ISVForce vs. Force.com Embedded for Appexchange

Question

I'm having a tough time trying to determine the differences between the ISVForce vs. Force.com Embedded program models for creating an app on the AppExchange. A couple questions.

1. Are Embedded/OEM the same thing?

On this page, there's a comparison chart of different OEM versions. To me, this looks like a comparison of the options listed in the first link I posted above. In constrast, this walk through (which is referenced by other answers on this forum), states in step (3) that the Embedded version is synonymous with OEM. Does anyone out there have a clarification on the difference?

2. Do Embedded users pay for a Salesforce license + an additional fee?

Based on the answer I found here, it seems that a customer would have to pay for full-price Salesforce licenses in addition to any extra fees that my company would charge. Then Salesforce would take a 25% cut of that extra fee. Am I right?

Answer 1

My understanding is that ISVForce is for apps installed into existing Salesforce customer's systems. The Embedded license allows you to sell your app standalone and resell Force.com licenses along with it. To my knowledge, an embedded license takes care of your customer needing to talk to Salesforce at all. You are effectively reselling a license and paying Salesforce on the backend.

Answer 2

1. Are Embedded/OEM the same thing?

• Answer: YES. This is called "Force.com Embedded" (as of October 2013)

2. Do Embedded users pay for a Salesforce license + an additional fee?

• Answer: NO.

Force.com Embedded is designed for you to sell your app to customers who are not already Salesforce customers. You charge your customers for your app, and along with it they get a version of Salesforce (referred to as the "Embedded Edition License"). Then you pay 25% of your revenue to Salesforce.

See this response for more info on the costs of ISVForce vs. Force.com Embedded:

Do i have to pay any fees to Salesforce before putting my paid app in AppExchange?