business consulting, analytics, Internet of Things and integration.

The company significantly boosted its capabilities through the October 2016 acquisition of Salesforce specialist Appirio, which now serves at the company's brand and go-to-market for all things Salesforce.

The Bangalore, India-based company, No. 21 on the 2013 CRN Solution Provider 500, received a perfect score on the Forrester criteria of market approach.

Wipro's lowest score – 1 out of 5 – came in the area of commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Wipro

Assets: Wipro has attempted to blend a boutique feel with massive scale, according to Forrester, and regularly emphasizes the connection between employer experience and customer experience in its work with customers. The company maintains a large crowdsource capability, Forrester said, enabling clients to access a massive, independent, vetted network of data scientists, developers and designers.

Challenges: Wipro has dozens of clients in Europe and Asia-Pacific, but is strongest in North America, according to Forrester. The company is best at serving needs in the financial services, manufacturing, health and life sciences, and public sector spaces.

Strong Performer: Salesforce

Current Offering: 3.06 (out of 5)

Strategy: 3.2 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Barclays, Dell, ETX Capital, Vodafone

Salesforce has its own services arm with capabilities unmatched by any of its ecosystem partners, according to Forrester. The company has assimilated the services arms of its numerous acquisitions while ramping up services resources as it launches its own new products, giving Salesforce significant technology expertise across all major clouds.

The San Francisco-based company received a perfect score for the breadth and depth of its partner ecosystems.

Salesforce's lowest scores – 1 out of 5 – came in prebuilt intellectual property and commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Salesforce

Assets: Salesforce has been involved in more projects than any other ecosystem partner, Forrester said, and boasts a large pool of broader technical architects whom customers can select and hire in one-year increments. The company is also active in developing and promotion experience design and business model reinvention through its Ignite and Spark offerings, according to Forrester.

Challenges: Salesforce services is an excellent choice for business innovation and technology expertise specific to Salesforce, Forrester said, but is not as good of a choice as other service providers for broader business consulting, deep industry know-how, or technology expertise that spans beyond the Salesforce product set.

Strong Performer: Cognizant

Current Offering: 2.82 (out of 5)

Strategy: 2.7 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, Barclays

Cognizant has more than 3,000 Salesforce-skilled practitioners and has expertise across major Salesforce Clouds, according to Forrester, including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Community Cloud, Commerce Cloud and App Cloud.

The Teaneck, N.J.-based company, No. 7 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, received its highest score from Forrester – 3.68 out of 5 – in the depth of its Salesforce skills across the company's growth portfolio.

Cognizant's lowest score – 1 out of 5 – from Forrester came in commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Cognizant

Assets: Cognizant is a strong choice for customers seeking the full gamut of services in areas such as design, consulting, implementation and ongoing support, according to Forrester. Nearly 70 percent of Cognizant's total Salesforce work takes place in the financial services and health-care verticals, Forrester said. The company is also a significant Veeva Systems partner, with more than 25 projects.

Challenges: Cognizant has limited experience in Marketing Cloud compared with peers evaluated by Forrester. Although the company continues to beef up its consulting and design capabilities, Forrester said some Salesforce partners are quick to peg Cognizant as more technical- and support-oriented.

Strong Performer: Tata Consultancy Services

Current Offering: 2.59 (out of 5)

Strategy: 2.7 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: KLM, SuperValu, Thomson-Reuters

Tata Consultancy Services has more than 1,500 practitioners working mostly or fully on Salesforce projects, Forrester said, and can tap into a massive army of resources spanning design, consulting, implementation and support.

The Mumbai, India-based company, No. 3 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, received its highest score from Forrester – 3.1 out of 5 – around how it facilitates business transformation through capabilities such as design studios, design thinking, and business consulting.

TCS received its lowest scores – 1 out of 5 – from Forrester in the areas of prebuilt intellectual property and commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Tata Consultancy Services

Assets: TCS has invested significantly in next-generation technology areas including the Internet of Things. The company has made IoT solutions available to the consumer packaged goods, insurance, financial services and wealth management verticals, according to Forrester. Clients praised TCS' execution, efficiency, and clear rates, especially in custom development and support work.

