Salesforce partner, consultancy or offshore: which delivery model?
Most buyers are weighing three options: a large consultancy, an offshore development shop, or an onshore Salesforce specialist. They are genuinely different commercial models rather than different prices for the same thing, and the difference shows up after go-live more than during the build. This guide sets out what each one is good at, what it costs you in practice, and the six questions worth asking whichever you pick.
What each model is actually good at.
Ignyto is the third of these, so read the first two knowing that. We have written what we would say to a buyer who told us they were leaning toward one of the others, including the cases where they are right to.
Large consultancies
A multi-country programme with change management, process redesign and several platforms in scope at once. If Salesforce is one workstream inside a much larger transformation, a consultancy is built for that and a specialist is not.
The people who pitched are rarely the people who build. Ask who is actually assigned, at what seniority, and what happens to the price when the scope moves — because on a platform project it will.
Offshore development shops
A well-specified backlog of build work where somebody on your side already owns the design and the acceptance criteria. If you have a capable internal Salesforce lead, buying hours can be genuinely efficient.
Nobody owns the outcome but you. Ticket-shaped work produces ticket-shaped results, and the gap between what you asked for and what you needed is yours to spot.
Onshore Salesforce specialists
A platform decision with real business consequences, where you want the design argued out with you rather than handed over, and the same team accountable after go-live.
Capacity is finite and a specialist will say no to work outside its competence. That is the trade — depth over breadth. Check the certifications are in the products you are actually buying.
The comparison, line by line.
Six things that differ materially between the models, and where Ignyto sits on each.
| Large consultancies | Offshore development shops | Ignyto — Salesforce Summit partner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A partner-led sale, delivered by a rotating team you did not meet at pitch. | Hours bought from a supplier. Capability varies by individual assigned. | A Salesforce Summit partner with 115 certifications across 35+ people, working from London, Manchester and Dublin. |
| Commercial model | Fixed fees, with change control on every deviation from the original scope. | Hours-based and ticket-focused. Scope is whatever the ticket says. | Time and materials, with effort scoped as user stories before the work starts. Never fixed price. |
| What gets measured | Delivery milestones against the plan. | Tickets closed. | Business metrics baselined at the start and reviewed after go-live. |
| Salesforce credentials | Mixed across a large bench. | Varies by individual. | Summit tier. FY26 Engagement Excellence Partner of the Year, Salesforce Partner CSAT Award 2024, 4.9 average client CSAT. |
| After go-live | A separate retainer negotiation, usually at a higher rate. | Minimal, unless you keep buying hours. | Managed services from the same team that built it. |
| Evidence you can check | Reference calls on request. | A portfolio, rarely client-specific. | 80 published case studies, each stating the clouds implemented, the integrations and the industry. |
Two things worth saying plainly. Ignyto works on time and materials rather than fixed price, because a fixed price on a platform project is priced for the supplier’s risk rather than your outcome. And the Ignyto team includes people based outside the UK and Ireland — the distinction we draw is not geography, it is whether the person doing the work is certified, accountable to you by name, and still there after go-live.
Six questions for any shortlist.
Ask all six of everyone, including us. The answers separate suppliers faster than a proposal document does.
Who specifically will be assigned, at what seniority, and were they in the room at pitch?
How is effort estimated, and what happens commercially when the scope changes mid-build?
Which business numbers will this be judged on, and who baselines them before we start?
What certifications does the assigned team hold in the specific clouds we are buying?
Who supports this after go-live, and is it the same team or a different contract?
Can you show me a published example in our industry, with the integrations named?
Going further: choosing a Salesforce implementation partner in the UK covers the selection process in full, Salesforce partner tiers explained covers what Summit actually means, and what Salesforce managed services cost covers the after-go-live commitment most comparisons leave out.
Questions people ask us directly.
Is a Salesforce Summit partner better than a large consultancy?
Not universally — they are built for different jobs. Summit is the highest Salesforce partner tier and reflects certified capability, delivery quality and customer satisfaction scores on Salesforce work specifically. A large consultancy is built for multi-platform transformation programmes with change management in scope. If Salesforce is the project, a Summit specialist is usually the better fit. If Salesforce is one workstream in a far larger programme, a consultancy may be.
Is offshore Salesforce development cheaper?
Per hour, generally yes. Per outcome, it depends entirely on whether someone on your side owns the design and the acceptance criteria. Buying hours works when you already know precisely what you want built. It works poorly when the real question is what should be built, because nobody in that model is accountable for answering it.
Does Ignyto use offshore delivery?
The Ignyto team includes people based outside the UK and Ireland, and we say so plainly rather than marketing a UK-only claim we could not stand behind. The distinction that matters is not geography — it is whether the person doing the work is certified in the product, accountable to you by name, and still there after go-live.
Why will Ignyto not quote a fixed price?
Because an honest fixed price on a platform project has to include a margin for the unknown, and you pay for that margin whether or not the unknown appears. Ignyto works on time and materials with effort scoped as user stories before the build starts, so you can see what you are approving and stop at any point.
Put us on the shortlist and ask the six questions.
Half an hour, no pitch deck. We will tell you what the work involves, roughly what it costs, and when another model would serve you better.