This article was updated on December 12, 2025 with an up-to-date FAQ section.
In the MarTech and the SalesTech space there are apps, tools – and then there are platforms. In any case, there’s no way around Salesforce Sales Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud and its ecosystem of ISV partners, when it comes to understanding the evolution of modern sales and marketing technologies and what drives companies to continue to invest more.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud has a long history, from its start in 2006 as “ExactTarget” all the way to 2022 when it sets new standards in enabling marketing teams to create customer experiences that amaze with solutions like Genie.
The team at SalesWings, a 3x Salesforce ISV partner, and I got curious about what Marketing Cloud could be looking like in 5, 20, or 100 years – and who else should I ask than Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC expert) and MVP, Eliot Harper.
Philip Schweizer – CEO at SalesWings:
“Eliot, how are things at AMPscript Avenue in the land Down Under?”
Eliot Harper – Marketing Cloud MVP:
“Moving from the city to country Australia has been a big transition for our family, but we’re really enjoying the change and mowing a front lawn the size of 19 football fields keeps me busy.”
Philip:
“Since ExactTarget started you’ve grown one or the other grey hair. In 2050 we’re both retired – will Marketing Cloud be too?”
Eliot:
“While other digital marketing platforms will come and go over the next few decades, I believe Salesforce Marketing Cloud will outlive all of us.
Digital marketing is not going away and as long as the platform remains a Salesforce product, then it will continue to have a secure and promising future.
But, if Elon Musk buys Salesforce, then that would be a different story.”
Philip:
“Innovation seems to never stop in marketing tech, will Marketing Cloud soon be on autopilot like drones delivering goods or robots checking people into hotels?
Or in other words, should marketers be worried about their jobs down the road?”
Eliot:
“Advancements in marketing technology do not replace the need for marketers, rather AI-based technologies help marketers take the guesswork out of digital marketing.
Until the day when marketing technology can author effective copy and design compelling communications without human intervention (instead of writing based on the information that they are given), then marketing remains a secure career.
But the role and responsibilities of marketing departments will continue to change (and be enhanced) through marketing technology.”
Philip:
“I have had this idea for Marketing Cloud; why not remove all the buttons and replace it with voice commands or a head set that ready my marketing dreams. Hey Salesforce hinted at it at Dreamforce 2018 already!
Thoughts?”
Eliot:
“While there are many benefits of voice technology, I believe switching from an on-screen interaction to a solely voice-based interaction would only increase user frustrations and create more problems than it solves.
There’s definitely a place for voice interactions in digital marketing, particularly around insights and reporting, but I don’t believe that using voice commands to build digital marketing communications and campaigns is a good idea.”
Philip:
“The marketing tech space has grown overly complex to some, while incredibly sexy to the very tech savvy. Where does Marketing Cloud fit in?”
Eliot:
“Marketing Cloud is, at its core, a platform that enables users to send hyper personalised content across channels, at scale. This is what it’s really good at.
The important point to remember is that Marketing Cloud should be a component in a marketing technology stack, not ‘be’ the marketing technology stack.
While Marketing Cloud is a flexible platform and can be configured to transform, segment and even score large data sets, it doesn’t do it well and it was never designed to either.”
Philip:
“ChiefMartech has recently described in its article on “The second wave of MarTech” how major platforms are here to stay and whereas the consolidation of marketing tech tools has largely not occurred, the many solutions continue to allow companies to fine tune their needs with no-code or low-code tools which augment platforms.
What role do you see for Marketing Cloud ISV solutions to take, say in 5 years from now?”
Eliot:
“I believe we will eventually see consolidation, but it will take a little more time.
The reality is that there’s a lot of venture money tied up in marketing technology companies, which isn’t long-term money and many won’t make it through the next stage of their innovation lifecycle.
However, with the right solution, ISV Partners can piggy-back off Salesforce’s success in market penetration, which results in a more sustainable business model. Regarding the future role of ISV solutions, I believe Salesforce Genie will open significant opportunities for ISV partners to leverage real-time data and create a completely new value proposition for Salesforce customers, across the entire Salesforce product line.”
Philip:
“If there were no technological barriers, no lack of resources, and you had a magic genie that grants you 3 wishes for the Marketing Cloud.
What’s that crazy, stupid, super powerful feature you’d build that you had always dreamed of?”
Eliot:
“It’s hard to limit it to just 3, but they would be:
1. AI-based journeys where the entire journey is different for every customer and journeys automatically ‘self-heal’ and optimize on the fly through machine learning.
2. Completely transform and rebuild the platform user interface (which hasn’t changed much in 22 years) and make it a highly accessible, optimized and efficient user experience.
3. Rebuild MobileConnect from the ground up.”
Philip:
“Who is Salesforce to acquire next around its Marketing Cloud? Adobe? Mailchimp? Outreach.io? SalesWings???”
