From Developer to CEO: how DevOps powered my Salesforce career

In our latest Careers in DevOps webinar, we had the pleasure of welcoming Paul Battisson — Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame member, author of two Apex programming books, and now founder and CEO of Groundwork Apps. Paul has worn nearly every hat in the Salesforce ecosystem — developer, consultant, architect, COO, and now entrepreneur — and throughout each step, DevOps has been a constant companion helping him grow, scale, and lead with confidence.

In this blog post, Paul shares the key milestones of his career journey and how DevOps practices supported his transitions across roles — from hands-on development all the way to leading his own ISV. Whether you’re early in your Salesforce career or navigating your next step, his story is packed with valuable lessons and practical takeaways.

Want to catch up on the full webinar? Watch the recording on demand here.

My career journey through the Salesforce ecosystem

I started my career writing code in .NET and Perl, but it was joining a then-small company called FinancialForce (now Certinia) that kicked off my journey in the Salesforce ecosystem. As their first technical hire in the newly branded company, I worked alongside some of the best minds in the industry — Andy Fawcett, Carolina Ruiz, and others — learning the platform inside and out. I moved from developer to consultant, then architect, product strategist, COO, and eventually founded my own ISV company, Groundwork Apps.

Through every stage of that journey, DevOps wasn’t just a toolset — it was a mindset. And although it wasn’t called “DevOps” when I started, the principles of automation, collaboration, and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) were already making a huge difference to the way I worked and delivered value.

DevOps at every stage of my career

As a developer

In the early days, tooling was sparse — just Eclipse and the Apache Ant migration tool. Deployments were slow, testing was clunky, and workflows were far from seamless. So we built our own CI/CD pipeline using Visual SourceSafe and custom scripts to improve speed, reduce downtime, and ensure tests ran automatically with every commit. It gave me time back to focus on what I loved: building.

As a product architect

Leading a product team meant responsibility for quality and delivery. Introducing DevOps practices meant we caught five times more bugs early on — something our CEO initially thought was a bad sign. But actually, it meant fewer bugs reached our users, leading to happier customers and more predictable and observable release schedules. Our cadence improved, our planning became more reliable, and our team morale soared.

As an enterprise architect

Now working at scale — on multimillion-pound projects with 180+ stakeholders — I needed clarity and control. DevOps release pipelines gave me visibility across multiple teams and systems. We used tools like Gearset to track changes, validate deployments, and keep the Salesforce side of the project transparent and reliable. DevOps gave me peace of mind and, more importantly, gave leadership and clients trust in the platform.

As a sales and ops leader

In sales, no one buys DevOps — but they buy the confidence it creates. When leading sales pitches for an SI partner I could show clients our working CI/CD pipelines, demonstrate how we tracked changes and bugs, and give honest timelines we could stick to. DevOps helped me build credibility, reduce project risk, and foster genuine trust with customers. It also made onboarding and delivery smoother for new team members as we scaled.

As a founder

Now, as CEO of Groundwork Apps, DevOps principles run through everything we do — from support ticket triage to product development and customer feedback loops. It helps me ship fast, stay transparent, and prioritize confidently. Automating our pipelines with CI/CD means we’re not only faster to market but also more responsive when customers need change. DevOps enables that agility.

Why DevOps is about people, not just process

People often think of DevOps as a technical solution, but it’s just as much about culture. If you want to get your admins, devs, and consultants aligned, start small. Show them what’s in it for them. Celebrate early wins like faster feedback, fewer bugs, and smoother releases. Transparency and collaboration make teams happier — and happy teams build better products.

Final thoughts

DevOps has helped me scale teams, improve delivery, and transition into roles I never imagined when I started writing code. Whether you’re a developer, admin, consultant, or aiming for the C-suite, adopting DevOps can elevate your career.

If my journey resonates with you — or if you’re curious about how DevOps might support your next step — check out the full webinar recording here.

You can also head over to DevOps Launchpad for completely free, Salesforce-specific training and certifications. From hands-on courses in version control and CI/CD to Salesforce DevOps certifications that prove your skills, it’s a brilliant resource for anyone looking to grow in the ecosystem.