When Zendesk announced its decision to deprioritise its CRM product and refocus its business strategy around enterprise CX, many wrote it off as a strategic pivot. But for anyone paying attention to the SaaS ecosystem, it wasn't just a directional change - it was an exit.
Zendesk is no longer in the CRM game. And that has opened up a critical gap in the market.
This is not just a temporary shift in product roadmap - it’s a definitive signal to current Zendesk CRM customers that they’re no longer the target audience. And for mid-market businesses who bought into Zendesk Sell for its simplicity, UX, and ease of use, that shift leaves them without a home.
Now, those businesses face a pivotal decision:
Do you double down on an enterprise AI CX product that no longer prioritises CRM?
Or do you switch to a CRM platform that’s actively building for your business model?
The answer is becoming clearer by the day.
Zendesk has always been strongest in the support ticketing space - its original product roots. While it bolted on a CRM product (Zendesk Sell) to round out its go-to-market offering, it was never the primary driver of innovation or product investment. In reality, Zendesk Sell has long been outpaced by more integrated platforms.
For current Zendesk Sell customers, the implications are clear:
CRM is no longer a key investment focus for Zendesk.
Sales users will begin to feel the slow-down in feature development.
Businesses relying on Zendesk for scalable growth may need to reassess platform fit.
These aren’t minor changes. When a SaaS company signals a shift in priority, it often cascades across product, support, and innovation. And for teams who’ve grown with Zendesk Sell, now is the time to consider what’s next.
For teams still relying on Zendesk Sell, the friction is starting to show:
Lack of product innovation in sales, marketing, or lifecycle automation
Fragmented customer data with limited visibility across the full funnel
No native marketing tools or customer journey alignment
Complex reporting and limited customisation without developer support
A disconnected roadmap that’s increasingly enterprise-focused
For most scaling businesses-especially those in service-led, SaaS, or subscription-based models-this creates risk.
If your CRM provider isn’t building for your business type, you will eventually hit a ceiling.
While Zendesk exits CRM, HubSpot is doubling down.
Fresh off the back of INBOUND 2025, HubSpot has made it clear: it’s not just building CRM tools. It’s building the next generation of customer platforms.
With major updates across:
Data Hub: A centralised, scalable way to unify and govern customer data
Commerce Hub: Payment-native infrastructure for subscription-based or transactional businesses
HubSpot AI: Assistants, content generators, and smart insights across the full platform
HubSpot is positioning itself not just as a CRM alternative-but as the default for mid-market companies.
Let’s break this down practically. Here’s how HubSpot stacks up against Zendesk Sell for teams reconsidering their CRM:
| Feature/Capability | Zendesk Sell | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Unified contact record | No true 360° customer view | Fully unified across marketing, sales, service |
| Lifecycle automation | Minimal workflows, sales-focused | Deep workflows across all customer touchpoints |
| Marketing capability | Non-existent | Natively integrated, campaign-ready |
| AI capabilities | Limited to service AI | Embedded across every Hub (incl. CRM) |
| Data governance | Fragmented | Custom objects, roles, rules, and audit trails |
| Custom reporting | Developer-heavy, limited UX | Drag-and-drop, highly flexible |
| Commerce tools | Absent | Native quoting, payments, subscriptions |
| CMS / Web integration | None | Fully integrated CMS for customer journey alignment |
HubSpot actually works as a CRM-end-to-end.
And that matters.
Zendesk and Salesforce both operate on a similar model: build for the enterprise, and upsell complexity.
But most scaling businesses don’t need more complexity. They need:
Systems that talk to each other
Dashboards that drive decisions
Workflows that don’t require developers
A tech stack that scales with them, not against them
That’s where HubSpot continues to win.
Its unified Hubs allow marketing, sales, service, and ops teams to work from the same data, using AI to speed up decision-making and reduce friction. And as of this year, HubSpot can now replace:
Your marketing automation (ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp)
Your reporting tools (Google Data Studio, Looker)
All in one ecosystem. All without a team of developers.
Let’s call it what it is: Zendesk is no longer for the mid-market.
They’re focused on enterprise generative AI, high-touch customer service, and global scale. That’s great -if you’re a publicly listed enterprise with an in-house DevOps team.
But for everyone else? The friction will only increase.
Zendesk CRM customers now face:
Slower response times to product issues
Fewer updates in the areas that matter
Increasing reliance on third-party tools for core CRM features
And when the product starts to stagnate, so does your growth.
If you’re starting to feel the limits of Zendesk Sell, this is your moment.
You have the chance to move to a platform that:
Has momentum in your category
Is actively investing in the future of CRM
Aligns with your operating model and growth trajectory
Migrating doesn’t have to be painful. At Engaging Partners, we’ve supported dozens of end-to-end migrations for B2B, SaaS, professional services, and subscription businesses.
We handle:
CRM audits and data readiness
Custom object mapping
Workflow and automation migration
Stakeholder enablement
CMS and customer journey integration
We’re not just HubSpot experts. We’re the most experienced HubSpot Elite Partner in New Zealand and Australia. And we know how to help you scale.
Zendesk's exit from CRM isn't the end of the world-it's the start of something better.
HubSpot is no longer "just" a marketing tool. It's a fully-fledged, enterprise-grade, mid-market-native CRM platform that connects every part of your customer journey. From first click to closed deal to lifetime value.
The question isn’t "why switch?"
It’s "what are you still waiting for?"