Challenges: TCS lags behind other top-tier Salesforce partners in business consulting and design, Forrester said. Although the company can do work across the full spectrum of client needs, Forrester said it is best-suited for large-scale, technical work based on Salesforce. TCS does not have broad technology skills in Salesforce's Commerce Cloud.

Contender: Capgemini

Current Offering: 3.05 (out of 5)

Strategy: 2.1 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Zurich Insurance, Air France KLM

Capgemini has more than 3,000 practitioners working primarily in the Salesforce space, according to Forrester, especially on core products such as Service Cloud and App Cloud. More than half of Capgemini's custoemr base is in the retail and financial services verticals, Forrester said.

The Paris-based company, No. 6 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, earned its highest score – 4.1 out of 5 – for its ability to facilitate business transformation through design studios, design thinking and business consulting.

Capgemini received its lowest scores – 1 out of 5 – in the areas of prebuilt intellectual property, market approach and commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

Capgemini

Assets: Capgemini has a long track record in Salesforce across consulting, implementation, and ongoing support, according to Forrester. The company's investments in areas such as design thinking and design studios help it serve the needs of Salesforce customers. Capgemini invested in Salesforce through its 2016 acquisition of European Salesforce specialist Oinio, as well as via organic growth.

Challenges: Capgemini lags behind peers in the amount and proof points of experience to date on newer products such as Community Cloud and Wave Analytics, and did not have any certified FullForce solutions at the time of Forrester's evaluation. The company is best-suited to address larger, more complex Salesforce needs, according to Forrester.

Contender: NTT Data

Current Offering: 1.77 (out of 5)

Strategy: 2.7 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Toshiba America Medical Systems, DDR

NTT Data delivers Salesforce services across the full spectrum of client needs, Forrester said, from design and consulting to implementation and support. The company has a good track record with smaller to midsize Salesforce customers, Forrester said, as well as larger ones.

The Tokyo-based company, whose Services division is No. 4 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, earned its highest score – 3 out of 5 – for its market approach, ability to drive new innovation in its practice, and the breadth of its Salesforce partner ecosystem.

NTT Data received its lowest scores – 1 out of 5 – for its prebuilt intellectual property, and its commercial models, which evaluates the company's pricing model with a focus on business outcomes and transparency.

NTT Data

Assets: NTT Data has nine studios worldwide where it works with customers to design digital experiences and create digital business models based on Salesforce, according to Forrester. Clients praised NTT Data for being flexible, a great partner, and excellent value for the money. The company has launched industry solutions for Salesforce around automotive, franchise management and wholesale banking.

Challenges: NTT Data is smaller than many of its peers, with just 1,000 practitioners around the world working primarily on Salesforce projects, Forrester said.

Challenger: Tech Mahindra

Current Offering: 1.34 (out of 5)

Strategy: 1 (out of 5)

Notable Clients: Chevron, Citibank, Roach Diagnostics, Spark Communications

Tech Mahindra has a practice of more than 1,200 practitioners focused mostly on complex, multiyear technical work related to Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and App Cloud.

The Pune, India-based company earned its highest score – 1.5 out of 5 – for its ability to facilitate business transformation through capabilities such as design studios, design thinking and digital consulting.

Tech Mahindra received its lowest score – 0.9 out of 5 – for its geographic strength.

Tech Mahindra

Assets: Tech Mahindra is focused on providing excellent and cost-effective technical development and ongoing technical support in both established and emerging areas such as IoT, machine learning, natural language processing, and artifical intelligenceI. The company is best-suited for larger, more complex Salesforce deployments where businesses are seeking a strong technical partner with scale, according to Forrester.

Challenges: Tech Mahindra has limited focus on strategy and business consulting, Forrester said, and typically has to partner with another firm if customers are looking for help in that area. Tech Mahindra also lags behind peers in experience design capabilities, with its innovation centers focused more on productizing IP than co-innovating with customers or engaging in newer techniques, Forrester said.