(This article was featured as the introduction to the 2025 Salesforce Architect Survey)

As architects, we're used to working in complex, fast-changing environments. It’s our job to take business challenges and shifting technologies and turn them into clear, workable plans. Uncertainty is part of the job. But even by our standards, 2025 feels unusually turbulent—AI disruption, changes within Salesforce, and a volatile job market are all hitting at once.

Reading through the results of the Salesforce Ben 2025 Architect Survey, I could feel that uncertainty. Respondents shared real concerns about where things are headed. But just as clearly, they showed how architects are carving out an optimistic path forward.

Facing Uncertainty

Let’s start with the challenges. Architects are unsure about where AI fits into their work, what the end of the Salesforce Well-Architected program means, and how valuable credentials like certifications really are. The job market is shifting too.

Here’s what the survey shows:

• 57.2% said the biggest career risk is keeping up with rapidly changing tech

• 25.7% worry about increased competition in the ecosystem

• 17.8% said that expanding beyond Salesforce into other products and platforms (that’s the #2 response in the survey under strategies for career growth)

One of the most striking findings from the survey is that over a third of respondents are considering leaving the Salesforce Architect role within the next two years—a surprisingly high number, especially when paired with the fact that 75.7% say they are satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their careers. On the surface, that might seem contradictory. But it suggests that while many architects still enjoy the work itself, they’re bracing for a shift—expecting that the role, the market, or both may look very different in the near future.

Charting a Path Forward

So what are architects doing about it? Here’s what the survey says:

• #1 strategy for career growth: Gain more hands-on experience (37%)

• #1 skill ranked most important: Communication (4.7 out of 5)

• #1 strength identified: Problem solving (89.9%)

• #1 factor driving focus areas: Requirements of the current job (54.7%)

In short, architects are sticking to what works. They’re focusing on practical skills—problem solving, communication, and hands-on learning—and letting real-world experience guide their next steps.

A Familiar Compass

At the end of the day, this is what architects do: we solve business problems. We follow our clients’ needs. The survey shows that, even amid major change, architects are staying grounded by staying useful—letting real problems shape their direction.

That sounds like a winning strategy to me.