Salesforce DevOps according to developers

More and more Salesforce teams are being inspired to implement Salesforce DevOps into their process — perhaps trying their hands at the recently released Salesforce DevOps Center in order to rid themselves of the cumbersome process that change sets offers, or skilling up with essential DevOps knowledge to be more competitive in a tough job market. But how exactly do Salesforce developers view Salesforce DevOps? And what’s making Salesforce DevOps easier — or harder — for them? Keep reading to get the lowdown.

The State of Salesforce DevOps 2023 report offers up-to-date trends, expert commentary and best practice guidance for Salesforce teams in the ecosystem, as well as key insights into how each Salesforce role is approaching Salesforce DevOps. The report includes data from all types of roles, including Salesforce architects, Salesforce admins, and Salesforce developers, from all across the globe and in a wide variety of industries.

Data from this report revealed that organizations’ dependency on Salesforce has grown over the last year. Developers noticed the biggest change, with almost 53% answering that their organization’s dependance on Salesforce had “hugely” increased in the past year, with data from Salesforce admins and architects not far behind. This growing dependency is in line with the difficult market conditions, and together with the rising complexity of Salesforce, it’s safe to say there’s increased pressure on all teams.

It’s interesting that developers noticed the largest growth — it wouldn’t be a surprise, then, if they’re thinking the most about ways to meet this increasing reliance. DevOps will likely be at the forefront of their minds, as it grows in popularity throughout the ecosystem, and as more and more teams become aware of the benefits that adopting DevOps can bring to Salesforce teams.

DevOps makes developers’ lives easier

Unsurprisingly, an increased reliance on Salesforce has led to more complex technical undertakings for developers. When asked how their organization’s use of Salesforce has changed over the last year, developers say that more custom code and integrations is the most significant evolution.

As a result, developers will likely view Salesforce DevOps as a tool for making their lives easier when faced with increasing technical demands and rising complexity. Rather than trying to meet these unique business requirements through huge and infrequent releases which are prone to breaking, developers will find that releasing in small and more frequent batches is more successful. This will help developers — and their organizations — to thrive in what could otherwise be a stressful environment. A huge 88% of those surveyed said that the demand on Salesforce development teams had increased this year.

DevOps improves developers’ work/life balance

Adopting Salesforce DevOps will make developers’ lives easier by reducing technical errors and leaving room to react to feedback from users with greater ease. Developers that have already implemented DevOps reported that they’d managed to save time and increase productivity, as well as improve the quality of their releases, shown through fewer bugs and/or errors. As a result, developers will view DevOps as key to maintaining — or ensuring — a healthy work/life balance.

Developers will be able to plan ahead with automated releases and a much higher deployment success rate, without worrying that they’ll have to work late or, even worse, on weekends. Not only will developers feel and perform better for it, but the whole team will benefit from greater accuracy and getting vital changes to end users faster.

DevOps allows for better collaboration between developers

The benefits of Salesforce DevOps for developers in the report wasn’t limited to just productivity and better quality of releases — over 40% said collaboration had improved since implementing DevOps. With the report data showing that a lack of collaboration can be a limiting factor in reaching DevOps maturity, people-related challenges will be as important as new tools — particularly when facing a tough economic climate and increased pressures. The importance of collaboration when adopting Salesforce DevOps shouldn’t be underestimated: nearly a third of respondents said difficulties with collaboration have made Salesforce releases more difficult. With all team members onboard, greater visibility, and a clear sense of their responsibilities, developers can be assured that their Salesforce DevOps adoption will go smoothly.

DevOps encourages a greater focus on training

Salesforce admins reported the greatest frequency of training for their Salesforce release processes, with over 36% stating they received some training once a month — compared to around 22% of developers. The majority of developers undertook training only once a quarter. The data suggests that Salesforce admins are more clued up with regards to the benefits of training when it comes to adopting Salesforce DevOps — when done in parallel with buy-in from the whole team and successful collaboration, of course.

With 35% of developers reporting that the lack of experience in their team made their release process more difficult to manage — the highest of all categories — investing the time in training will not only elevate developers’ skills in areas such as CI/CD and automation, but it can also boost morale on a team level, and self-confidence on an individual level. Importantly, continuous learning and training will support the cultural shift necessary for a successful Salesforce DevOps adoption.

Make your life easier — start today!

If you’re a developer feeling inspired to bolster your skills or find that elusive work/life balance, DevOps Launchpad is here to help. The platform is packed with a wide range of courses and resources, so whether you’re new to the ecosystem or have years of Salesforce experience, we’re here to help you continue to learn, develop and succeed with Salesforce DevOps.

Interested in learning more about the State of Salesforce DevOps in 2023? Download the full report to dive into the finer details!