Salesforce’s Informatica Acquisition Proves Integration Is Easy, Yet Control Is Hard

Two years ago, I stepped away from the Salesforce ecosystem not because it didn’t have value, but because I wanted to explore data and AI on my own terms.

That’s what led to building Insight Works.ai, which merged with DoubleTrack in July 2025. I wasn’t interested in chasing licensing targets or tying myself to someone else’s roadmap - I wanted to figure out what actually worked outside the noise of product sales and partner politics.

Here’s what I’ve found since:

Everyone’s experimenting. Everyone’s learning. And no one has it truly figured out.

(Despite what people on LinkedIn, Reddit, Youtube, or your favorite podcast might claim.)

So when Salesforce announced their acquisition of Informatica, I paid attention. I’ve always respected what MuleSoft and Informatica brought to the table on their own, but now they’re under one roof … and I think what's most interesting is what it signals for the future of enterprise AI.

Especially where it shouldn’t go.

Why Acquiring Informatica Is A Smart Move By Salesforce

Let’s skip the headlines and hype and talk about what this means for the people actually building the systems AI is supposed to run on.

This isn’t just about connecting systems … it’s about controlling the flow, quality, and governance of the data your business depends on.

Here’s what Salesforce has now:

• MuleSoft = Live connectivity (APIs, events, real-time movement)

• Informatica = Batch pipelines, metadata catalogs, governance

That’s real-time + historical all under one roof. An incredibly powerful combination!

Salesforce isn’t just chasing AI, they’re after the data layer that feeds it: before, during, and after AI does its work.

Put simply:

• MuleSoft helps you move data.

• Informatica helps you trust it.

It’s a smart move! Now, Salesforce offers a one-stop shop for the entire AI data lifecycle.

Buuuuuuuut here’s the catch: I don’t believe this is the earthquake some folks are claiming it to be, especially for any company that's lacking a robust data strategy.

Why I’m Skeptical Of Its True Impact

Informatica was already solid. Salesforce’s logo on the box doesn’t change that.

It also doesn’t mean customers are suddenly going to buy both - especially if they’ve already invested in MuleSoft.

The real challenge?

Platform cost. Staffing. Implementation complexity. Ongoing maintenance.

Managing two enterprise integration platforms isn’t “control.” It’s friction, unless Salesforce finds a way to reduce the overhead vs. add to it. That doesn’t happen overnight!

Let’s call it like it is:

More tech ≠ more control. More integrations ≠ more outcomes.

You don’t get real value just because the tools are owned by the same company. You get real value when the tools seamlessly work together.

So far, that’s still TBD. It’s early days and is something I’m very much interested in, especially with clients I work with today who trust one or both platforms already.

But how Salesforce integrates the two systems is where the real value comes, and that will take years.

Why This Move Still Matters

It’s still a big deal, because at the end of the day … AI needs trusted data.

And most companies? They can’t even get their systems to talk to each other reliably! It’s something I’ve seen time and again over 30 years both inside and outside of Salesforce.

ERPs. Data warehouses. CRMs. Name any technology, and most companies either fail to integrate it well or completely miss the full value of the platform’s offerings.

Here’s the thing: MuleSoft + Informatica can help fix that, but it won’t happen with bundled licenses and a bigger invoice.

What companies need isn’t a massive lake of perfect data. They need useful puddles: clean, governed, and accessible pockets of actionable data.

Because here’s a lie I’m seeing make the rounds: That AI needs everything.

Nope. It needs enough confidence in what it's using, and that’s where Informatica shines.

Bottom Line

This acquisition is a signal: Integration and governance aren’t side quests anymore. They’re the runway for AI.

But don’t get caught up in the AI agent hype, as great as I think Agentforce will be over the coming years. 

Focus on AI that does something now.

While others try to boil the ocean, we’re taking a different approach:

Small. Specific. Scalable.

We rinse and repeat a core AI architecture:

• Justify cost.

• Prove value.

• Then do it again.

No massive, fragile rollouts. Real wins, one use case at a time.

Our AI strategy is additive, intended to make your people more capable.

But it’s also subtractive in that it’ll remove “grind work” where it makes sense to. This encompasses your entire organization, by the way - not just within Salesforce.

The broader fight for control of your data, your processes, and your AI is still in the “storm and norm” stage where companies continue to grapple with what this truly means for them and how they want to innovate.

Our customers refuse to wait for the dust to settle. They’ve already moved.

If that appeals, let’s talk.