Salesforce commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study enterprises may realize by procuring Salesforce on AWS Marketplace.¹ This abstract will focus on companies transitioning Salesforce procurement from direct contracts to AWS Marketplace and the value to their organizations.

This case study explores strategic move by interviewing three decision-makers from two organizations using Salesforce for procuring on AWS Marketplace. The interviewees include:

• The chief information officer (CIO) and the project manager for a higher education institution in the US.

• Director of procurement for Deel, a global HR technology company

Organizations are reimagining their software procurement strategies to meet increasing demands for agility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. In this evolving landscape, Salesforce is an AI CRM, where human and AI agents can collaborate to enhance both customer and employee outcomes. By unifying apps, data, agents, and metadata with embedded trust and governance, Salesforce helps institutions scale AI and business operations securely and reliably.

All interviewees said their organizations made a strategic decision to transition their Salesforce procurement from traditional direct contracts to purchasing Salesforce in AWS Marketplace. This move represented more than a change in a purchasing channel — it signaled a deeper alignment with Salesforce’s platform evolution and its commitment to delivering enterprise-grade flexibility, financial optimization, and operational efficiency.

AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog of third-party software, enabled the interviewees’ organizations to discover, purchase, deploy, and manage solutions directly within their AWS environment. By purchasing Salesforce in AWS Marketplace, these organizations streamlined procurement workflows, enhanced budget transparency, and aligned their software investments with broader cloud and AI strategies.

The interviewees noted their experience demonstrated that Salesforce’s partnership with AWS and its availability in AWS Marketplace unlocked new value for enterprise buyers. At the interviewees’ organizations, Salesforce’s strategic positioning, which was enabled through AWS Marketplace, expanded platform usage, accelerated innovation, and integrated procurement with their overarching AI transformation goals.

This case study explores the motivations, challenges, and outcomes of these transitions, offering insights into how Salesforce, as both a platform and a strategic partner, is redefining enterprise software procurement in the era of AI agents.

Initial Procurement Models And Challenges

The higher education institution and Deel were existing Salesforce customers that had previously made a direct purchase. Interviewees noted that despite operating in different industries, the two organizations shared several core challenges in their direct procurement of Salesforce. These challenges primarily revolved around scalability, cost management, and administrative inefficiencies and included the following:

• Lack of procurement consolidation. Interviewees’ organizations were already using AWS for other use cases, yet Salesforce procurement remained siloed. This fragmented approach hindered vendor solutions spend consolidation, limiting their ability to optimize vendor relationships and negotiate favorable terms. The CIO for the higher education institution shared, “We had been part of AWS Marketplace as an institution ... so it was our interest to purchase through AWS.” The director of procurement for Deel said, “We are always looking to purchase via AWS Marketplace — it’s an easier process.”

• Fragmented billing and administrative burden. The interviewees’ organizations managed independent billing processes when procuring Salesforce directly while using AWS Marketplace to procure other vendor solutions through a consolidated billing system. Invoices were often received in emails, creating additional workload for finance teams. The CIO for the higher education institution shared: “Our finance folks were overwhelmed because a lot of things would come very piecemeal. We would get some billing and then we would get statements about SMS’s and phone usage.” The interviewee shared that administrative overhead was particularly problematic for their public institution, which operates under strict public sector financial controls.

• Cost volatility and budget risk. The interviewees said the pay-as-you-go pricing model under direct procurement posed significant financial risks for their organizations. As usage grew, so did the costs — often unpredictably. For the higher education institution, this volatility was especially concerning given its status as a public institution with limited budget flexibility. The interviewee from Deel said that their organization, while operating in the private sector, also faced challenges in aligning Salesforce spend with its broader cloud financial strategy.

Besides those common challenges, each of the interviewees’ organizations also faced unique concerns with Salesforce direct procurement.

The interviewees from the higher education institution said they initially only had the admissions office adopt Salesforce with a small team and limited licenses. As the institution expanded its use of Salesforce, it quickly encountered license constraints with direct contracts. The initial agreement did not anticipate the rapid expansion of users across departments, hindering the university’s ability to scale its CRM usage across admissions, advising, and student services. The CIO for the higher education institution mentioned: “When we brought in the distance learning function, the number of licenses were already capped out back in 2021 [when we were in the second year of the five-year contract with Salesforce]. We were really tapped out on the number of licenses that we had in that agreement, we were already kind of bumping our head in the ceiling. This is not going to work.”

The interviewee from Deel noted their unique challenges were shaped by the organization’s rapid growth, global operations, and need for agile procurement processes. As a fast-growing tech company, Deel frequently engaged with different vendors. Ensuring compliance with privacy, security, and financial regulations was a major challenge under the direct procurement model. Also, with teams distributed across multiple time zones, the interviewee noted that Deel required a procurement model that was fast, centralized, and easy to manage.

The Transition Catalyst From Direct Procurement To AWS Marketplace

The catalysts for transitioning direct Salesforce procurement to AWS Marketplace varied slightly between the interviewees’ organizations but the interviewees all noted their organizations were already leveraging AWS Marketplace for other vendor solutions at the time of the shift. For the higher education institution, the initiative sparked internally. The CIO explained that the institution had been actively using AWS Marketplace and saw an opportunity to consolidate Salesforce procurement under the same framework. This approach promised greater efficiency and alignment with existing cloud strategies. The CIO noted, “Once we set that direction we wanted to go, both Salesforce and AWS worked with us to make sure it went through — and it went through very quickly and very smoothly.” The interviewees also cited simplified procurement workflows, faster processing times, and improved budget visibility as key reasons for initiating the transition.

