A recent report suggests Salesforce is poised for massive growth over the next few years. The report was conducted by the International Data Corporation, or IDC, in order to see how businesses are looking to expand in the near future.
Salesforce is mostly known as a giant in the world of CRM, but it has grown to include various other Salesforce software, as well as acquiring various other tech companies, like Slack and Acumen.
The IDC report was conducted as part of a larger study on how tech companies are growing their cloud computing, which is largely accepted to be the future of computing (as opposed to on-site systems). Salesforce is heavily integrated into the cloud, so their IDC projections were very favorable.
What Was the IDC’s Report?
The IDC’s report mainly addresses the future and potential of cloud computing for business purposes. Salesforce primarily operates a cloud-based CRM service, meaning that it’s a significant name when considering the projections of cloud computing.
The growth of cloud software suffered little from the pandemic, growing 22% worldwide in 2020, while on-premises software growth fell to zero. This year, cloud-delivered software will be 43% of the software market, and by 2026, it will be 61%. (From the IDC reports)
This is a significant projection for any industry, but the report goes on further to discuss the potential growth rate of Salesforce, with very promising predictions of the business and its partner ecosystem raking in an unbelievable 1.5 trillion dollars over the next five years.
IDC forecasts that the use of cloud services of Salesforce and its ecosystem will create new revenues for customers that will add up to $1.56 trillion worldwide by 2026. This revenue will lead to the creation of 9.3 million new jobs, including 3.8 million direct jobs and 5.5 million indirect/induced jobs. (From the IDC reports)
It’s worth mentioning that, while the IDC is its own independent institution, this report was actually sponsored by Salesforce, meaning the data could be skewed ever so slightly.
What Is Salesforce’s Plan?
So why is Salesforce thought to be in such an advantageous situation? After the pandemic struck, many companies were forced to work from home, meaning that almost all of their work needed to be conducted remotely. Businesses who operated mainly through cloud technologies, while still faced with periods of adapting to this lifestyle, had a much smoother transition to remote work.
Salesforce products are largely cloud-focused, meaning that companies that wanted to use CRM software, or some of Salesforce’s other cloud-based products, like Slack, had an easy choice to make, as it would make remote working that much easier.
This massive spike in interest has given Salesforce a lot more money to play around with, meaning it is able to set up and finance numerous growth campaigns. These include The Trailblazer Community and Trailhead, which are both resources for people to learn various work-related skills, and The Salesforce Talent Alliance, a network that connects Salesforce partners with individuals trained on Trailhead.
What Does This Mean for the Future?
Even though the pandemic seems to be getting somewhat under control, at least compared to its earlier days, the demand for cloud-based technologies is likely not going to slow down. Now that remote/hybrid working has been tested, many companies and employees are looking at it as the new norm, with 44% of employees and 51% of businesses favoring hybrid work.
Salesforce will still be at the helm of cloud-based CRM, and their robust list of partners will also stand to benefit a great deal from their sustained growth. And the push toward cloud computing doesn’t just benefit the companies that sell cloud technologies.
Businesses will be able to save on real estate without having to pay to house their own servers, and migrating on-site servers to the cloud is estimated to save 1 billion tonnes of CO2, with Salesforce itself pushing for carbon neutrality itself as early as 2022.
