RevOps has moved from a back-office function to the center of go-to-market strategy, and you can see that shift most clearly in how companies approach quoting technology.

This past year brought a wave of platform updates, product sunsets, and new market entrants that completely reshaped the CPQ landscape.

Now, companies are having to think more carefully about how their quoting setup actually supports revenue growth.

For revenue teams, this goes way beyond just swapping out software.

You’re building a quoting framework that needs to keep up with how sales actually work now: faster deal cycles, cleaner data flows, and buyers who expect the kind of self-service experience they get everywhere else.

The teams treating CPQ as core infrastructure instead of some bolt-on tool are the ones cutting friction, protecting margins, and scaling more predictably.

Let’s look at how the major platforms are repositioning themselves and what factors matter most if you’re choosing a system that can support RevOps at the speed your business actually demands.

Why the CPQ market is moving so fast

Quoting is changing because the whole revenue operation is changing.

Sales cycles are getting quicker, buyers want more control over the process, and RevOps teams now own the job of keeping pricing, data, and deal execution aligned. Vendors are responding by rebuilding CPQ as part of the systems that actually power growth.

Legacy tools can’t keep up. The older CPQ platforms were built for a different era of slower sales cycles. They’re struggling with complex configurations, high deal volumes, and multi-channel pricing scenarios. Companies are retiring tools that simply can’t handle today’s pace.

From point solution to platform. Quoting has become core revenue infrastructure, so platforms are folding CPQ directly into CRMs, billing systems, and customer success tools. The goal is getting data and approvals to flow seamlessly across the entire customer lifecycle.

Customer experience became a competitive edge. Buyers expect proposals that are fast, accurate, and polished. Modern CPQ puts guided selling and branded, interactive quotes at the center of the experience.

AI is raising the bar. Artificial intelligence is automating product selection, discount approvals, and configuration checks. This helps teams quote faster, eliminate errors, and close deals with more confidence.

Salesforce charts a new course

Of course, we can’t talk about the state of the CPQ market without mentioning the massive-if-true “rumors” surrounding Salesforce’s move to sunset their legacy standalone CPQ in favor of Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA; formerly known as Revenue Lifecycle Management).

With this transition, current customers have the option to either A. stay with Salesforce and migrate to a (likely) more expensive RCA, or B. find a new provider.

Since this transition requires a re-platform, it’s actually opening doors for customers to reassess what they really need from their CPQ solution.

The reality? Many companies are discovering they’re over-paying for complexity they don’t need. This particular “reset moment” is prompting revenue teams to ask better questions:

• What if we could get enterprise-grade functionality without the enterprise-grade headaches?
• What if implementation took weeks instead of months?
• What if we’re losing money here?

For Salesforce customers ready to explore alternatives, this transition period presents the perfect opportunity to find a solution that truly fits their business needs and growth trajectory.

Salesforce isn’t the only one rewriting the rules. Across the broader CPQ landscape, platforms are racing to expand capabilities and stake their claim in the next era of quoting.

The “Platform Revolution” is accelerating

The rest of the CPQ market is currently operating like a revolving door at Hartsfield-Jackson on Christmas Eve; there has been a constant stream of M&A activity, platform updates, and executive changes (and executive changes and executive changes) in recent years.

HubSpot

There’s been a flurry of activity just in the past year from HubSpot alone, who scooped up SMB/MM quote-to-cash (Q2C) provider Cacheflow in October 2024.

They then launched native CPQ functionality in Commerce Hub at INBOUND last week, despite BigCommerce beating them to the punch by launching their own native solution earlier this year.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow, another major CRM platform, recognized CPQ as core infrastructure rather than optional add-on functionality.

They took the acquisition route when they entered the CPQ market earlier this year with the purchase of Logik.ai, another strategic move that underscores how central CPQ has become to modern revenue operations.

And for those of us who were already here? This year was all about expanding or enhancing CPQ offerings:

• PandaDoc launched native PandaDoc CPQ integrations for Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive CRMs.
• Vendori rolled out a drag-and-drop CPQ builder targeted at RevOps teams with no-code administration needs. They also launched Deal Rooms. And Maxio, a billing platform, was able to launch a full CPQ in July, after acquiring Revops.io six months prior.

These investments signal something powerful: quoting is evolving from a peripheral tool to core revenue infrastructure.

