Salesforce has been the world leader among CRM platforms for many years, and in spite of this, not so many people are familiar with this platform. Many are already using custom salesforce development services. In this article, I decided to tell you what Salesforce is, and why it should be considered not only by juniors as a chance to get into IT but also by experienced developers.
What is Salesforce and why is it Interesting for Experienced Developers
Salesforce is a cloud platform for managing business processes in sales, customer service, and digital marketing. And the key products for these purposes are Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud. Also, among the solutions in demand for business are Commerce Cloud (for electronic commerce), Financial Services Cloud (for companies from the financial sphere), and Health Cloud (for medical organizations). Salesforce also offers additional components that can be incorporated into their products. For example, CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) is a tool for the automatic generation of quotations, and Chatter is a corporate social network.
Salesforce regularly updates its services and adds new advanced solutions. One such product is Einstein AI, which contains elements of artificial intelligence. With Einstein AI, businesses can incorporate predictive analytics into their CRM, for example, to predict which potential customers (leads) are the most promising for further cooperation.
Another promising product from Salesforce is the IoT Cloud. This platform allows the collecting and processing of real-time data from IoT-connected devices, and CRM users can manage that data. For example, in retail, the IoT Cloud can aggregate data from sensors on merchandise, so it can track shipping and storage conditions.
A Simple way to Get Started
And that, in my opinion, is one of the biggest advantages of Salesforce. You don’t have to install any programs, and there are no requirements for hardware. By hosting them, you can access information in real-time, so you can use the platform anytime, anywhere.
To work with Salesforce, you only need access to the Internet. All you need to do is go to the website in your browser, enter your login and password, and… voila. You can create your own functionality or use the standard ones already created by Salesforce.
Multitenant Platform
All Salesforce stakeholders have a single piece of infrastructure and software. This enables automatic and instant updates for all users on the platform. You get the most current and newest features with automatic updates three times a year.
What you can Develop for Salesforce
Salesforce can be tailored to the needs of businesses in two ways – through configuration and customization. Developers predominantly do Salesforce customization, but can partially do configuration as well.
When configuring, the CRM functionality is configured through the Salesforcе administrator user interface without the use of code. So you can create tables, objects, and fields, form relationships between them, and set the rules for automating workflows. Large businesses usually hire a separate specialist for the configuration of CRM – Salesforcе-administrator.
Customization is needed when configuration capabilities are not enough to automate complex business logic.
PowerSync Provides Examples of Salesforcе Customization:
- Development of new functionality to standard CRM modules.
- Automation of complex business processes for the needs of a particular company.
- Development of custom templates for email messages.
- Implementation in the CRM capabilities of Einstein AI.
- Creating custom reports and dashboards.
- Integrating Salesforcе with other systems (ERP, company website, social media, etc.).
- Development of custom applications for Salesforce.
What Technologies are Needed for Backend Development
PowerSync proposes for server-side development, Lightning uses Apex, a strictly typed object-oriented programming language whose syntax resembles Java. Apex code is stored in the format of classes and triggers. A class is a template for creating Apex objects, while a trigger is a code that is executed before or after accessing the database. Also, Salesforce uses its own language for data management, like SQL, called SOQL.
In backend development for Salesforce, it is important for programmers to consider some features of the platform. First – before Apex code goes into production, it needs to be 75% covered by unit tests. Second – the platform has limits for developers (governor limits), that is, limits on some operations. For example, one transaction can execute 100 SOQL queries. This is due to the fact that Salesforce, as a PaaS solution, is built on a multitenancy architecture, where resources are distributed among all subscribers.
What the Salesforce Developer Career Ladder looks like
- Salesforce-developer, like any programmer, grows by levels from junior to senior. There is also a professional gradation from Salesforce, in which each career stage corresponds to a certain certificate. To get it, you need to take a paid test. There are 5 types of certificates for developers. However, your status must be periodically confirmed (according to Salesforce releases) by completing tasks in your Trailhead account, otherwise, the certificate can be revoked.
- A Senior Salesforce Developer can pursue a career path and eventually become an Architect or Consultant.
- The Salesforce Architect is the highest rung of technological growth for a Salesforce developer. Based on the needs of the client’s business, the architect designs the entire CRM system. This position requires a wealth of experience in development for Salesforce, and knowledge of all the cloud products and tools of this platform.
- The Salesforce consultant is an intermediary between the customer and the technical team (architect and developers). He analyzes the customer’s business, examines problems, obvious and possible in the future, and selects the best solutions based on Salesforce. The consultant needs to be able to match business needs with the technical capabilities of Salesforce. It’s important to understand when you really require Salesforce customization and when you can limit yourself to a configuration.
3 Reasons why Developing for Salesforce is Right for you
You don’t like Developing from Scratch
The Lightning platform comes with a lot of pre-built development components that make your job as a programmer much easier.
You’re interested in Diving Deep into the Customer’s Business
Developing for Salesforce is about immersing yourself in your customer’s business processes. Moreover, understanding the business will become part of your professional competencies and influence your career development.
You enjoy Both Backend and Frontend Development
Salesforce developers can be classified as full-stack programmers. You will be able to work on the server side of applications and create user-friendly interfaces for users.