Eliot:
“I can’t say for certain, perhaps all of the above? ^^”
Philip:
“Last but not least – Marketing Cloud in the year 2100. Any idea? We’d love to know. lol”
Eliot:
“In 2100, I predict that Trailhead will no longer be relevant, as it will be possible to wirelessly download Marketing Cloud knowledge directly to your brain within seconds, and know everything you possibly need to know about the platform, without ever logging in.”
Philip:
“It’s been a pleasure Eliot, as always.🥳”
Eliot:
“Likewise, thanks for the invitation!”
Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s going to define the next decade?
- Where can I use ISV accelerators?
- What should consultants upskill in right now?
- How should consultants prepare?
- How will Agentforce reshape journeys?
- What is likely to happen in terms of consolidation vs. diversification with regard to Marketing Cloud and the ISV ecosystem?
- Regarding Marketing Cloud governance, how can I future-proof my data strategy?
What’s going to define the next decade?
The next decade will hinge on unified data, agentic automation, and privacy-centric personalization, with Marketing Cloud orchestrating outcomes across channels and systems.
Expect tighter coupling with Data Cloud for real-time identity and insights, agent frameworks to execute multi-step tasks, and open ecosystems to extend capabilities. Consultants should prioritize architectures that reduce copy-paste integrations and move toward event-driven activation.
Tip: keep a “north-star” map of customer outcomes and align every feature choice to it.
Where can I use ISV accelerators?
Use ISVs when they deliver proven lift on data activation, scoring, channel execution, or compliance faster than building and maintaining custom features.
Good candidates include predictive scoring to prioritize segments, web behavior capture for richer affinities, and real-time triggers integrated with journeys. Evaluate alignment with Data Cloud and Marketing Cloud guardrails, and validate ROI with a time-boxed proof of value.
Tip: start with a single, high-impact use case before expanding footprint.
What should consultants upskill in right now?
Prioritize data modeling, identity resolution, agent prompt design, and event-driven automation, layered with strong measurement and experimentation skills.
Complement platform skills (Journey Builder, Content, Mobile) with Data Cloud transformations, zero-copy integration patterns, and safe-by-design prompt engineering. Stay current on release waves and architecture patterns so you can translate strategy into reliable delivery.
Tip: refresh your mental model of the product family and deployment options regularly.
How should consultants prepare?
Build for Data Cloud as the customer data backbone, then activate insights in Marketing Cloud using native triggers, segments, and governed data sharing.
Design schemas that reflect real business entities, define matching rules for identity, and surface calculated insights back into journeys and messaging. Avoid brittle ETL by adopting zero-copy patterns where possible and document lineage so marketing, sales, and service trust the same truth.
Tip: standardize event names and payloads early to accelerate downstream activation.
How will Agentforce reshape journeys?
Agentforce introduces autonomous, policy-aware agents that can reason over context, take actions, and personalize interactions beyond static journey branches.
Instead of predefining every path, agents can evaluate live signals, generate content, and trigger cross-cloud workflows, while respecting governance and guardrails. For consultants, this shifts design toward goal-based outcomes, evaluators, and feedback loops rather than linear canvases.
Tip: pilot agent use cases with clear stop conditions and human review before scaling.
What is likely to happen in terms of consolidation vs. diversification regarding Marketing Cloud and the ISV ecosystem?
Expect selective consolidation, but the AppExchange ecosystem will continue to diversify where specialized capabilities outpace native roadmaps.
Platforms will absorb table-stakes features, while niche intelligence, compliance, and channel tools thrive as add-ons. Consultants should define a capability model, score “build vs. buy” objectively, and favor ISVs with robust security, support, and Data Cloud alignment.
Tip: create an exit plan per app to avoid lock-in and keep architecture adaptable.
Regarding Marketing Cloud governance, how can I future-proof my data strategy?
Center governance on consent, purpose limitation, lineage, and role-based access, enforced natively where possible across Data Cloud and Marketing Cloud.
Document data sources, define retention, and use policy controls to restrict sensitive attributes from downstream activation and AI prompts. Establish testing sandboxes, synthetic data practices, and release gates for prompts, segments, and automations.
Tip: align your governance council with product owners so compliance accelerates delivery, not blocks it.
About Eliot Harper:
Eliot Harper is a Salesforce MVP and Senior Marketing Technology Architect at CloudKettle.
As a SFMC expert, he is an acknowledged technical expert in Salesforce Marketing Cloud and has written books on Marketing Cloud, including the Journey Builder Developer’s Guide and The AMPscript Guide. He is very active in the user community and regularly publishes Marketing Cloud tips on his video blog at mc.chat.
Eliot also assists Salesforce with certification development and is a regular speaker at international events.
