Blog
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Apr 4, 2025
How Vanta and Notion Are Building AI-Ready GTM Systems
The future of GTM Systems won’t be built on Salesforce or Hubspot or any other individual platform. We're just starting to get a glimpse into what's next thanks to companies at the forefront: API-first and AI-native.
As the GTM Systems landscape evolves, we’re seeing significant transformations unfold, led by faster-moving, more innovative companies like Vanta and Notion.
This shift represents more than just an incremental improvement - it's a fundamental reimagining of how businesses approach their GTM Operations and a move away from the constraints of a Salesforce-centric model toward a more flexible, API-first future.
Current State: Hub and Spoke Architecture
Today's GTM Systems typically operate on a hub and spoke model, where platforms like Salesforce or Hubspot serve as the central nervous system.
In this architecture, all data and systems integrations converge into these central platforms - typically the CRM - with automations built and executed within their confines. It's becoming increasingly clear that in order to properly adopt AI, a more flexible approach is needed.
Future State: Modular and Composable Architecture
The emerging paradigm represents a departure from this one-platform-to-rule-them-all approach. In this new model, individual tools and applications function as independent building blocks, connected through a sophisticated API layer that enables lateral data flow.
This architecture allows organizations to:
Stitch together the relevant blocks for each custom use case
Execute automations at the intersection of multiple systems rather than within 1 platform
Create flexible technology stacks, where a change in one application doesn’t need to occur at the foundational level
Evidence of the Transformation
We can see this evolution already happening through strategic hires at companies like Vanta and Notion. Both are hiring roles that focus on transforming traditional GTM motions - each paying north of $200,000 Base.
Vanta’s "Founder in Residence, GTM Innovation”
Notion’s CX Automation Engineer
Both roles focus on “re-imagining” and “transforming” GTM motions, as opposed to a view that you can adopt AI for incremental improvements.
The view of these companies is that AI presents an opportunity to re-build from the ground up - and that it’s a necessity in order to remain competitive.
This transformation is evolving GTM Systems roles into core Engineering functions. The narrower skill set of a Salesforce Administrator or Developer, while still useful, will no longer be sufficient. Organizations are increasingly in need of deeper technical expertise and broader experience across multiple platforms.
Key capabilities for teams will include:
Fluency in APIs and event-driven architectures
Proficiency with middleware platforms such as Workato and Tray
Ability to design data models supporting real-time decision-making
Expertise in tool-agnostic orchestration rather than platform-specific automation (i.e. flows)
Skills in designing systems optimized for machine-to-machine interaction, not UI
Paradigm Shift
At the core of this shift is that we’re moving away from building UI-driven workflows for humans and toward the creating infrastructures for AI Agents. As part of this transformation, we will see the traditional influence of business stakeholders in system design decisions reduce significantly.
This evolution represents a genuine paradigm shift in how businesses approach their GTM Operations. It's not merely about optimizing existing systems for AI compatibility - it's a complete re-imagination of business processes and customer journeys.
Success in this new world will require strategic thinking that can envision what's possible when freed from the constraints of traditional CRM systems, combined with the technical expertise to bring these visions to life through API-first development and AI-native architectures.
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