On August 1st, Salesforce transitioned away from the Trailblazer Score and moved to new tiers to support Salesforce ISV Partner journey needs. I sifted through what’s been shared so far and have thoughts to share. Here we go.
Takeaway #1: Moving to new tiers
The move to new tiers is my most interesting takeaway – and I am sure there is more news to follow soon. The old path of Base → Crest → Ridge → Summit is no more. I’ve listed the new tiers below and my take on the changes.
- Registered ISVs (tier 5?): joined the AppExchange ISV Program but have not yet established a commercial relationship with Salesforce.
- ⭐️ Exploration ISVs (tier 4): actively involved in commercial conversations with Salesforce for their first paid app.
- ⭐️ Build ISVs (tier 3): completed commercial discussions with Salesforce (with a signed distribution agreement).
- ⭐️ Select ISVs (tier 2): have listed paid application(s) on the AppExchange and are actively distributing to customers.
- ⭐️ Summit ISVs (tier 1): Salesforce’s largest and most strategic ISV partnerships.
Legend: ⭐️ – if you’re an ISV in this tier, you should talk to us about how Aquiva Labs and our partners can take you to the next level.
Alright, now for my thoughts on this change. The new tiers, coupled with the Trailblazer score going away (spoiler: it’s my takeaway #2), the program tiering seems to match the ISV lifecycle much better. I’ve worked with hundreds of ISVs, and anecdotally, it seemed like there were 6 Base ISV partners for one partner from the other tiers. I don’t have qualitative information on this, but my educated guess is that out of 7k-ish ISV partners, somewhere between 5k and 6k were Base partners. I expect there to be a more sensible distribution of partners in each tier going forward. Something like 50-100 Summit partners and 2-3k Select+Build partners feel like the sweet spot, but we’ll see. Onto the next one.
Takeaway #2: Transitioning away from the Trailblazer Score
Trailblazer Scores are going away! Trailblazer Score was a scoring system designed to evaluate performance across four key categories: Customer Success, Innovation, Growth, and Impact. For a quick refresher:
The Customer Success score was made up of the Attrition Rate (200 pts, measured by the rate of customer loss and renewable revenue percentage) and the Average App Rating (75 pts, based on the threshold of reviews and average review rating).
The Innovation score was made up of Technology Adoption (200 points, assessed through a survey of Salesforce technology used in apps) and Knowledge (75 points, evaluated by the number of Trailhead badges and completion of PLC ISV marketing and operations courses).
The Growth score was made up of ACV Growth (200 pts, measured annual contract value growth rate and renewable revenue percentage) and Total Revenue (75 pts, based on total renewable revenue (average order value)).
The Impact score was made up of Equality (125 points, evaluated diverse leadership, participation in the Talent Alliance, and commitment to the Equality Pledge) and Sustainable Development (50 points, based on volunteer time off (VTO), corporate policies, and monetary donations).
I don’t see any information on how the scoring will work in the new program, but I suspect revenue generated will be given even more weight. Tracking your AOV will be more important than ever.
Takeaway #3: Marginal PNR is going away
Here’s a screenshot I took from the announcement deck that Salesforce shared about the discontinued benefits:
In the old program, some ISVs were eligible for lower PNR when certain revenue marks were hit. It looks like the existing ISVs are grandfathered into what was already contractually agreed with Salesforce. I’ll be curious to hear if there’s a new incentive/benefit/mechanism for ISVs or OEMs that rewards large AOVs. My gut tells me that, given the lack of information in the announcement, there will be new or refreshed commercial agreement options in the future (raise your hand if you remember connector agreements 🙋🏻).
In summary, the AppExchange ISV Program’s recent changes streamline the partner journey and offer clearer paths for ISVs at different stages. Whether you’re an Exploration ISV building your first app or a Summit ISV with strategic partnerships, Aquiva Labs is here to support your needs. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
P.S. Here’s a reference to all the benefits each new tier is eligible for:
Written by:
Alex Bariyev
SVP, Strategy & Partnerships
