Salesforce has benefited from a vast ecosystem of third-party software companies for years, helping customers move and analyze data within its platform. Tools like Fivetran, for example, have become important infrastructure for thousands of businesses, quietly syncing Salesforce data into data warehouses and AI tools. However, this relationship is potentially starting to fray.
Earlier this year, Salesforce told Fivetran – a data integration company valued at more than $5B – that it must route its Salesforce connections through Salesforce’s AppExchange marketplace or risk losing access to customer data altogether, according to The Information.
Why Has Salesforce Adjusted Its Approach?
Following this dispute, Fivetran CEO George Fraser said that the company has declined to comply, arguing that this change would “inconvenience all customers”. While Fivetran could technically access Salesforce data through more complex workarounds, Fraser framed Salesforce’s move as a commercial decision rather than a technical one.
Salesforce, however, tells a very different story.
Speaking to Salesforce Ben, Tyler Carlson, SVP and Head of Product at Salesforce, also reiterated that the company’s ramp-up was triggered by a recent wave of supply chain attacks.
“We conducted a comprehensive audit of how third-party apps were connecting to our orgs, and we found partners operating outside the program,” Tyler explained. “By keeping our perimeter secure, we ensure customers can adopt AI innovation with confidence and mitigate risk, guaranteeing a durable ecosystem that benefits everyone long-term.”
Salesforce also framed the partner program as more than access alone, pointing to benefits like enterprise APIs, distribution, and customer trust, alongside the infrastructure and governance required to handle enterprise data securely.
On commercial terms, Salesforce says there have been no recent changes to data access or partner program policies, but acknowledged a price adjustment earlier this year to its Connector program (API integrations).
Tyler said: “This is the only adjustment since the program launched in 2016. Our connector pricing is based on a flat fee per user/environment that is scaled based on usage and volume, which is industry standard. We also work closely with partners on a case-by-case basis to align pricing to the fair value exchange between the parties.”
With Salesforce’s sales growth slightly slowing, it now faces a growing field of competitors building AI-driven tools that sit on top of Salesforce data. Companies like Glean, Rox, and others now offer customers new ways to analyze and act on their Salesforce information, often outside of Salesforce’s interface.
This is why the timing of this is important – if this trend is to continue, Salesforce risks becoming a backend system rather than the central hub where work actually happens.
Seen through that lens, tougher AppExchange enforcement looks less like a security clean-up and more like a strategic move to reassert control over its data moat.
The impact extends well beyond Fivetran as well. Several software companies say Salesforce is renegotiating existing agreements – sometimes before contracts expire – to significantly increase the fees required to access Salesforce data. One executive allegedly told The Information that their company was asked to pay eight times more than before and ultimately agreed because their product depends on that access.
Salesforce has also tightened data usage rules elsewhere. In June, it restricted how Slack data could be used to train AI models, a change that directly affected AI search products like Glean. Glean later confirmed it would officially register its app within Salesforce’s partner program to regain access, implicitly accepting the associated fees.
Not all partners are unhappy with this, however. Companies like Copado and Gearset say AppExchange participation provides distribution, enterprise credibility, and stronger security assurances for large customers. For them, the cost is part of doing business on a trusted platform.
But critics argue Salesforce is changing the rules mid-game. For years, the company allowed data access to flourish with relatively light oversight, enabling an ecosystem of specialized tools to grow. Now, those same companies are deeply dependent on Salesforce – and far more vulnerable to sudden policy shifts.
Salesforce Ben understands that the CRM giant does not take a unilateral commission, and connecting through AppExchange has never been a blanket requirement for accessing Salesforce data. The company offers two distinct commercial options:
- Connector: For companies distributing API integrations to Salesforce. They pay a flat, tiered fee based on user volume to cover the cost of the secure API infrastructure they rely on.
- Revenue share: A 15% revenue share is applied only for native apps built on the Salesforce Platform using their technology stack (data model, workflows, etc).
Final Thoughts
This debate in particular is mostly about who controls customer data, who captures value from AI-driven workflows, and whether Salesforce’s ecosystem remains open or becomes a gated marketplace where access comes at a rising price.
For Salesforce customers, the risk is straightforward: higher costs, fewer choices, and less flexibility, even if the changes are presented in the language of security and trust.
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