Overview
7Summits is a Salesforce-native consultancy founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2009 and acquired by IBM in January 2021. Pre-acquisition the firm operated as one of the largest pure-play Salesforce Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) specialists in North America, with approximately 240 employees and an onshore delivery presence in roughly 30 US states. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 7Summits now operates as part of IBM Consulting, which employs roughly 160,000 people globally inside IBM's US$62.8 billion FY2024 revenue base. IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna has led the parent company since April 2020.
In Salesforce implementation specifically, 7Summits remains the deepest Experience Cloud bench in the IBM Consulting Salesforce practice. The team developed roughly 70 accelerators pre-acquisition, the majority of which are Experience Cloud-based. Practice coverage spans Experience Cloud portals, partner communities, B2B commerce, employee digital workspaces, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Salesforce.org Nonprofit and Education Cloud. Since joining IBM, 7Summits delivery teams are increasingly paired with broader IBM Salesforce, watsonx AI, and Adobe practices on multi-platform programmes.
Buyers select 7Summits for Experience Cloud and portal-led Salesforce engagements where digital experience design, employee or partner portal complexity, and B2B community functionality drive the work. The firm is less commonly the primary partner for large multi-cloud Sales Cloud or Service Cloud transformations, where broader IBM iX or tier-1 SI peers typically lead. Brand identity within IBM has softened over time and 7Summits is now most often positioned as "an IBM company" rather than as a separate brand.
Services Offered
- Experience Cloud portals — partner, customer, and B2B communities
- Salesforce.org Nonprofit and Education Cloud implementation
- Employee digital workspaces on the Salesforce platform
- B2B Commerce and B2B2C portal architecture
- Sales Cloud and Service Cloud implementation
- Salesforce CMS, Lightning Web Components, and custom Experience Cloud development
- UX research, journey mapping, and experience design
- MuleSoft API integration for portal data flows
- Managed services and post-launch portal optimisation
- Adoption, training, and community management strategy
Typical Engagement
| Engagement Type | Model | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|
| Experience Cloud strategy & design | Fixed-fee project | $100K–$350K (6–10 weeks) |
| Portal implementation programme | Time & materials or fixed-fee | $300K–$2M (4–9 months) |
| Multi-cloud programme (with IBM) | T&M or outcome contract | $2M–$8M (12–18 months) |
| Managed services / community ops | Monthly retainer | $15K–$120K per month |
| Staff augmentation (Experience Cloud) | Hourly bill rate | $130–$240/hour blended |
Pricing verified May 2026 from public procurement data and reference checks; ranges vary by region and engagement structure.
Strengths
- Deepest Experience Cloud bench in the IBM Consulting Salesforce practice
- Roughly 70 portal and community accelerators built up over more than a decade
- Onshore US-only delivery footprint across 30-plus states with strong UX and design integration
- Recognised IP for employee digital workspaces and B2B partner portals
- Salesforce.org Nonprofit and Education Cloud experience for mission-driven buyers
- Access to broader IBM Consulting scale, watsonx AI, and global delivery capacity when needed
Limitations
- Brand identity has softened within IBM since acquisition — buyers should confirm the named 7Summits team rather than relying on IBM brand alone
- Less competitive on large Sales Cloud or Service Cloud transformations where Experience Cloud is not the anchor scope
- Limited delivery footprint outside North America with thin presence in Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Senior consultant attrition since the 2021 IBM acquisition has affected tenure on some accounts
- Commercial structure is increasingly aligned to IBM enterprise rate cards rather than the leaner pre-acquisition pricing