Salesforce Launchpad – Get, Set, Code!

I still remember my first day at Eternus Solutions, fresh out of college! A tad nervous and not an inkling about Salesforce, I was apprehensive and full of anticipation, despite not knowing what to expect. Then slowly yet firmly, over the next couple of months, I took to Salesforce like a fish takes to water. I started writing lines of code and build functionality with Salesforce’s amazing ‘point-and-click’ features…and here I am today, with the experience of working on a few Salesforce projects behind me, all amazed and wowed, eager to share my experience with you.

Teeing Ground

Salesforce started off as a pure CRM solution and soon diversified into a whole suite of services along with a dedicated development platform called Force.com. This suite includes: 

• Sales Cloud: A comprehensive sales solutions suite that empowers your sales reps, managers and executives alike to manage end-to-end sales cycle, including lead management, opportunity tracking, revenue forecasting and much more! 
• Service Cloud: A robust application suite to address and manage all your customer issues and provide them end-to-end support.
• Force.com: An on-demand, cloud-based platform to build custom applications that reside and run in the cloud, powered by world’s first on-demand programming language Apex and a tag-based markup language Visualforce.
  
  If you are a code junkie like me, Apex and Visualforce is the way to go!!
  
  
• AppExchange Marketplace: A marketplace similar to AppStore and Google Play Store, you can create your own applications on the Force.com platform and make it available to the world through the Salesforce AppExchange. 
• Salesforce1: One platform to build anything and connect to everything, Salesforce 1 enables you to perform all operations from within your mobile device. 
• Chatter feeds: Chatter is the social perspective that Salesforce provides, enabling you to share and collaborate with other users in an instant, exciting manner.

Catch 22? No more...

All these amazing features in your armory notwithstanding, why should you still turn towards Salesforce and not any other CRM? What is it that makes Salesforce stand apart?

• To begin with, it is a cloud based service, meaning all you need is an internet enabled device and you can access it anytime, anywhere!
• No administration required at your end! True to its motto: “No Software”, Salesforce takes care of all patches, bug-fixes, maintenance and administration required. Now isn’t that cool?
• Force.com provides easy yet powerful techniques to create apps with ridiculous ease. Talk about user empowerment!

Taking Guard: How to get started?

If you want to be a Salesforce developer, it’s quite easy to start! 

• Create a free developer account:  Go to https://developer.salesforce.com/signup., fill in the requisite information, activate the account and experience the force!
• Look out for the resources: You can get a whole lot of resources in order to begin your journey with Salesforce. You can download a free e-book titled “Force.com Platform Fundamentals” which guides you in a friendly, “do-it-yourself” manner to get you started. Salesforce also makes resources available on their website https://developer.salesforce.com/.
• Try it yourself: Try Salesforce hands-on and if you get stuck somewhere, you can find almost all the answers on the Salesforce developer communities.
• Socialize: Salesforce has an extensive and social community forum where experts discuss and deliberate on all things Salesforce! Additionally, Salesforce holds a global conference called the “Dreamforce”, where you can meet other Salesforce experts and enhance your knowledge and vision for your Salesforce investment.
• Get certified: Salesforce also provides options to get certified and be recognized around the Salesforce world. You can choose the path for being a developer by picking out the Developer Certification or you can try the Administration Certification if you are interested in the maintenance and administration of your organization’s Salesforce org. More information can be found on: http://certification.salesforce.com 

Salesforce is a powerful platform unlike any other you might have seen till now. Not only does it make creating apps ridiculously easy, it also empowers users to a hitherto unexplored level! As a developer, its extensive list of features and functionality keeps you engrossed, as you explore one layer after another. 

Can’t wait to explore Salesforce for yourself? May the Force be with you!

Written by Saket Joshi, Salesforce Developer at Eternus Solutions