$380 billion Salesforce Economy by IDC

This White Paper forecasts the economic contribution of Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners and customers to local economies in terms of jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) impact.
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<p> 
September 2016, IDC #US41691316 
White Paper 
The Salesforce Economy: Enabling 1.9 Million New Jobs and 
$389 Billion in New Revenue Over the Next Five Years 
Sponsored by: Salesforce 
John F. Gantz 
Pam Miller 
September 2016 
IN THIS WHITE PAPER 
This White Paper forecasts the economic contribution of Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners and 
customers to local economies in terms of jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) impact. 
The study relies on IDC's forecasts of job creation from organizational use of cloud computing, IDC's 
understanding of Salesforce's market share, IDC's published research on the number of ancillary 
products and services that accompany cloud computing implementations, IDC's understanding of how 
Salesforce partners and developers are building applications and services on top of the Salesforce 
platform, surveys of cloud computing customers, and a custom economic model that estimates the 
size of the Salesforce ecosystem. 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
 Worldwide, Salesforce and its ecosystem will enable the creation of 1.9 million jobs within the 
Salesforce customer base from the use of cloud computing between the end of 2015 and the 
end of 2020. 
 During this same time frame, Salesforce and its ecosystem will enable the creation of more 
than 2.8 million indirect jobs, or those jobs created in the supply and distribution chains 
serving Salesforce customers, as well as from new company employees spending money in 
the general economy. 
 Over the same period, the benefits of cloud computing accruing to Salesforce customers will 
add $389 billion in new business revenue, or GDP impact, to their local economies. 
 Cloud computing generates these benefits primarily by permitting an increase in IT innovation, 
which in turn supports business innovation that leads to accelerated development schedules, 
faster project completion, shorter time to market for new products, and lower operational costs. 
 The Salesforce ecosystem revenue is three to four times bigger than Salesforce itself because 
organizations that spend on cloud computing subscriptions also spend on ancillary products 
and services, from additional cloud subscription and professional services to additional 
software applications, hardware, and managed services. IDC predicts that by 2020, for every 
dollar Salesforce makes, the company's ecosystem will achieve $4.14. 
 
If Salesforce merely grows at the rate of cloud computing adoption, that means that the ecosystem 
as a whole will pull in more than $100 billion in new revenue from 2015 through 2020. The United 
States, because of its large share of cloud computing implementations and of Salesforce's global 
revenue, will generate about two-thirds of the world's financial gain from the Salesforce customer 
set, but about two-thirds of the jobs will be created in emerging markets where labor costs are low. 
©2016 IDC 
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2 
 
In an IDC survey of 1,142 cloud-using organizations in eight countries conducted in 2015, 
Salesforce customers said, on average, they have experienced payback from their Salesforce 
technology investments in 13 months or less. Over four years, aggregate worldwide 
investments by Salesforce customers in cloud computing should yield three to five times the 
financial benefits compared with costs. 
ECONOMIC BENEFIT SUMMARY 
Table 1 shows the summary of the impact of Salesforce as well as its ecosystem of partners and its 
customers in the regions studied. Detailed definitions are provided in the Appendix. 
TABLE 1 
Local Economic Benefits Summary 
Country 
Business 
Revenue 
Created ($M), 
YE2015–
YE2020 
Direct Jobs 
Created, 
YE2015–
YE2020 
Indirect/ 
Induced Jobs 
Created, 
YE2015–
YE2020 
Ecosystem 
Revenue/ 
Salesforce 
Revenue, 2015 
Ecosystem 
Revenue/ 
Salesforce 
Revenue, 2020 
United Kingdom 
35,857 
86,210 
149,284 
2.42 
3.89 
France 
6,480 
26,177 
74,943 
3.23 
4.57 
Germany 
5,032 
18,181 
27,923 
2.57 
4.06 
Netherlands 
1,477 
7,322 
11,133 
2.61 
4.11 
Rest of Western Europe 
10,390 
34,444 
52,891 
2.57 
4.08 
Western Europe total 
59,235 
172,334 
316,174 
2.56 
4.03 
United States 
269,318 
323,194 
426,784 
2.90 
4.16 
Canada 
1,640 
18,344 
28,445 
2.76 
4.35 
Australia 
6,990 
16,015 
31,905 
2.66 
4.06 
Japan 
20,443 
109,710 
130,678 
2.67 
4.12 
Singapore 
1,778 
2,863 
5,323 
2.88 
4.22 
Worldwide 
389,026 
1,871,275 
2,856,109 
2.82 
4.14 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
3 
CLOUD COMPUTING: A SOFTWARE ENGINE FOR IT GROWTH 
When Salesforce released its first product in 2000, cloud computing was in its infancy, an unproven 
computing technique. In fact, cloud computing didn't surpass 1% of IT spending until 2009. Even today, 
public cloud computing accounts for less than 5% of spending on IT and 15% of spending on software. 
But despite its small share of the $2 trillion IT market, cloud computing has been a major contributor to 
growth in IT spending, growing at 4.5 times the rate of IT spending since 2009 and expected to grow at 
better than 6 times the rate of IT spending from 2015 through 2020 (see Figure 1). 
FIGURE 1 
The Rapid Growth of Cloud Computing, 2015–2020 
 
