6 Things We're Excited About in Salesforce for 2026

From Informatica Integration to Agentforce Maturity: A Balanced Look at What's Actually Changing in the Salesforce Ecosystem

As we close out 2025 and look ahead to the new year, the Salesforce ecosystem is at an inflection point. The AI hype cycle is maturing into real production deployments. Data foundations are finally getting the attention they deserve. And the platform is evolving in ways that will fundamentally change how organizations build and deploy solutions.

Here at Digital Mass, we don't chase buzzwords; we create best practices. We focus on what actually moves the needle for our clients. So, instead of breathless hype or reflexive skepticism, here's our balanced take on six developments in the Salesforce ecosystem that have us genuinely excited for 2026.

1. Informatica Integration: Data Quality Gets Its Moment

The headline: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Informatica in November 2025, bringing enterprise-grade data management capabilities into the platform.

Why it matters: For years, we've been preaching the gospel of data quality to clients. Clean your duplicates. Standardize your fields. Build proper governance. It's the work nobody wants to do, but everyone needs.

The Informatica acquisition changes the conversation. Suddenly, data catalog, integration, governance, quality and privacy, metadata management, and Master Data Management (MDM) services aren't afterthoughts, especially with C-suite visibility.

What we're watching in 2026:

• How quickly Salesforce integrates Informatica's capabilities into Data Cloud
• Whether MDM becomes more accessible to mid-market clients (not just enterprises with deep pockets)
• If the acquisition accelerates the adoption of proper data governance practices

The honest assessment: This won't be a plug-and-play integration. Enterprise data management is complex, and the cultural shift required to prioritize data quality takes time to implement. But for once, the technology is catching up to the need, and that's worth celebrating.

Learn more about the Informatica acquisition

2. Agentforce Growing Up: From Pilots to Production

The numbers: Salesforce has closed over 18,500 Agentforce deals since launch, with over 9,500 paid deals. More importantly, Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue reached nearly $1.4 billion, up 114% year-over-year.

The reality check: Remember how every vendor's AI demo looks magical until you try to implement it with your messy real-world data? Agentforce is finally graduating from that phase. The platform is maturing. Not because Salesforce fixed everything overnight, but because early adopters are figuring out what actually works.

What's changing in 2026:

• Better tooling: Salesforce released an Agentic Maturity Model that helps organizations understand where they are and what comes next. It's not revolutionary, but it's the kind of practical guidance that was missing at launch.
• Production playbooks: Companies are moving past proof-of-concept. More than half of Agentforce bookings come from existing customers expanding usage—meaning they've proven the value and want more.
• Realistic expectations: The industry is collectively learning that AI agents need clean data, transparent processes, and patience. Organizations that invested in their data foundations early are winning.

The balanced take: Agentforce won't revolutionize your business overnight. But if you've done the prerequisite work: data governance, process documentation, and change management, 2026 is the year you'll start seeing meaningful returns. If you haven't done that work yet, start now.

Explore the Agentic Maturity Model

3. Data Cloud: No Longer Optional

The shift: Data Cloud is shaping up to be a need to have, not a nice to have. In 2026, we expect it to become effectively mandatory for any serious Salesforce implementation.

Why now? Three reasons:

1. Agentforce dependency: AI agents need unified, harmonized data. You can't run sophisticated automation on fragmented data sources.
2. Pricing improvements: In Q3, Data 360 ingested 32 trillion records, up 119% year-over-year. Adoption is accelerating, partly because Salesforce made it more accessible.
3. Competitive pressure: Every other enterprise platform is building its data layer. Salesforce can't afford to let Data Cloud be optional anymore.

What to expect in 2026:

• Tighter integration between Data Cloud and core Salesforce objects
• More pre-built data models and accelerators for everyday use cases
• Increased pressure to consolidate disparate data sources

The strategic reality: If you're still debating whether you need Data Cloud, the debate is over. The question now is: how quickly can you get your data into shape to take advantage of it?

