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It’s a constant sprint to stay ahead in today’s business world. That’s not just about flashy new products or marketing campaigns – it’s about the nuts and bolts of your operation, too. And for many companies, that means keeping their Salesforce® running smoothly. At Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®), we get it. We’re a Salesforce Consulting Partner that believes a secure, up-to-date Salesforce org is the key to unlocking its full potential, keeping your data safe, and giving your team the tools they need to win.

In the spirit of that, we thought it a useful exercise to delve into the key strategies you can implement to ensure your Salesforce org remains secure and benefits from the latest features. In this AdVic Salesforce Blog, we’ll also explore how managed services can help streamline this process and free up your valuable resources.

Staying Up-to-Date with Salesforce Releases

Salesforce releases new features and updates three times a year: Spring, Summer, and Winter. These updates often include bug fixes, performance enhancements, and exciting new functionalities. Here’s how to leverage them effectively:

• Review Release Notes: Salesforce provides detailed Release Notes outlining the new features and functionalities in each update. Dedicating time to understanding these notes allows you to plan how to best integrate these advancements into your workflows.
• Prioritize Updates: Not all updates are created equal. While some may be critical security fixes, others might introduce features you don’t currently need. Evaluate each update based on its relevance to your business needs and prioritize implementation accordingly.
• Develop a Testing Strategy: Before deploying any update in your production environment, create a robust testing strategy. This typically involves thorough testing in a sandbox environment to identify and address any potential conflicts or issues.

Maintaining Peak Security in Your Salesforce Org

Salesforce boasts robust security features, but additional steps can further fortify your org’s defenses:

• Enforce Strong Password Policies: Implement strict password requirements, including minimum length, complexity, and regular mandatory changes. Consider integrating multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an additional layer of security
• Manage User Permissions Granularly: The principle of least privilege dictates that users should only have access to the data and functionalities they need to perform their jobs effectively. Regularly review and adjust user permissions to minimize potential security risks.
• Monitor Login Activity: Utilize Salesforce’s login history and monitoring tools to identify any suspicious login attempts. This can help detect potential unauthorized access and enable timely intervention.

Data Backup and Recovery

Data loss can be devastating for any business. Here’s how to safeguard your valuable information:

• Regular Backups: Schedule regular backups of your Salesforce data, including objects, fields, and configurations. This ensures you have a recent copy of your data in case of accidental deletion or system failure.
• Data Encryption: Encrypt your sensitive data both at rest and in transit. This adds a crucial layer of protection from unauthorized access, even if a breach occurs.
• Disaster Recovery Plan: Develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that outlines the steps to take in case of a major data loss event. This plan should include clear procedures for data restoration and system recovery.

The Benefits of Managed Services

Maintaining a secure and up-to-date Salesforce org can be a demanding task, especially for businesses with limited IT resources. This is where managed services come in. Here’s what a managed service provider (MSP) can offer:

• Automated Updates and Security Management: MSPs can automate the update testing and deployment process, freeing your team to focus on core business activities. They can also manage security configurations, user permissions, and ongoing monitoring.
• Expertise and Proactive Maintenance: MSPs leverage their extensive Salesforce knowledge to proactively identify potential issues and suggest preventive measures. This ensures your org remains secure and optimized for ongoing performance.
• Reduced Costs and Increased Efficiency: Managed services can be more cost-effective than hiring and training dedicated in-house Salesforce personnel. This allows you to optimize spending and maximize resource allocation.
• Regular Reporting and Communication: MSPs provide clear and regular reports on the health and security of your Salesforce org. This allows you to stay informed and make data-driven decisions.

Summary

Keeping your Salesforce org up-to-date and secure requires constant vigilance and proactive measures. By implementing the strategies outlined above and considering a managed service solution, you can ensure your Salesforce environment remains a secure, reliable, and future-proof platform that empowers your business success.