Source: IDC, 2016 
 
The services offered through cloud computing are traditionally split into the following types: 
 Software as a service (SaaS) — applications, which support collaboration, enterprise resource 
management, and customer relationship management (Salesforce's cloud solutions fit into this 
category, including sales cloud, service cloud, and marketing cloud.) 
 SaaS — system infrastructure, which provides systems management, security, and other 
background software operations or system infrastructure software such as security or systems 
management 
 Platform as a service (PaaS), which delivers application development tools and development 
platforms (The Salesforce App Cloud falls into this category.) 
 
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which is the delivery of information storage, processing, 
bandwidth, or other utility computing services (IaaS typically replaces on-premises hardware.) 
While Figures 1 and 2 relate to "public" cloud computing, there are also "private" cloud solutions that 
offer shared solutions within a company. These can be provided by internal IT organizations or 
managed or hosted by third parties. For the purpose of this White Paper, IDC considered all forms of 
cloud computing in the analysis and forecasts of economic impact. 
$67
$82
$99
$117
$138
$162
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Woldwide Spending on Public Cloud Computing, 2015–2020 ($B)
Average Compound Growth Rate, YE2015–YE2020, 19%
IT Spending Average Compound Growth Rate, 
YE2015–YE2020, 3%
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
4 
FIGURE 2 
Software Services Drive Cloud Computing, 2015 and 2020 
 
Source: IDC, 2016 
 
HOW SALESFORCE CLOUD OFFERINGS DRIVE BENEFITS 
IDC has been tracking and predicting the impact of cloud computing on local economies since 2009. 
That research, along with research by other academics, shows that cloud computing's economic 
impact is much larger than just the efficiencies it can bring to an IT organization. 
The leverage from cloud computing comes from the fact that so much of traditional IT is tied up with 
maintenance of legacy systems and routine upgrades — in fact, 71% of IT spending in a survey 
conducted by IDC in 2015. 
By moving routine tasks and even traditional on-premises applications to the cloud, organizations can 
shift budget and personnel to innovation to support new business opportunities, which in turn drives 
new business revenue.1 In fact, IDC estimates that for 2015, cloud computing accounted for more than 
half a trillion dollars of business revenue — in a global economy of $175 trillion in revenue. 
                                                          
