Customer data is the crown jewel for most organizations — and when that data lives in Salesforce, security and compliance are no longer optional features: they’re foundational requirements. A modern salesforce consulting partner must deliver technical controls, legal-savvy compliance mapping, and operational discipline so customers can use Salesforce confidently and auditably.
Below is a practical, research-backed playbook of the security and compliance capabilities your partner should provide, why each matters, and how to validate their claims.
1) Start with the cloud vendor’s security model — then map shared responsibilities
Cloud security is a joint effort. Salesforce publishes a clear Shared Responsibility Model: Salesforce secures the infrastructure and platform, while customers (and their partners) are responsible for correct configuration, data governance, and access control. A competent salesforce consulting partner designs solutions with that division in mind, ensuring platform controls and customer-side controls align.
Practically, this means the partner should document which controls Salesforce handles (e.g., physical security, hypervisor isolation) and which controls they will implement for you (user access, org configuration, encryption keys management).
2) Data residency, residency controls and regional architecture
Regulatory demands for data residency and sovereignty are real and growing. Salesforce’s Hyperforce architecture and data-residency capabilities let customers keep data in chosen regions — a capability many regulated customers require. Your consulting partner should explain how they will use regional Salesforce options (or architectural alternatives) to meet local law requirements and minimize cross-border transfer risk.
Ask any prospective partner to show a data-residency design that maps which data elements must stay local, and how the solution prevents unintentional replication to global systems.
3) Strong encryption, audit trails, and immutable history
Strong encryption and accountable logging are basic requirements for compliance audits. Salesforce Shield (Platform Encryption plus Event Monitoring and Field Audit Trail) gives you field-level encryption, traceable event logs, and historical snapshots — tools you should require your partner to use or replicate in designs for regulated environments. A reliable salesforce consulting partner will lay out how they apply Shield, key management, and retention policies to meet audit expectations.
Also expect the partner to design data-export and backup controls that preserve encryption and auditability for offline archives.
4) Secure development practices: DevSecOps, SAST, and secure coding standards
Security begins in code. A professional partner integrates DevSecOps into the delivery pipeline: automated static analysis (SAST), software composition analysis (SCA) for third-party libraries, dependency controls, and automated test gates that prevent merging insecure code. Salesforce provides secure coding guidance for Apex, LWC, and integrations — your partner should demonstrate how they apply those standards in pull-request and CI workflows.
Specific expectations:
PR gates that block merges with high-severity SAST findings.
Automated unit and integration tests that include security assertions.
Periodic red-team or penetration testing for high-risk areas.
5) Identity, access management and least-privilege enforcement
A core cause of breaches is excessive privileges. A strong salesforce consulting partner will implement role-based access control (RBAC), permission set design, session and login controls (MFA, IP restrictions), and automated provisioning/deprovisioning tied to corporate SSO (SAML/OIDC). They should show how they implement the principle of least privilege and provide an access-review schedule for compliance audits.
6) Integration security and API governance
Most breaches and data leaks happen at the integration layer. Consultants must secure all external callouts (Named Credentials, certificate pinning where needed), manage OAuth scopes with least privilege, and operate API gateways or iPaaS platforms to centralize logging, rate-limiting and threat protection. If your integration touches financial or healthcare systems, insist on formal API threat models and signed SLA commitments for incident response.
7) Regulatory mapping & privacy-by-design
Compliance isn’t one-size-fits-all. A serious salesforce consulting partner will perform a legal compliance mapping exercise (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, India’s DPDP, HIPAA, PCI as relevant), identify data processing roles (controller/processor), and implement privacy-by-design controls such as consent flags, right-to-be-forgotten workflows, and DPIAs where necessary. Salesforce provides guidance and Trailhead modules for GDPR alignment — your partner should use these resources and produce a DPIA or equivalent for high-risk processing.
8) Certifications, attestations and third-party evidence (SOC 2, ISO 27001)
Ask for proof. Security posture is more credible when backed by independent audits and certifications. Top partners maintain or can provide:
SOC 2 (Type II) reports — demonstrating controls are operated effectively.
ISO 27001 certification — showing a management system for information security.
Pen test summaries and remediation reports for customer review (with redactions).
A trusted salesforce consulting partner will make these artifacts available under NDA and explain how they map to your control objectives.
9) AppExchange & ISV security — what partners must know
If your solution is an AppExchange product or integrates with third-party managed packages, your partner must understand the AppExchange Security Review requirements — including secure packaging, minimal OAuth scopes, and vulnerability remediation. ISVs that partner with consultants for AppExchange readiness shorten review cycles and reduce rework.
10) Continuous monitoring, incident response, and SLAs
Detection and response are as important as prevention. Ensure your partner offers:
Real-time monitoring pipelines (Event Monitoring, SIEM integration).
A documented incident response playbook with defined RTO/RPO and communication templates.
SLA commitments for incident response escalation and root-cause remediation.
Request historical metrics: mean time to detect (MTTD), mean time to respond (MTTR), and example post-incident reports — partners who track and publish these are more likely to manage risk proactively.
11) Operational governance: org health, change control, and least-surprise upgrades
Security degrades quickly when orgs accumulate unmanaged metadata and shadow changes. Partners should run regular org health checks, enforce change control (change sets or source-driven CI/CD), and manage Salesforce seasonal release impacts. Expect documented release windows, rollback plans, test automation and a technical-debt remediation roadmap as part of ongoing managed services.
12) How to evaluate & shortlist a salesforce consulting partner (quick checklist)
When interviewing partners, verify they can demonstrate the following (ask for evidence, not just claims):
Shared-responsibility design and signed responsibilities matrix.
Data residency plan with Hyperforce options where applicable.
Shield encryption and Field Audit Trail implementation examples.
CI/CD pipelines integrated with SAST/SCA tooling and PR gates.
AppExchange security review experience (if relevant).
IR playbook and historical MTTD/MTTR metrics.
Use short technical tasks, request code or architecture samples, and insist on customer references that specifically speak to security and compliance outcomes.
Real-world outcomes: what good looks like
When implemented end-to-end, these practices reduce audit friction, shorten procurement cycles, and improve enterprise adoption. For example, adopting data-residency options plus Shield and documented DPIAs often removes legal blockers in regulated deals; integrating SAST into CI reduces Security Review remediation cycles for AppExchange submissions; and mature DevSecOps lowers the frequency of critical incidents.
Final thoughts
Security and compliance are continuous programs — not checkboxes. A competent salesforce consulting partner brings platform knowledge (Hyperforce, Shield, DevOps), legal awareness (GDPR, regional laws), and operational muscle (DevSecOps, monitoring, incident response) so your Salesforce investment is secure, auditable, and resilient. When selecting a partner, demand evidence, insist on a shared-responsibility matrix, and prioritize repeatable controls that scale with your business.
If you’d like, I can convert this checklist into a one-page vendor RFP or a technical questionnaire to send to shortlisted partners.
