According to CRN, Salesforce’s new channel chief Phil Samenuk made a startling admission: “We will not be a successful consumption company without our ecosystem and partners.” Samenuk, who became senior vice president of global alliances and channel revenue in February, oversees the company’s 16,000-plus partner ecosystem. The comments come as Salesforce pushes into consumption pricing models alongside its traditional seat-based approach and makes its Agentforce 360 agentic AI platform generally available. The company aims to hit $60 billion in revenue by fiscal 2030, up from expected $41 billion this year. Partners like Perficient, which has done over 3,000 Salesforce implementations, are already seeing increased investment opportunities around AI deployment and consumption models.
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<h2 id="salesforce-partner-shift”>The Partner Pivot Is Real
Here’s the thing: Salesforce built its empire on direct sales. They‘ve always been that company that would rather sell to you directly than through intermediaries. But Samenuk’s comments signal a fundamental shift in strategy. When your channel chief says “the focus and expectations on the ecosystem have never been greater,” that’s not just corporate speak—that’s a recognition that their old playbook won’t work for what’s coming next.
Basically, Salesforce is realizing they can’t just sell AI and consumption models the same way they sold CRM licenses. Implementation and ongoing optimization become way more complex when you’re dealing with AI agents and usage-based pricing. Partners aren’t just nice-to-have anymore—they’re essential for making this whole consumption model actually work.
The Consumption Conundrum
Now, this shift to consumption pricing is huge. Salesforce built their entire business on predictable, recurring seat-based revenue. Consumption models are fundamentally different—customers pay for what they use, which means if your platform isn’t delivering continuous value, the usage (and revenue) drops off.
So why would Salesforce risk their predictable revenue stream? Because that’s where the market is going. Companies are tired of paying for unused seats and want more flexible pricing. But here’s the catch: consumption models require way more hand-holding. You need partners who can ensure customers are actually using the platform effectively, optimizing workflows, and driving adoption. Otherwise, those consumption dollars dry up fast.
AI Implementation Reality Check
Look, everyone’s talking about AI, but actually implementing it is another story. When Megan Glasow from Perficient talks about “accelerated time-to-value with trusted AI” and deploying “intelligent agents,” that sounds great in a press release. But the reality is that most companies don’t have the internal expertise to make this work.
That’s where partners become absolutely critical. They’re the ones doing the actual work of unifying fragmented data, building those predictive models, and making sure the AI actually delivers business value. Without strong partners, Salesforce’s AI push becomes just another feature instead of a transformative capability.
What This Actually Means
So what does this mean for the market? First, expect to see more resources flowing to Salesforce partners—more training, more co-selling opportunities, more support. Partners who can deliver on AI implementation and consumption optimization are about to become very valuable.
But here’s my question: is Salesforce ready to truly empower their partners, or is this just another temporary shift in strategy? The departure of previous channel chief Steve Corfield earlier this year raises some eyebrows. Still, when your revenue target is $60 billion by 2030, you don’t have much choice—you need all the help you can get.
