Overview
Salesforce is the dominant enterprise CRM platform with a massive ecosystem of products and integrations. Our analysis reveals significant concerns for customers: complex multi-document terms, opaque pricing, significant vendor lock-in through customization, and data export complexity. While powerful, Salesforce creates deep dependencies that make switching extremely difficult.
Key Concerns
- Severe Vendor Lock-in: Custom objects, workflows, and integrations create dependencies that make migration extremely costly.
- Opaque Pricing: Complex pricing with numerous add-ons, editions, and per-user costs that are difficult to predict.
- Complex Data Export: Extracting data requires technical expertise; relationships and customizations don't export cleanly.
- No Free Tier: No permanent free option available; trial periods are limited.
- Einstein AI Processing: AI features extensively process customer data for predictions and recommendations.
- Multi-Year Contracts: Enterprise deals often require multi-year commitments with limited flexibility.
- Complex Terms: Terms are spread across multiple documents including MSA, DPA, and product-specific terms.
Positive Aspects
- Enterprise Capabilities: Comprehensive features for large-scale sales, service, and marketing operations.
- Compliance Certifications: Extensive security and compliance certifications for regulated industries.
- Large Ecosystem: Massive AppExchange marketplace with thousands of integrations and extensions.
- Customization Power: Highly customizable platform that can adapt to complex business processes.
Data Collection Summary
Salesforce collects extensive customer data including contacts, accounts, opportunities, activities, and custom object data. Einstein AI processes this data for analytics, predictions, and automation. Platform telemetry tracks user behavior and feature usage. Data practices are governed by complex enterprise agreements that vary by product and region.