How AdVic Can Help

Consistent vigilance and a proactive approach are key to maintaining a robust Salesforce org. Partnering with AdVic can significantly ease this burden and empower your team to focus on core business activities. Let’s discuss how we can help you keep your Salesforce org secure and optimized for growth.

Related Resources:

What Salesforce Managed Services Can Do For You

The Power of Managed Services in Technology Management

System Upgrades Propel Manufacturers’ Pace Through Managed Services

*Some images courtesy of Salesforce.

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The post How to Keep Your Salesforce Org Secure and Up-To-Date appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

Right on schedule, Salesforce® is releasing a new wave of features and upgrades in their Winter ’24 Release. These new features will support your goals so that your organization can more effectively and efficiently stay relative. 

As per usual, depending on your instance of Salesforce, the first main release weekend for the Winter ’24 Release was September 1, 2023, with subsequent release weekends scheduled for October 6, 2023 and October 13, 2023. 

To help you get ready for the release, we spoke with Salesforce Ben‘s Courses & Community Director and 11X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about some of her favorite new features. Here are the six she selected for AdVic®.

1. Dynamic Forms for Standard Objects and Mobile

Salesforce Note: Dynamic Forms is now supported on hundreds of LWC-enabled standard objects. Dynamic Forms gives you a streamlined admin experience, enhanced page performance, and the option of visibility rules so your users see only what they need when they need it. But until now, you could use Dynamic Forms only on custom objects and a limited number of standard objects. 

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions.

How: Dynamic Forms is supported for most but not all standard LWC-enabled objects. If you open a record page for an object in the Lightning App Builder and don’t see a Fields tab in the component panel, then Dynamic Forms isn’t supported for that object. As an example, the Note object doesn’t support Dynamic Forms because it has a fixed layout.

Dynamic Forms isn’t supported on objects that aren’t LWC-enabled. For example, Campaigns, Products, and Tasks still use information from page layout.

2. Transfer Dashboard Ownership

Salesforce Note: Enable ongoing updates to Lightning dashboards by transferring dashboard ownership when responsibilities change or the dashboard creator leaves your organization. The new owner has full control over the dashboard contents. Previously you had to clone or recreate the dashboard when the creator moved on to other responsibilities.

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in Group, Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions.

Who: To use this feature, you must have the View All Data or the View My Team’s Dashboard permission. View All Data allows you to change the owner to anyone in your org. View My Team’s Dashboards allows you to change the owner from and to anyone who rolls up to you in your team’s Role Hierarchy. You must also have edit or manage access to the folder that contains the dashboard. The new owner is granted edit access to the dashboard folder.

How: From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Reports and Dashboards Settings, then select Reports and Dashboards Settings. On the Reports and Dashboards Settings page, select Allow users to change dashboard owner (Lightning Experience Only). Then from the Dashboards tab or the open dashboard, select Change Owner.

3. Preview Summary Formulas in Lightning Reports

Salesforce Note: See at a glance how a summary formula that includes the PARENTGROUPVAL or PREVGROUPVAL function will be used in your Lightning report. When you select grouping options in the enhanced summary formula builder, the preview image updates instantly to show how the formula applies to the report. This feature was previously available only in Salesforce Classic and is now available in Lightning Experience.

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in Group, Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions.

How: Edit a report that has the groupings that you want to compare. In the summary formula builder, select the PARENTGROUPVAL or PREVGROUPVAL function. In the Display area (1), configure how to apply the formula, using the preview image as a reference. Then in the Function panel (2), select the group parameter values to include. When you insert the function into the formula (3), the selected parameters are included.

4. Permissions

Salesforce Note: Create reports to see custom permission set and permission set group assignments. See object and field API names in permission sets and recalculate permission set groups. See specific examples here.

5. Forecasts

Salesforce Note: Unlock your sales potential with the updated forecasts page. Design enhancements make forecast data easier to read and the page simpler to navigate.

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in Professional, Performance, and Developer editions and in Enterprise and Unlimited editions with the Sales Cloud.