1 For a deeper discussion, see the 2015 study on the Salesforce economy at 
www.salesforce.com/assets/pdf/misc/The-Salesforce-Economy-White-Paper.pdf. 
SaaS: Apps 
(61.0%)
SaaS: 
System Infras. 
(12.0%)
PaaS 
(11.0%)
IaaS 
(16.0%)
2015
$67B
Worldwide Spending on Public Cloud Computing by Type ($B)
SaaS: Apps 
(54.0%)
SaaS: 
System Infras. 
(8.0%)
PaaS 
(17.0%)
IaaS
(21.0%)
2020
$162B
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
5 
Because Salesforce represents nearly 10% of the aggregate public cloud services market, and  
its ecosystem a multiple of even more, a substantial share of all that revenue will accrue to  
Salesforce customers. 
In fact, IDC estimates that from the end of 2015 to the end of 2020, the use of cloud computing will add 
$389 billion in revenue to Salesforce customers' ongoing revenue streams — nearly $80 billion a year 
(see Figure 3). 
That revenue, in turn, generates employment — people to design, market, sell, produce, and service 
the products and services driving that revenue. 
IDC estimates a net increase of 1.9 million jobs produced in this "Salesforce economy" between the 
end of 2015 and the end of 2020 (see Figure 4). 
There are also additional jobs created in the supply and distribution chains serving those Salesforce 
customers, as well as from new company employees spending money in the general economy.  
IDC estimates that 2.9 million of these jobs, called indirect or induced jobs, will be created by the  
1.9 million jobs depicted in Figure 4. (Refer back to Table 1 for the indirect/induced job figures.) 
FIGURE 3 
$389 Billion in Net-New* Global Revenue from Cloud Computing by Salesforce 
Customers, 2015–2020 
 
Note: Total does not equal $389 billion because of rounding.  
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
$0
$20
$43
$72
$106
$149
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Cloud-Related Revenue in 2015 = $82B
* Difference from Cloud-Related Revenue in 2015
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
6 
FIGURE 4 
1.9 Million in Net-New* Jobs from Cloud Computing by Salesforce Customers, 
2015–2020 
 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
WHERE SALESFORCE CLOUD OFFERINGS DRIVE BENEFITS 
Respondents to the 2015 survey conducted by IDC reported that their average payback for a Salesforce 
cloud investment was 13 months or less. And the IDC Salesforce Economic Impact Model (EIM) shows that 
over a four-year period, the return from those investments can be four to five times the original investment. 
Figure 5 shows the various benefit vectors that IDC expects will be achieved by Salesforce customers over 
the next four years. It also shows that, although most benefits come from internally facing projects, such as 
operational productivity improvements, more benefits come in the form of increased revenue than lower costs. 
FIGURE 5 
Where Cloud Computing Delivers Its Returns 
 
n = 1,142 
Source: IDC's Cloud Economic Impact Survey, 2015 
0
174,379 
445,615 
807,822 
1,295,029 
1,871,275 
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
* Difference from Cloud-Related Jobs in 2015
Cloud-Related Jobs in 2015 = 1,092,100
Customer 
facing 
(15.0%)
Operational 
improvement 
(39.7%)
Innovation 
(18.7%)
Employee 
productivity 
(26.6%)
Total = 100
Benefits by Project Type, Salesforce Customers
14%
26%
60%
Increased productivity
Lower costs
Increased revenue
Benefits by Type, Salesforce Customers
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
7 
By region, the benefits of cloud computing — at least in revenue generation — generally match the 
distribution of spending on cloud computing, which in turn is more or less similar to the distribution of 
Salesforce revenue. 
Table 2 compares the regional breakdown of spending on public cloud computing with that for the 
business revenue IDC estimates was created in 2015 from the Salesforce economy. 
TABLE 2 
Salesforce Customers' Business Revenue Using Cloud Computing Versus 
Spending on Cloud Computing, 2015 (%) 
 
United States 
Western Europe 
Japan 
ROW 
Business revenue 
65 
11 
6 
18 
Spending on cloud computing 
62 
17 
4 
18 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
THE SALESFORCE ECOSYSTEM 
IDC's research shows that, for the most part, every cloud subscription sold is accompanied by other 
products and services. These can include additional cloud-based subscriptions (say for storage or 
security), additional applications to increase productivity, (say for digital signature or administration), or 
even hardware or networking. 
In the 2015 survey referenced previously, IDC found all manner of additional services and products 
accompanying cloud subscriptions, including: 
 Additional cloud subscriptions, such as storage, security, or other applications 
 Additional cloud applications, such as digital signature, cloud-based ERP, integrated voice, 
and analytics 
 Business consulting, such as planning, vendor management, and needs assessment 
 