When enterprise giants like HubSpot, BigCommerce, and ServiceNow make strategic acquisitions and product investments in CPQ capabilities, it validates the critical role intelligent quoting plays in revenue acceleration.

What this market shift means for customers

This CPQ market shake-up is creating a perfect storm of opportunity for revenue teams who are ready to capitalize.

Current Salesforce CPQ users have a rare window to reassess their needs without sunk cost bias, often discovering that alternatives deliver better functionality, faster implementation, and lower total cost of ownership than upgrading to Revenue Cloud Advanced.

Meanwhile, the shift toward digital self-service is accelerating, with two-thirds of buyers now willing to spend $50,000+ online without human interaction. This means quoting systems must handle complex configurations autonomously while maintaining deal sophistication.
So, with all of that said, what are buyers actually shopping for when evaluating a CPQ vendor nowadays? And which platforms, if any, are keeping up with the shifting demands?

Across all these market movements, a clear pattern emerges. Revenue teams are prioritizing solutions that deliver:

• Rapid implementation and time-to-value (weeks, not quarters)
• Intuitive flexibility for easy updates and rule changes
• Seamless CRM integration that enhances existing workflows
• Intelligent guided selling that empowers every rep
• Clean data architecture that connects the entire revenue stack

In short, the market has spoken: teams want power without complexity, agility without compromise.

When PandaDoc launched CPQ in 2024, we built it with exactly this reality in mind.

PandaDoc CPQ: Perfectly positioned for the new era

While legacy vendors were focused on adding more features to already inflated systems, and CRM platforms were launching basic quote builders that hit limitations fast, we saw an opportunity to build something different.

PandaDoc CPQ was designed for the growing businesses caught in between: teams that need real CPQ power but don’t want the enterprise complexity that comes with it.

We started with native CRM integration, focused on core functionality that actually works, and prioritized implementation speed over feature bloat.

Stop juggling multiple systems for every deal. PandaDoc brings your entire quoting-to-contract workflow into one place, which is exactly how KarmaCheck was able to save 20+ hours weekly.

Instead of bouncing between separate tools for quoting, contract drafting, e-signatures, and payments, they consolidated from two e-sign platforms down to one.

This approach cuts out delays, reduces coordination headaches, and eliminates errors.

Handle complexity without the IT dependency. You get advanced configuration engines, guided selling, and robust approval workflows, but RevOps can actually manage pricing rules, templates, and discounts without waiting on IT tickets.

That’s how Hubdo cut their quote creation time by 75%— they reduced their template library from 40 down to 1, and did it all without needing engineering support.

When RevOps owns the configuration directly, you also avoid the governance headaches that come with IT-managed systems.

No more waiting for approval cycles to update a discount rule or fix a template, and no risk of changes getting lost in development backlogs.

Create quotes that actually help you close deals. Prospects respond way better to branded, interactive, dynamic quote experiences, which is why Chili Piper saw their close rates improve by 28% while saving over 15 minutes per contract. PandaDoc quotes aren’t just prettier, they convert better and reduce friction in the buying process.

CRM-native integration that actually works. PandaDoc CPQ integrates deeply with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, so quoting, approvals, and opportunity updates all live in the same workflow your team uses every day. Luigi’s Box leveraged this to save 30 hours per month.

The deep HubSpot integration automated their proposals, reduced approval bottlenecks, and helped reps send accurate quotes faster. Less tool-switching, fewer manual handoffs, cleaner data across your entire revenue stack.

Fast implementation that scales with you. Quick onboarding and intuitive tools mean you start seeing results right away, like Haas Alert did when they saved 120+ hours monthly and increased document completion efficiency by 66%.

You get the ability to add complexity (bundles, rules, roles) over time as you need it, so ROI starts within weeks, not months.

The smart play: Position for what’s coming next

The CPQ market transformation is creating unprecedented opportunities for revenue teams ready to modernize their workflows.

The question isn’t whether your current CPQ setup can handle today’s deals—it’s whether it can scale with tomorrow’s opportunities.

PandaDoc CPQ bridges that gap, offering the sophisticated functionality your complex deals demand with the speed and simplicity your team actually wants to use.

While competitors’ RevOps teams navigate complex transitions, get caught in “reset moments”, or hit the limitations of basic tools, strategic organizations can pull ahead by capitalizing on CPQ solutions designed for this new era.