4 ms·

Salesforce has turned into the monolithic messy bloatware it set out to replace. Please VCs stop with the AI FOMO and find a few good startups to just go destr

by cmiles8 15d ago

Salesforce has turned into the monolithic messy bloatware it set out to replace. Please VCs stop with the AI FOMO and find a few good startups to just go destroy Salesforce and give folks a simple inexpensive replacement.

sschueller 15d ago
As someone who has never used Salesforce nor hubspot. What are the core features that has people using these services? Is it just the integration between all the different areas where customer data lives?
- cmiles8 15d ago
  It’s like a lot of these big SaaS platforms that lock people in to big contracts. They promise the world with all sorts of features and integrations but most customers don’t use that and get locked into buying a very expensive solution to a very simple problem (in this case tracking sales pipelines). Where customers do use the features and integrations it’s often a giant mess that needs a whole separate ecosystem of consultants and “partners” to get the thing working and maintaining it.
  - yfontana 14d ago
    > in this case tracking sales pipelines Salesforce does a lot more than that
- IneffablePigeon 15d ago
  They're an incredible marketing machine. But mostly it's a mix of the integration network effects you mention, cost of reimplementation if you want to leave, and the good old "nobody gets fired for buying IBM" dynamic.
- kakwa_ 14d ago
  Integration and reconciliation between arbitrary data sources (from SFTP+CSV files to connecting to data warehouse like snowflakes, potentially through vpn tunnels). Data querying for creating marketing campaign audiences or generating some reporting reporting. Little development for landing pages, forms, or custom integrations. Multiple channels (SMS, push, email) & message templating. And many marketing stuff like AB testing/fatigue, etc
dd8601fn 15d ago
There are 10,000 “simple inexpensive replacements”. Always have been. If you need a glorified three object contact list… you shouldn’t buy Salesforce. Those just, obviously, can’t do almost any of the forty million serious things that Salesforce does, and real businesses do need.
- stefanfisk 15d ago
  This is an honest question: which serious things?
  - bobsmooth 15d ago
    My boss recently added a custom integration to allow us to log hours on jobs. It includes GPS coordinates so we have proof of our whereabouts.
    - stefanfisk 14d ago
      But that’s not a salesforce feature but rather custom software. You could bolt that onto most systems.
      - bobsmooth 14d ago
        Sure, but it's already integrated in the Field Service app we already use.

by cmiles8 15d ago

sschueller 15d ago

As someone who has never used Salesforce nor hubspot. What are the core features that has people using these services? Is it just the integration between all the different areas where customer data lives?

cmiles8 15d ago
It’s like a lot of these big SaaS platforms that lock people in to big contracts. They promise the world with all sorts of features and integrations but most customers don’t use that and get locked into buying a very expensive solution to a very simple problem (in this case tracking sales pipelines). Where customers do use the features and integrations it’s often a giant mess that needs a whole separate ecosystem of consultants and “partners” to get the thing working and maintaining it.
- yfontana 14d ago
  > in this case tracking sales pipelines Salesforce does a lot more than that
IneffablePigeon 15d ago
They're an incredible marketing machine. But mostly it's a mix of the integration network effects you mention, cost of reimplementation if you want to leave, and the good old "nobody gets fired for buying IBM" dynamic.
kakwa_ 14d ago
Integration and reconciliation between arbitrary data sources (from SFTP+CSV files to connecting to data warehouse like snowflakes, potentially through vpn tunnels). Data querying for creating marketing campaign audiences or generating some reporting reporting. Little development for landing pages, forms, or custom integrations. Multiple channels (SMS, push, email) & message templating. And many marketing stuff like AB testing/fatigue, etc

dd8601fn 15d ago

There are 10,000 “simple inexpensive replacements”. Always have been. If you need a glorified three object contact list… you shouldn’t buy Salesforce. Those just, obviously, can’t do almost any of the forty million serious things that Salesforce does, and real businesses do need.

stefanfisk 15d ago
This is an honest question: which serious things?
- bobsmooth 15d ago
  My boss recently added a custom integration to allow us to log hours on jobs. It includes GPS coordinates so we have proof of our whereabouts.
  - stefanfisk 14d ago
    But that’s not a salesforce feature but rather custom software. You could bolt that onto most systems.
    - bobsmooth 14d ago
      Sure, but it's already integrated in the Field Service app we already use.