Learn about Data Cloud

4. MuleSoft + Informatica: Integration Gets Intelligent

The opportunity: MuleSoft has long been Salesforce's integration powerhouse. Add Informatica's data integration and governance capabilities, and you get something potentially game-changing: intelligent, context-aware integrations that understand data quality and lineage.

What this enables:

• Integrations that automatically flag data quality issues before they propagate
• Better metadata management across your entire tech stack
• Unified visibility into how data flows through your systems

The 2026 question: Can Salesforce make this accessible beyond enterprises? MuleSoft has historically been enterprise-priced. If the Informatica integration creates more packaged solutions for mid-market companies, that's when this gets really interesting.

For consultants and developers: This is where the work is going. Understanding how to architect integrations that leverage both MuleSoft's connectivity and Informatica's governance will be increasingly valuable.

Explore MuleSoft integration capabilities

5. Predictive Einstein: The Quiet Comeback

The contrarian take: While everyone's chasing generative AI and autonomous agents, there's a strong case that traditional predictive AI is about to get more valuable, not less.

Why? Because not every problem needs a conversational agent. Sometimes you just need:

• Lead scoring that actually predicts conversion
• Opportunity forecasting that's accurate enough to trust
• Customer churn predictions that drive proactive outreach

The 2026 reality: As organizations get more sophisticated with AI, they're realizing that a portfolio approach works best. Predictive AI for structured problems. Copilots for assisted workflows. Autonomous agents for well-defined tasks. The companies winning with AI aren't using a single approach; they're using the right tool for each job.

What's changing: Salesforce has been quietly improving Einstein's predictive capabilities while everyone focused on Agentforce. The platform is getting more brilliant at creating custom models without requiring data science expertise. In 2026, we expect more organizations to revisit their Einstein implementations with fresh eyes.

6. Slack + Agentforce: Where Work Actually Happens?

The vision: AI agents that live where your employees already work, not in yet another portal they have to remember to check.

Why this matters more than you think: One of the biggest adoption challenges with any Salesforce feature is getting users to log in and use it. Slack changes the equation. When agents can surface information, make recommendations, and execute actions inside Slack channels, adoption barriers drop significantly.

The 2026 opportunity:

• Sales agents who notify teams about deal risks in real-time
• Service agents who triage cases and suggest responses directly in support channels
• Operations agents who flag data quality issues where cross-functional teams collaborate

The caveat: This only works if you've already built a culture around Slack. If your organization still lives in email or Microsoft Teams, this won't be your unlock. But for Slack-native companies, this integration could be transformative.

The Bottom Line

The theme connecting these six developments is maturity. The Salesforce ecosystem is moving past the "shiny new feature" phase and into the "how do we actually operationalize this" phase. That shift is healthy.

For 2026, we recommend:

If you're just getting started with Salesforce AI:

• Focus on data foundations first. (Seriously. We can't stress this enough.)
• Start with narrow, well-defined use cases.
• Set realistic expectations about timelines and effort.

If you're already running Agentforce pilots:

• Use the Agentic Maturity Model to assess your current level.
• Identify your biggest blockers. (Usually, data quality or process clarity)
• Plan your expansion systematically, not opportunistically.

If you're a Salesforce veteran:

• Revisit your Einstein implementations. There's probably untapped value.
• Evaluate your Data Cloud strategy. (If you don't have one, get one.)
• Think about integration architecture with Informatica capabilities in mind.

The following year will separate organizations that chase AI hype from those that build sustainable competitive advantages. We're excited to help our clients do the latter. 

Ready to Build Your 2026 Salesforce Strategy?

Whether you're planning your first Agentforce implementation, evaluating Data Cloud, or need to clean up your data foundations before diving into AI, we can help.

Our SprintZero engagement is designed to cut through the noise and build you a pragmatic roadmap. In two weeks, we'll assess your current state, identify your highest-impact opportunities, and create an actionable plan that aligns with your business goals. Not just the latest buzzwords. Contact us to schedule a SprintZero or reach out directly to discuss your 2026 Salesforce initiatives.