As enterprises push generative and agentic AI projects beyond experimentation, the challenge is shifting from proving the technology works to getting it into production fast enough to deliver measurable business value.
For systems integrators and other channel partners, that is changing the enterprise AI implementation playbook. OSF Digital EVP and Global Head of Strategy Sean Catlin says customers increasingly expect partners to identify, build and test working AI-powered workflows in weeks, then help scale those deployments across the business over the following months.
“The light bulb moment comes on when we show them the working experience,” Catlin told Channel Insider.
- Salesforce AI partners face pressure to deliver value faster
- OSF addresses customer needs through hands-on workshops
- OSF Digital targets the gap between pilots and scale
- Industry-specific agents could accelerate enterprise adoption
- Salesforce and Anthropic signal a more open AI stack
- Channel partners need to focus on more than AI implementation
Salesforce AI partners face pressure to deliver value faster
OSF Digital, a Salesforce-focused systems integrator operating across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, has increasingly centered its strategy around agentic AI.
The integrator has worked closely with Salesforce to build a dedicated AI practice. In June, it formally joined the Salesforce FDE Partner Network to unlock additional engineering depth and closer collaboration with the tech giant.
“The partner ecosystem is how we make our advantage tangible for customers trying to win in the agentic era,” said Nick Johnston, the SVP, Global Consulting Partners & Partner Sales, Salesforce, at the time.
“The Salesforce Forward Deployed Engineering Partner Network takes the deep learnings and specialized training we’ve built inside Salesforce and extends it to an elite network of partners. This provides customers with the engineering depth and confidence needed to move from pilot to production and achieve business outcomes at scale,” Johnston’s statement continued.
That network was one of many announcements that Salesforce has made this year targeting new ways to bring partners into the fold as it seeks higher AI adoption worldwide.
OSF addresses customer needs through hands-on workshops
Catlin said one of the biggest differences between AI projects and previous waves of enterprise transformation is how quickly customers expect to see something tangible.
“It’s no longer about an amazing PowerPoint deck that you guys see in three months and a bit of Figma,” Catlin said. “It’s about the real thing.”
OSF has built workshops around that philosophy, bringing business and technical teams together to identify processes suited for automation, map potential agentic workflows and, where possible, begin building working versions during the engagement itself.
The goal, Catlin said, is to create sufficient tangible evidence to help customers understand both what the technology can do and what deploying it will require.
OSF Digital targets the gap between pilots and scale
That approach also reflects what Catlin sees as a gap between two competing messages enterprises are hearing about AI.
On one side are promises that companies can simply provide models with specifications and data and quickly generate working agents. Those pilots can succeed, Catlin said, but often struggle to scale.
At the other extreme are more traditional consulting approaches involving months of process mapping and data preparation before development begins.
OSF is trying to occupy the middle ground.
“We say, look, you’re going to get to value in weeks, and you get to enterprise in months,” Catlin said.
Industry-specific agents could accelerate enterprise adoption
Salesforce’s expanding AI strategy is also changing the kinds of processes partners such as OSF can address.
Catlin said Agentforce initially centered heavily on CRM agents and CRM workflows, but newer capabilities are pushing the platform into processes ranging from supply chain to middle- and back-office operations.
For OSF, that expansion makes industry context increasingly important. A technically impressive agent is unlikely to generate much enthusiasm if customers cannot recognize their own operations in it.
“Show me something relevant to me,” he said, describing the reaction customers can have when presented with demonstrations built for another industry.
AI transformation creates a workforce challenge
Technology, however, is only part of the challenge.
Catlin said employee anxiety about AI and job displacement increasingly surfaces during enterprise workshops, making executive communication and change management critical components of successful deployments.
“It’s actually very important to get cultural support and exec-down support,” Catlin said, including reassuring employees about how organizations intend to use the technology.
He expects AI to produce both significant opportunities and difficult consequences as enterprises automate more middle- and back-office processes. To him, the best outcomes are the ones in which leaders are transparent with their employees about the goals of AI implementation.
Salesforce and Anthropic signal a more open AI stack
While conversations over the past year have centered on which of the many AI companies would “come out on top,” the market seems to be shifting into a new phase of maturity, less focused on a single winner.
Catlin argues that enterprises aren’t likely to settle on one AI platform or agentic “harness.” Instead, he expects customers to operate across multiple technologies, which makes interoperability increasingly important.
He sees Salesforce’s integration strategy, including its recent announcement of “Claudeforce,” a new way for Salesforce customers to access platform insights and actions directly within Claude, as a sign that the company understands what customers need from technology moving forward.
“This isn’t to put Salesforce behind Anthropic. In a lot of ways, it’s actually to wrap Salesforce around Anthropic, too,” Catlin said.
Catlin’s view reflects a broader truth about the relationship between channel partners and their customers: most business leaders don’t care about the tech itself; they care that it works when they need it to.
In an AI-enabled environment, organizations might be shifting their focus from specific frontier models to a broader understanding of return on investment and long-term success.
Channel partners need to focus on more than AI implementation
For channel partners, the opportunity extends well beyond implementing Salesforce AI or any single agentic platform. Customers will also need help redesigning workflows, setting realistic expectations and preparing employees for fundamentally different ways of working.
“The second light bulb moment is getting the customers to realize the different way of working and the speed that they’re going to have to go at,” Catlin said.
As enterprises put greater pressure on AI investments to deliver measurable returns, the partners that can translate rapidly changing technology into scalable business processes will be well positioned to deliver the most value.