How do Salesforce releases impact DevOps?

One great advantage of using Salesforce is that new features are regularly released which benefit the user and unlock higher business performance.

For DevOps Salesforce leads, it’s crucial to keep on top of what’s in the pipeline and how these changes and enhancements will affect the platform. Otherwise, you and your Salesforce team could miss key updates and great new features.

The next 12 months will no doubt see lots of exciting new features, so it’s time to get to know your Salesforce schedule. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll make yourself a crucial cog in your organization’s Salesforce machine.

Knowing your Salesforce schedule

Salesforce delivers hundreds of innovative features three times per year in spring, summer and winter. So having a Salesforce DevOps expert (that’s you!) staying informed about which new improvements to the platform impact DevOps is essential.

Upgrades take place automatically, but to preview the changes it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the Salesforce Trust site. This is where forthcoming releases are published in advance and is where you’ll find your Salesforce Sandbox - where you can test out new changes before they’re officially rolled out.

Future releases can be upgraded in Sandbox up to six weeks in advance, typically in January, May, and September. It’s worth making a note in your diary of these release dates to keep an eye on.

The rise of Salesforce DevOps

According to Gearset’s State of Salesforce DevOps survey 2021, 78% of respondents currently use or are planning to adopt an automated Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) workflow this year. Whether you’re in the manufacturing industry, not-for-profit, marketing or healthcare, a shift in adopting these workflows is inevitable. That means, as your competitors gen-up on Salesforce DevOps, it’s even more important to keep on top of the Salesforce release schedule and understand new features that might impact your team and unlock efficiencies.

As enterprise businesses, start-ups, and scale-ups continue to adopt DevOps methodologies - and as more open API platforms enter the marketplace - skilled DevOps operators are becoming more sought after and valued.

Now is the time to kick on in your Salesforce DevOps training for the year ahead, so check out DevOps Launchpad, our free, easy-to-navigate learning hub for all things Salesforce DevOps.