In contrast, the interviewee from Deel said their transition emerged organically through ongoing conversations with Salesforce and AWS. The director of procurement shared: “I think it was a bunch of things that collided together. It came from Salesforce, I think in one of the calls as well as from AWS where we are always looking to purchase via AWS Marketplace. It’s an easier process as a whole; billing in many of the cases is easier, so it just gives us a few commercial as well as technical administrative incentives to purchase via the AWS Marketplace.” For Deel, the timing aligned with its broader procurement strategy and participation in AWS’s Enterprise Discount Program (EDP), making AWS Marketplace a logical and advantageous channel. The interviewee cited the ease of integration, streamlined approvals, and alignment with existing cloud spend as compelling factors that made the transition a natural next step.{CalloutNumber}

Key Results And Benefits

The results of the transition for the interviewees’ organizations included:

AWS credits and cost savings. One of the most immediate and tangible benefits for the interviewees’ organizations was the financial incentive AWS provided in the form of credits and discounts. The interviewees from higher education institution said they received substantial annual credits from AWS based on its Salesforce spend. The CIO of the institution shared: “We get about $140,000 to $180,000 annually in AWS credits. ... It’s a percentage of the Salesforce spend.” These credits applied toward other AWS services, effectively reducing the institution’s overall expenditure. This was particularly valuable for a public institution, which operates under strict budget constraints.

Meanwhile, Deel leveraged its Salesforce spendings to meet its AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) commitment. The director of procurement said: “There is a commitment as part of the EDP and 25% of what you commit to can be purchased via the AWS Marketplace. ... It was the last piece of the puzzle.” By including Salesforce in its AWS Marketplace purchases, this interviewee said Deel unlocked higher discount tiers on its total AWS spend, resulting in significant cost savings. The interviewee also shared the savings was “something around those numbers — thousands, ten thousands per month.”

Procurement efficiency and billing consolidation. All interviewees reported significant improvements in procurement workflows and billing processes for their organizations after purchasing Salesforce in AWS Marketplace. The interviewees from the higher education institution said they benefited from consolidated billing, which reduced administrative overhead and improved transparency. The transition to AWS Marketplace also accelerated procurement timelines. The CIO for the institution noted that the process was efficient compared to direct procurement: “It seemed to be much, much more efficient process because when working directly with Salesforce — the way they send things to us, the way they invoice, the way they do the agreements, it was time consuming.”

The interviewee from Deel echoed similar sentiments, noting that AWS Marketplace provided a centralized view of all contracts and invoices: “Just sign the deal and it’s done. ... It’s helpful that I see all my contracts on the marketplace in one place.” The interviewee also noted that the simplicity of the AWS Marketplace model eliminated the need for back-and-forth negotiations and manual contract handling.

The director of procurement reported that the transition enabled their Salesforce contract to be executed through a private offer on AWS Marketplace, which was a feature of AWS Marketplace Private Offers. This mechanism allowed Salesforce to tailor pricing, terms, and conditions to meet Deel’s specific enterprise requirements, a common practice for large-scale agreements. It enabled a customized agreement while still benefiting from AWS Marketplace’s procurement efficiencies and commercial incentives.

Overall, the interviewees’ organizations experienced faster procurement cycles. The interviewees said that AWS Marketplace model removed delays caused by manual contract handling and back and forth vendor communications.

Strategic alignment and scalability. Interviewees said their organizations were able to scale their Salesforce usage more effectively after the transition. The AWS Marketplace model supported this growth by removing procurement bottlenecks and enabling flexible scaling. The interviewees from the higher education institution said it expanded its Salesforce footprint across multiple departments without exceeding the budget constraints. The interviewee from Deel said it also expanded its Salesforce usage significantly, driven by business growth. The centralized contract management supported scalable procurement across global teams and time zones.

Meanwhile, the transition enabled the interviewees’ organizations to pursue broader digital transformation goals, including AI integration across AWS and Salesforce products. The CIO for the higher education institution shared: “We’re continuing to deliver the student services faster and quicker. ... Our ideal state is using AI to have that single portal experience.” The interviewee noted scalable infrastructure provided by Salesforce and AWS Marketplace supported long-term innovation. Furthermore, the interviewee from Deel said their scalable procurement model allowed their organization to engage with emerging vendors and technologies more easily, especially in AI and compliance-heavy domains. The flexibility supported Deel’s rapid growth and evolving technological needs.

Enhanced partnerships to deliver strategic values. The relationship between Salesforce, AWS, and the interviewees’ organizations yielded a range of tangible and strategic benefits following the transition to procuring Salesforce in AWS Marketplace. Interviewees emphasized that the partnership was not merely transactional but foundational to their organizations’ broader digital transformation and procurement strategies. For the higher education institution, the interviewees said the partnership evolved into a collaborative ecosystem where Salesforce and AWS were viewed as transformation partners rather than just vendors. The CIO stated: “We are engaged in those discussions, we are doing pioneering work, and we’re having conversations with them about what’s on our roadmap [and] the direction we want to go. It’s exciting.” This strategic alignment enabled this institution to expand its Salesforce usage across departments, including admissions, advising, and even medical school operations, with confidence in the governance and support provided by both Salesforce and AWS.

For Deel, the interviewee said the relationship with Salesforce and AWS was equally strategic, though more focused on procurement efficiency and financial optimization. Deel benefited from AWS Marketplace’s vendor vetting process, which added a layer of security and compliance assurance.

The transition to procuring Salesforce in AWS Marketplace delivered measurable benefits for the interviewees’ organizations. Financial incentives, operational streamlining, and strategic alignment with cloud-first models were key drivers. Interviewees noted the process was smooth, had minimal disruption, and positioned their organizations to scale their Salesforce usage efficiently while optimizing cloud spend.