IT consulting to support migration, integration, and data preparation 
 On-premises hardware or software, such as additional servers, upgraded end-user computers, 
and new or upgraded mobile devices 
 Additional bandwidth, VPN upgrades, and remote access services 
 End-user or IT training 
 Other 
Figure 6 shows the prevalence of these additional expenditures as reported by the respondents to 
IDC's Cloud Economic Impact Survey, 2015. 
While Figure 6 shows the percentage of respondents spending on additional products and services to 
make their implementations complete, it doesn't show the actual expenditures. 
©2016 IDC 
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8 
However, using market research on ratios of software to services spending and to hardware and 
networking, including spending on the basic Salesforce subscription, IDC estimates that in 2015, the 
ecosystem generated $18 billion in revenue worldwide. 
Based on IDC's forecasts on spending on cloud computing, and assuming that Salesforce can grow at 
least at the same rate as spending on cloud computing, by 2020, that revenue figure is expected to be 
$73 billion. 
Figure 7 shows the source of that revenue by product or service category. 
FIGURE 6 
Additional Respondent Spending Beyond Original Cloud Subscription 
 
n = 1,142 
Source: IDC's Cloud Economic Impact Survey, 2015 
 
3%
32%
35%
38%
41%
42%
43%
0
10
20
30
40
50
None
Bandwidth
Business consulting
End-user or IT training
IT consulting
On-premises hardware/software
Additional cloud services
(% of Respondents Saying Additional Spending Required for a 
Fully Functional Implementation)
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
9 
FIGURE 7 
The Salesforce Ecosystem Size and Makeup, 2015 and 2020 
 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
As a result of these additional products and services, the ecosystem that surrounds Salesforce 
implementations is larger than Salesforce itself — in fact, in 2015, for every dollar Salesforce made, the 
ecosystem made $2.82. And by 2020, for every dollar Salesforce makes, the ecosystem is projected to 
make $4.14. 
IDC predicts that this ecosystem will grow even faster than Salesforce in the coming years — a function 
of the expected growth of the Salesforce ecosystem and the expected growth of ancillary products and 
services needed by customers as their implementations become more complex and mission critical. 
 
