How things change during the year. Around this point last year, Salesforce was preparing to welcome 171,000 people for Dreamforce in San Francisco. The ecosystem was buzzing that Salesforce could create quite 4.2 million jobs over the subsequent five years, and in our report, we were highlighting the triple-digit supply growth within the talent ecosystem. Today the planet is battling an epidemic that has taken quite 1,000,000 people worldwide. Unemployment is at record highs, and we’ve all been forced to rethink how we learn, how we work, how we sell, how we buy, how we communicate, and the way we connect.

To adapt to those changes (and survive in some cases) businesses across the planet are ramping up their digital transformation efforts. It’s not something which will wait until next year or maybe next quarter. Luckily for this ecosystem, companies see Salesforce as a critical cog in their digital machine, which can explain why Salesforce’s quarterly revenue is up 28.9% YoY and their stock price is up nearly 50% YTD — even amidst a worldwide recession.
We conducted our third annual Salesforce Talent Ecosystem research amidst this juxtaposition, and therefore the results might surprise you.

Click here to download and skim the complete report. For people who want the highest line summary, here are the highest 10 findings:

1. Global supply of Salesforce talent grew 29% in 2020, but growth was down substantially from the 151% increase we saw in 2019.
2. the availability of Salesforce Technical Architects saw the very best growth across all roles, growing 29% YoY. However, they’re still just one of the overall talent supply.
3. Overall demand for Salesforce talent was down 7% YoY across all roles and regions. North America saw the foremost significant drop by Salesforce-related job listings, declining 32% YoY.
4. Global demand for Developers increased significantly at 23%, while Salesforce Technical Architects saw a 41% decrease in demand — a recipe for increasing technical debt within the coming years.
5. Gender diversity within the Salesforce talent ecosystem continues to enhance with most roles and regions showing a rise in female profiles. India saw the foremost progress of all the regions, with 3 roles showing a double-digit increase within the ratio of female profiles.
6. Pay disparity remains a problem among independent consultants. While 28% of male survey respondents reported charging rates of over $150/hour, only 4% of females reported an equivalent.
7. While overall talent supply growth slows, the amount of Salesforce consulting partners on the AppExchange grew by nearly 30%, eclipsing 1,600. Nearly half of all partners have 5 or fewer certified experts.
8. Independent Salesforce consultants are a seasoned group — nearly 60% of independents surveyed had 7 or more years of Salesforce experience, with 25% reporting 11 or more years of experience.
9. quite 50% of independent Salesforce consultants said their long-term goal was to grow their own business, proof that it’s quite just a side hustle.
10. Only 2% of respondents think Salesforce does a really good job supporting and recognizing independent consultants.
    In addition to those findings, 10K is particularly excited for Salesforce Ben readers to urge their hands on this year’s report because, for the primary time ever, we surveyed 115 independent consultants across North America, Europe, and Asia (primarily India). Our goal is to know how current independent professionals within the Salesforce ecosystem are faring in today’s environment, their plans for the longer term, and the way the ecosystem can better support this highly skilled and growing group of people.