Why Salesforce Keeps Acquiring Companies—and How MuleSoft, Slack, Tableau, and Informatica Are Reshaping Salesforce Certifications

If you’ve been following Salesforce, you’ll notice they recently launched a new certification: Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Catalyst Consultant (Mule-Con-201). This is the first MuleSoft-related certification introduced after Salesforce acquired MuleSoft—a highly significant milestone.

Meanwhile, on May 28, 2025, Salesforce announced an $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, the American cloud data management specialist, and officially completed the transaction on November 18, 2025. Salesforce has been steadily expanding its territory in recent years. From Slack and Tableau to MuleSoft and now Informatica, Salesforce has moved far beyond traditional CRM.

So why is Salesforce pursuing so many acquisitions? And how will these acquisitions reshape their certification system?

Salesforce’s Acquisition Strategy: From CRM to AI + Data Platform

Salesforce’s continuous acquisitions follow one consistent strategic goal:

Transform Salesforce from a CRM vendor into an enterprise-grade AI, Data, and Integration platform.

Building this ecosystem organically would take a decade. Acquisitions allow Salesforce to instantly gain mature technology, talent, and market leadership.

The Strategic Role of Each Major Acquisition

MuleSoft: Enterprise Integration Foundation

MuleSoft provides:

API management
Application and data integration
Event-driven architectures

Why it matters:

Modern enterprises operate across dozens of systems. MuleSoft enables Salesforce to connect any system, any data, anywhere.

📌 MuleSoft solves the “connect everything” problem.

Tableau: Analytics and Data Visualization

Tableau adds:

Enterprise analytics
Visual data exploration
Business intelligence

Why it matters:

Data only creates value when it is understood.

📌 Tableau transforms raw data into actionable insights.

Slack: Collaboration and Execution Layer

Slack contributes:

Real-time collaboration
Workflow automation
AI-driven productivity

Why it matters:

Insights are useless without execution. Slack embeds Salesforce intelligence directly into daily work.

📌 Slack turns insights into action.

Informatica: Data Governance for AI

Informatica specializes in:

Data governance and lineage
Data quality and master data management (MDM)
Metadata management
AI-ready, compliant data pipelines

Why it matters:

AI is only as good as the data it uses. Informatica ensures data is trusted, governed, and enterprise-ready.

📌 Informatica enables “AI-safe data.”

Why Salesforce Needs Informatica for AI

Salesforce’s AI vision includes:

Einstein AI
Data Cloud
Agentforce (AI Agents)

However, enterprise AI faces one major obstacle: Untrusted, fragmented, and poorly governed data.

Informatica directly solves this problem by providing:

Consistent enterprise data models
Regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA)
Transparent data lineage for AI decisions

This acquisition completes Salesforce’s AI data stack.

How Salesforce Acquisitions Are Reshaping Certification Exams

Salesforce’s platform transformation is directly reflected in its certification strategy.

MuleSoft Certification Changes: The Rise of Mule-Con-201

The Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Catalyst Consultant (Mule-Con-201) represents a major shift.

Before Salesforce:

API implementation focus
Technical integration skills
Tool-centric exams

After Salesforce:

Catalyst methodology
Business outcome identification
Composable architecture design
Enterprise planning and roadmap development

MuleSoft certifications are moving from “how to build” to “why and when to build.”

Tableau Certifications After Salesforce

Tableau certifications now emphasize:

Salesforce Data Cloud integration
Analytics tied to CRM workflows
Business-driven insights, not isolated dashboards

Tableau is no longer just BI — it is embedded intelligence inside Salesforce.

Slack Certifications Under Salesforce

Slack certifications increasingly focus on:

Workflow automation with Salesforce
AI-assisted collaboration
Operational decision-making

Slack is evolving from chat to an enterprise execution platform.

Informatica Certifications: What Will Change After Salesforce

Once fully integrated, Informatica certifications are expected to align with:

Salesforce Data Cloud
AI-ready data architecture
Governance-driven AI design

Future exams will likely emphasize:

Data quality for AI
Cross-platform data governance
Enterprise data architecture strategy

Informatica certifications will become core AI-data credentials, not niche data tools.

Salesforce’s acquisitions aren’t about market expansion—they’re about platform dominance in the AI era. The launch of Mule-Con-201 signals a clear shift: Salesforce certifications are evolving from technical validation to enterprise-level strategic validation.

For professionals pursuing Salesforce, MuleSoft, Tableau, Slack, or future Informatica certifications: The future belongs to those who understand systems, data, and AI—not just tools.