 
SaaS: Apps 
(61.0%)
SaaS: 
System Infras. 
(12.0%)
PaaS 
(11.0%)
IaaS 
(16.0%)
2015
$18B
SaaS: Apps 
(54.0%)
SaaS: 
System Infras.
(8.0%)
PaaS 
(17.0%)
IaaS
(21.0%)
2020
$73B
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
10 
Table 3 shows the ratio of Salesforce revenue to the revenue of its ecosystem from 2015 to 2020. 
TABLE 3 
The Growing Salesforce Ecosystem, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Ecosystem 
2.82 
3.07 
3.32 
3.59 
3.86 
4.14 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
This growing ratio and the growth of Salesforce itself mean that ecosystem revenue will grow 
handsomely, from under $20 billion in 2015 to more than $70 billion in 2020. 
Note that the Salesforce ecosystem includes all companies that provide the products and services that 
surround a Salesforce implementation. Many, but not all, of these companies will be recognized 
Salesforce partners, such as Salesforce Consulting Partners or ISV Partners, with apps listed on the 
Salesforce AppExchange. The others may be brought into the project by partners or by the end-user 
organizations themselves. And any single Salesforce partner could well make a higher multiple of 
Salesforce than the aggregate ecosystem average. 
What drives the partners? In addition to the chance to grow double their revenue over the next five 
years, 75 partners polled for this study reported significant returns from working with Salesforce: 
 Using the Salesforce App Cloud development tools cut the Salesforce partners' development 
time by 31% compared with traditional development methods. 
 Using the Salesforce App Cloud allowed the Salesforce partners to cut the cost of quality 
assurance by 34% and decreased time to market by 32%. 
 Using the Salesforce AppExchange allowed the Salesforce partners to improve their sales 
closing rate by 15%. 
Since joining the Salesforce partner program, the average partner respondent reported an annual 
revenue growth of 38%, and for the next three years, they expected annual revenue growth of 45%. 
©2016 IDC 
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11 
CONCLUSION 
Even though cloud 
computing still represents a 
relatively small percentage of 
overall IT spending, it is 
growing at a much faster 
pace than IT as a whole. 
Further, because of the 
leveraged nature of cloud 
computing — freeing up IT 
resources to support 
business innovation — 
investments in cloud 
computing yield broad 
benefits for local economies, 
not to mention customers, 
partners, and cloud 
providers. 
The key takeaways in this 
study for organizations 
utilizing, or interested in, 
cloud computing are the 
following: 
 The payoff to the 
larger organization is 
much greater than 
just the impact on the IT organization. Cloud computing often underpins larger digital 
transformation projects at many enterprises. 
 Successful implementations require concerted efforts on the part of customers,  
cloud providers, and providers of ancillary services and products. Salesforce, as a recognized 
market leader, helps bring all three to the table. The maturity model for cloud computing 
entails migration from ad hoc projects to a "cloud" approach. Organizations on this journey 
need suppliers that can support them all the way. 
 The breadth and variety of cloud applications available today mean that the majority of key 
business processes and workflows — whether ERP, CRM, HCM, or other systems — can now 
be migrated to the cloud and integrated with existing cloud platforms. 
IDC's forecasts show a significant payback from investments in cloud computing out to 2020. But even 
by then, spending on cloud computing will be little more than 15% of spending on IT. We are still on 
the ground floor of cloud computing, with lots of headroom for ever more success. Salesforce and its 
ecosystem are well positioned to take advantage of that headroom. 
The Impact of Brexit 
The data and surveys used in the model for this White Paper were 
generated prior to the vote on July 23 by the citizens of the United 
Kingdom to leave the European Union (aka "Brexit"). This change in the 
status of the United Kingdom in the European market is expected to 
affect both the economy of the United Kingdom and that of other 
European countries. In fact, the Economist Intelligence Unit has already 
dropped its forecast for real GDP growth in the United Kingdom from an 
average of 1.8% to 0.6% per year from 2016 through 2020. 
In August 2016, IDC updated its forecast for software spending in the 
United Kingdom and Western Europe — incorporating Brexit and 
related factors — which dropped the average compound growth rate 
from 6.2% to 5.0% for 2016–2020. For Western Europe, the number fell 
from 5.1% to 4.7%. IDC has not yet updated its forecast for spending 
on cloud computing related to Brexit, but it is possible that a slower 
economy could actually accelerate the migration to cloud computing 
as enterprises seek to lower up-front capital costs. Regardless, IDC 
advises readers that the data in this White Paper most likely 
represents the upper bound of forecasts for the United Kingdom and 
Western Europe at this time. 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
12 
APPENDIX: DETAILED BENEFITS DATA 
United States 
Table 4 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in the United States. 
TABLE 4 
Job Creation and Business Revenue for the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — United States, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
53,097 
7,016 
9,156 
11,876 
14,799 
18,744 
Direct jobs 
174,631 
48,842 
62,771 
80,097 
98,404 
122,366 
Indirect/induced jobs 
231,658 
89,025 
111,813 
144,074 
184,708 
212,024 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.90 
3.14 
3.38 
3.65 
3.90 
4.16 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
Canada 
Table 5 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in Canada. 
TABLE 5 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Canada, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
1,476 
1,490 
1,656 
1,864 
1,944 
2,068 
Direct jobs 
13,568 
15,711 
18,660 
22,666 
26,259 
31,912 
Indirect/induced jobs 
20,696 
24,976 
29,141 
35,802 
43,103 
49,141 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.76 
3.05 
3.34 
3.68 
4.00 
4.35 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
13 
France 
Table 6 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in France. 
TABLE 6 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — France, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
919 
1,075 
1,400 
1,725 
3,310 
3,563 
Direct jobs 
9,160 
11,996 
15,310 
19,430 
28,460 
35,337 
Indirect/induced jobs 
15,175 
20,748 
25,902 
33,187 
79,320 
90,118 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
3.23 
3.49 
3.75 
4.03 
4.29 
4.57 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
Germany 
Table 7 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in Germany. 
TABLE 7 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Germany, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
910 
1,094 
1,417 
1,741 
2,374 
2,959 
Direct jobs 
7,742 
10,046 
12,875 
16,384 
20,759 
25,923 
Indirect/induced jobs 
12,004 
16,224 
20,342 
26,112 
34,356 
39,927 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.57 
2.84 
3.11 
3.41 
3.72 
4.06 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
14 
Netherlands 
Table 8 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in the Netherlands. 
TABLE 8 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Netherlands, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
359 
360 
478 
597 
793 
1,042 
Direct jobs 
3,179 
4,124 
5,313 
6,781 
8,391 
10,501 
Indirect/induced jobs 
4,871 
6,565 
8,291 
10,666 
13,674 
16,004 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.61 
2.88 
3.15 
3.45 
3.77 
4.11 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
United Kingdom 
Table 9 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in the United Kingdom. 
TABLE 9 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — United Kingdom, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
5,147 
7,016 
9,156 
11,876 
14,799 
18,744 
Direct jobs 
36,156 
48,842 
62,771 
80,097 
98,404 
122,366 
Indirect/induced jobs 
62,740 
89,025 
111,813 
144,074 
184,708 
212,024 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.42 
2.69 
2.96 
3.26 
3.56 
3.89 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
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Rest of Western Europe 
Table 10 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in the rest of Western 
Europe. 
TABLE 10 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Rest of Western Europe, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
2,013 
2,471 
3,243 
4,071 
4,485 
6,184 
Direct jobs 
2,013 
2,471 
3,243 
4,071 
4,485 
6,184 
Indirect/induced jobs 
30,290 
37,634 
44,851 
55,305 
69,196 
83,181 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.57 
2.84 
3.12 
3.42 
3.74 
4.08 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
Australia 
Table 11 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in Australia. 
TABLE 11 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Australia, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
1,453 
1,828 
2,256 
2,781 
3,351 
4,041 
Direct jobs 
9,894 
11,906 
14,520 
17,783 
21,392 
25,909 
Indirect/induced jobs 
19,561 
24,948 
29,652 
36,803 
46,558 
51,466 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.7 
2.9 
3.2 
3.5 
3.8 
4.1 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
16 
Japan 
Table 12 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in Japan. 
TABLE 12 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Japan, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
4,510 
5,836 
7,132 
8,438 
9,824 
11,762 
Direct jobs 
57,638 
74,402 
91,185 
111,737 
133,423 
167,348 
Indirect/induced jobs 
68,925 
92,020 
110,883 
136,817 
168,303 
199,603 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.7 
2.9 
3.2 
3.5 
3.8 
4.1 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
Singapore 
Table 13 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy in Singapore. 
TABLE 13 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Singapore, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
545 
637 
739 
869 
1,028 
1,233 
Direct jobs 
2,270 
2,652 
3,076 
3,617 
4,278 
5,133 
Indirect/induced jobs 
4,170 
5,145 
5,821 
6,941 
8,632 
9,493 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.9 
3.1 
3.4 
3.7 
3.9 
4.2 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
©2016 IDC 
#US41691316 
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Worldwide 
Table 14 contains IDC's estimates of the impact of the Salesforce economy worldwide. 
TABLE 14 
Job Creation and Business Revenue from the Use of Cloud Computing and 
Salesforce Ecosystem Ratio — Worldwide, 2015–2020 
 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
Business revenue ($M) 
81,663 
101,181 
124,670 
153,396 
187,555 
230,538 
Direct jobs 
1,091,979 
1,266,358 
1,537,594 
1,899,801 
2,387,008 
2,963,254 
Indirect/induced jobs 
1,663,805 
2,007,155 
2,382,572 
2,970,170 
3,915,811 
4,519,914 
Ecosystem-to-Salesforce revenue ratio 
2.8 
3.1 
3.3 
3.6 
3.9 
4.1 
Source: IDC's Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 2016 
 
APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY 
The Benefits of Cloud Computing 
Since 2002, IDC has maintained an internal tool called the IDC Salesforce Economic Impact Model, 
which takes inputs from IDC's market research on IT spending, exchange rates, and vendor market 
share, along with public inputs such as GDP, tax rates, and overall labor force from other sources. The 
output of the EIM is IT company and employee counts by geographic region. 
In 2009, IDC added inputs for spending on cloud computing, percentage of IT resources available for 
innovation (the rest used on legacy system support and upgrades), and business revenue as a 
multiple of GDP per country. 
Using research-driven algorithms that compare total IT spending with spending on cloud computing 
and IT budgets with business revenue; the degree to which IT innovation drives business innovation; 
and estimates of business benefits from accelerated development schedules, faster project 
completion, and shorter time to market for new products, the model generates job head counts and 
business revenue in the general economy because of the use of cloud computing to free up IT 
resources. 
In short, increased IT innovation leads to increased business innovation, which leads to increased 
revenue, which creates new jobs. Outputs from the cloud-infused EIM have been published in various 
IDC research projects and are a critical input to the European Union's Digital Agenda for Europe. 
©2016 IDC 
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18 
The Salesforce Economy 
As a major vendor of cloud services, Salesforce accounts for a significant share of the benefits to the 
general economy from cloud computing. That share is enhanced by other contributions to the economy 
by companies that sell cloud services in concert with Salesforce cloud services, by professional 
services firms that help organizations migrate to cloud computing, and by companies that sell 
hardware, software, services, and networking to organizations to support cloud computing. 
The Salesforce Economic Impact Model is an extension to IDC's IT Economic Impact Model. It 
estimates Salesforce's current and future share of the benefits to the general economy generated by 
cloud computing, and it also estimates the size of the ecosystem supporting Salesforce using IDC's 
market research on the ratio of spending on professional services to cloud subscriptions; the ratio of 
sales of hardware, software, and networking to spending on public and private cloud computing; and 
the ratio of spending on application development tools to applications developed. 
Note that the ecosystem may include companies that are not formal business partners of Salesforce 
but that nevertheless sell products or services associated with the Salesforce implementations. 
Key Definitions in Support of Tables and Figures 
The following contains definitions of terms used in tables and figures throughout this White Paper: 
 Direct jobs are those created in the Salesforce and Salesforce ecosystem customer bases 
from the use of cloud computing. 
 
