Forward Deployed Engineers: The VARs of the Cloud Era?
In the 1980s and 90s, value-added resellers (VARs) played a crucial role in IT adoption. Hardware was everywhere, but rarely in a form enterprises could use straight out of the box. VARs solved that gap by bundling servers and networking kit with proprietary software and services. They didn’t just sell boxes, they sold a working solution — often
marketed as turnkey solutions.
With the rise of SaaS solutions customers have sought independent system integrators to augement their teams, with expert product knowledge. This has had mixed results, especially where different vendors have been engaged over a period of time. Customer’s are now more cautious and fearful on investing in products without a clear adoption plan. CIOs are under increased scrutiny to show they are investing in solutions that drive strategic business outcomes.
Fast forward to today and a similar role is emerging: Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). They don’t sell hardware, they sit alongside customers, tailoring platforms, integrating APIs to build working solutions, and making sense of complex SaaS and AI ecosystems. They build adoption and dependency on their vendor solutions. The majority of these FDEs are working for vendors, with Palantir being the first high profile example, with others quickly following including Salesforce, and recently even OpenAI entering the frame.
I see an important role for SIs in supplying FDEs too, helping the vendors scale their FDE programmes, being channel partners. In the Salesforce ecosystem specifically the strong focus on continuous learning and certifications has already created an army of highly skilled and qualified people. Whether the most successful ones will be those that have industry specific experience and/or accelerator solutions will be interesting to observe.
However, none of this is new. When I was working with Cloudsense over 13 years ago this was exactly the model we followed initially. Embedded teams delivering a project with the Cloudsense Telco/Media CPQ application plus core Salesforce skills to extend and integrate. For the product team this was a huge accelerator in closing the product-market fit for a relatively young application, and keeping it up to date with industry demands.
What Makes FDEs Different?
The analogy works, but the roles aren’t identical.
Embedded vs. Adjacent
VARs lived at the point of purchase. FDEs live inside customer delivery teams.
Real-Time vs. Cyclical
VARs worked to hardware refresh cycles. SaaS evolves monthly — FDEs help customers keep pace.
Hybrid Talent vs. Certified Talent
VAR engineers thrived on vendor certs. FDEs blend engineering depth, product empathy, and domain knowledge. Are We Watching the Cycle Repeat?
The pattern looks familiar:
Commoditization → Specialization → New Value Layer → Consolidation
VARs were the answer in the 90s. SIs followed. Now it’s FDEs.
The bigger question: will they remain embedded specialists, or become the seed for the next generation of platform-first service firms?
Closing Thought
FDEs aren’t just VARs with laptops. They signal a deeper shift: the boundary between product and service is dissolving.
The product no longer ends when app is shipped or licensed. It ends when value in the product is realised by the customer.
Both customer and vendor benefit from a closer relationship, and more opportunity to feedback on vendor product roadmap and features through direct experience.
Where I struggle is how scalable this model is, are the FDE roles simply a relabelling of architects and developers who are more AI savvy than their counterparts? Is this a revolution or an evolution?
Comments