3 Reasons to Partner with a Salesforce PDO to Launch on AppExchange

Salesforce introduced AppExchange back in 2005 to offer services and solutions to extend the core capabilities of the Salesforce platform. Today, more than 7000 apps and certified consulting organizations are available on AppExchange, and 91% of Salesforce customers have installed at least one app. If you are a Salesforce partner or have a product or service that integrates with Salesforce, AppExchange is the place you want to be. However, the process of going to market successfully on AppExchange is not as simple as you might anticipate. Leveraging a global Salesforce Product Development Outsourcer (PDO) like RafterOne can help you build your AppExchange cartridge and get a quality app to market faster.

Benefits of AppExchange for a Salesforce Integration Partner

Being on the Salesforce AppExchange can significantly impact your company’s success in today’s competitive business landscape. The platform’s vast customer base, credibility, seamless integration, accelerated go-to-market, and collaborative ecosystem provide many benefits that can catapult your business to new heights. By leveraging the power of AppExchange, your company can expand its reach, increase brand recognition, and deliver exceptional value to customers. Some of the main benefits include the following.

• AppExchange offers an opportunity to access Salesforce’s extensive customer base. This pre-established network can drastically reduce the time and resources required for customer acquisition.
• It is designed to facilitate the seamless integration of applications with Salesforce’s robust CRM system. 
• Being on AppExchange demonstrates that the application has passed Salesforce’s security review, which enhances its credibility and trustworthiness in the market. 
• It provides valuable sales exposure in the Salesforce ecosystem, including promotion at Salesforce events and webinars and visibility in its marketing materials.

This integrated marketing can benefit smaller companies or startups striving to establish their brand presence and credibility. Consequently, Salesforce AppExchange provides a highly effective platform for companies to leverage the Salesforce customer network, enhance their product offerings, and boost their brand visibility and credibility. 

3 Reasons to Partner with a Certified PDO 

The Salesforce Consulting Partner program was extended to incorporate PDOs. Salesforce PDOs represent a broad spectrum of Consulting Partners and vendors with expertise in building commercial apps and other valuable services like training, funding, marketing, or selling your app. These specialized partners can help architect and design a retail app, tackle specific areas of your building (such as third-party integrations), or augment your development team.  Here are some of the main reasons partnering with a Certified Salesforce PDO will ensure that you have an application specifically built, launched, and able to scale in the AppExchange environment. 

1. Requirement-Based Expertise  

If you’re just getting started with Salesforce or finalizing the development of your app, highly skilled PDOs can help you at any step in the process. Some teams may want to keep part of their cartridge build in-house, while others want to punt it over the fence to experts. No matter what you’re looking for, with a certified Salesforce PDO, you can trust your partner to work with your internal teams providing valuable feedback and consulting where you need it.  

2. Navigating the Unknown

Certified Salesforce PDOs work alongside your internal business teams to identify and address any issues that occur during the development of your cartridge. These partners are certified through Salesforce, so you can trust and identify them and solve any part of the build and integration. These experts go beyond breaks and fixes. They have the technical background and skillset to lend expert support during your certification process, handling the unexpected as expected.  

3. Prioritizing Security

The security review process can be complex, especially for first-time partners. Working with a Certified Salesforce PDO helps streamline the process and removes the guesswork. This is what they do all the time, and they are familiar with the procedures and can get your app certified faster. With growth and flexibility in mind, highly skilled Salesforce PDOs can develop your app with security measures at the forefront, so the review process is a breeze. 

A Proven Salesforce PDO 

RafterOne is a Certified Navigator with experience on many projects and customer satisfaction scores of 4.8 or above; we know the Salesforce ecosystem. Our approach enables our certified developers to create a roadmap for your product while understanding the process of getting an app developed and published on Salesforce AppExchange. 

As a Certified Salesforce Partner since 2005, RafterOne’s expertise goes beyond the strategy and integration of your app. We offer the only cartridge support program in the industry and can support future roadmap enhancements, updates and self-certify your integration on an as-needed basis. 

More than 50 ISVs trust RafterOne with their AppExchange cartridges, including industry leaders like Power Reviews.  “RafterOne has been a partner of PowerReviews for several years. We recommend them to anyone looking for support in the Salesforce platform, including building and maintaining cartridges.”

RafterOne Supports Cloudinary’s Latest AppExchange Cartridge Build 

We recently supported Cloudinary in building and certifying their new Composable Storefront for B2C Commerce on Salesforce AppExchange. This was a celebratory launch for Cloudinary, the image and video platform that powers many of the world’s top brands. Cloudinary now has four Salesforce integrations that enhance and optimize brands’ visual experiences for their customers. With their new Composable Storefront app, Salesforce Commerce Cloud companies who are shifting to headless architecture can now easily add Cloudinary’s image and video technology platform to their tech stack. 

“As the appetite for images and videos throughout the buyer journey accelerates, so too does the number of e-commerce brands adopting composable architecture,” said Kobi Schwarts, Global VP of Channels and Alliances, Cloudinary.“ We’re pleased to help make it easier than ever for brands to enable the visually immersive commerce experiences their customers love, now and in the future.” – Kobi Schwarts, VP of Channels and Alliances.

Preparing to Launch 

Brands turn to Salesforce AppExchange for trusted apps that streamline and enhance their platforms and transform their business operations and customer experiences. As a Certified Salesforce PDO, RafterOne has over 16 years of experience building and integrating more than 50 cartridges for Salesforce AppExchange. If you are ready to grow your products and solutions with an app on AppExchange, our team of experts would be happy to discuss a strategy to guide the development, certification, and support of your cartridge.