Indirect/induced jobs are those created by spending in the general economy by people filling 
the direct jobs. 
 Net gain in jobs is the difference from year-end 2015 to year-end 2020. For revenue, it is the 
aggregate difference from each year to 2015. 
 Contribution to GDP is business revenue created in the Salesforce and Salesforce ecosystem 
customer bases from the use of cloud computing. 
 The Salesforce revenue forecast is based on Wall Street forecasts and internal IDC estimates. 
It is not for publication. 
 The Salesforce ecosystem includes those selling the following in conjunction with Salesforce 
implementations: 
 Additional cloud subscriptions (e.g., storage and security) 
 Professional services and/or business consulting supporting implementation, integration, 
and training 
 Additional hardware, software, or networking in support of implementations, including 
integration with private clouds 
 Many, but not all, Salesforce ecosystem companies are registered partners with Salesforce. 
 Ecosystem revenue grows as a ratio to Salesforce revenue from growth of the partner base 
and growth in selected product/service categories. 
 Benefit vectors show financial benefits by project type and benefit type and are based on 
survey results and the IDC Salesforce Economic Impact Model. 
 
 
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Supporting Surveys 
To support the analysis of the Salesforce economy in a study published in 2015, IDC conducted a 
survey in April 2015 of 1,142 respondents across eight countries. This survey focused on both 
Salesforce customers and noncustomers (Salesforce customers were limited to 25% of the sample by 
design) and asked questions about investment levels and returns by type of cloud project. The output 
helped finalize algorithms in the economic models as well as develop a clearer view of exactly how 
benefits from cloud computing are derived. 
In the summer of 2016, IDC also conducted a survey of 75 Salesforce partners across  
English-speaking countries and a half dozen in-depth interviews. The interviews explored partner 
investments in various aspects of supporting Salesforce implementations, the revenue growth of 
partners, and the attitudes and opinions of partners regarding their relationship with Salesforce.  
 
 
About IDC 
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory 
services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology 
markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-
based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts 
provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in 
over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients 
achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology 
media, research, and events company. 
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