HFS Highlight: IBM acquires Salesforce Platinum partner, 7Summits to bolster user-centric design capabilities

In January 2021, IBM announced its acquisition of 7Summits, a Salesforce Platinum partner and a two-time recipient of Salesforce Venture funding. 7Summits CEO, Paul Stillmank, will continue to head up the acquired operation while working closely with IBM’s global Salesforce services practice.

An investment in innovation to support digital transformation offerings

7Summits adds 141 Salesforce certified consultants, which is a dip in the ocean compared with IBM’s huge pool of nearly 1,900. While this is important for IBM to keep up with the leaders including Accenture, Cognizant and Deloitte, this is not a capacity play. This acquisition is all about adding innovation to the portfolio that helps customers on their OneOffice journeys. The HFS OneOffice framework drives enterprise-wide transformations across the back, middle and front-office boundaries. For successful transformations, adoption and motivation to continue to use applications are key. 7Summits’ focus on user-centric design, as well as proactive post-deployment support, helps enterprises to achieve this transformation.

7Summits has service experience across Salesforce cloud technologies, with a laser focus on user-centric design, leveraging its UX teams. It has developed numerous pre-configured templates and solutions to facilitate fast deployments. It has also invested in an impressive array of Lightning Bolt solutions that enhance collaboration and engagement among employees, customers, and partners. For example, the Employee Digital Workspace and the Partner First for Manufacturing Lightning Bolts. These align well with IBM’s Salesforce services capabilities, including its design thinking-led offerings that leverage IBM’s 57 iX digital studios around the world.

The Bottom Line: Strengthening IBM’s position as a transformation partner for the Salesforce ecosystem

IBM has invested millions of dollars into its Salesforce services business in the past two years. IBM’s Salesforce consulting services secured a reputable 5^th rank in our Salesforce Services Top 10 report in 2020 and the company is aware that it needs to make significant investments to catch the leaders in this market. As customers turn to the cloud in droves, Salesforce is emerging as an important platform for success, beyond a simple CRM system. IBM recognizes that this is a high-growth market, and this is a smart investment of key skills that are needed to help customers achieve true transformation.