Why: Get a clearer view of your forecasts page with these design enhancements.

6. Intelligence View for Leads and Contacts

Salesforce Note – Intelligence View Leads: Users can view lead activities, take action, and update records, all in one place in the Lead Intelligence View. Previously, Lead Home provided only simple list views and required users to navigate to individual records to take action.

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in All Editions.

Why: In the Lead Intelligence View, users can quickly filter their leads, see aggregate activity statistics for the resulting records, and take action to reach out, right from the lead home page. To see detailed activity for individual records, users can click the side panel icon next to the record name.

Salesforce Note – Intelligence View Contacts: Users can view contact activities, take action, and update records, all in one place in the Contact Intelligence View. Previously, Contact Home provided only simple list views and required users to navigate to individual records to take action.

Where: This change applies to Lightning Experience in All Editions.

Why: In the Contact Intelligence View, users can quickly filter their contacts, see aggregate activity statistics for the resulting records, and take action to reach out, right from the contact home page. To see detailed activity for individual records, users can click the side panel icon next to the record name.

If you have any questions about the Salesforce Winter ’24 Release – or want to keep optimizing your technology so your business thrives – AdVic’s U.S.-based Consulting Team – which works on your hours – is standing by to help! Reach us now, here.

Related Resources:

Highlights from Salesforce’s Summer ’23 Release (Blog)

Highlights from Salesforce’s Summer ’23 Release (Podcast)

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*Imagery and descriptions throughout courtesy of Salesforce.

The post Highlights From Salesforce’s Winter ‘24 Release – Selected by Salesforce Ben’s Christine Marshall appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

Salesforce understands that your business continues to innovate and evolve, as it should. To support your goals, they are once again releasing new features and upgrades to all of their clouds so you can more effectively and efficiently stay relative.

Depending on your instance of Salesforce®, the first main release weekend for the Summer ’23 Release is May 19, with subsequent release weekends scheduled for June 2 and June 9. 

To help get you ready for the release – on a recent AdVic® “Salesforce Simplified” podcast  – we spoke with Salesforce Ben‘s Courses & Community Director and 7X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about some of her favorite new features in the Salesforce Summer ’23 Release. Here are the eight she selected for AdVic®: 

1. Dynamic Forms for Mobile (Beta)

Salesforce Notes: With Dynamic Forms, you can add and remove fields individually from a Lightning record page, break up record details into multiple sections, and set conditional visibility rules for fields and field sections, all in Lightning App Builder. Previously, Dynamic Forms was available only on desktop. Now, with Dynamic Forms on Mobile (beta), your mobile users can have the same customized experience that your desktop users have

2. Align Fields Horizontally in Field Sections

Salesforce Notes: Control field alignment across columns by using a new property on Dynamic Forms Field Section components. The Align fields horizontally property prevents fields in multicolumn Field Sections from collapsing upward when there’s a gap due to differences in field heights. Fields remain horizontally aligned with their neighbors in the same row. But even with this property selected, if a field is hidden because of visibility rules, the fields in its column still collapse upward to fill the empty space.

3. Enhance Your Visualizations With Images, Rich Text, and Dashboard Widgets

Salesforce Notes: Explain Lightning dashboard charts, describe metrics and KPIs, and clarify tables with rich text right where users need it. Add company logos and branding, flow diagrams, and embedded images. Guide users through their data with section titles, narrative text, and even animated GIFs. Components are now called widgets in Unlimited Edition. Dashboards now support up to 25 widgets, including a maximum of 20 charts and tables, 2 images, and 25 rich text widgets. The previous limit was 20 in total.

4. Set Field-Level Security for a Field on Permission Sets Instead of Profiles (Generally Available)

Salesforce Notes: When you create a field, set its field-level security on permission sets instead of profiles. Or, modify the field-level security for an existing field for all permission sets in Object Manager. This change makes it easier to follow the user access control best practice of using permission sets to manage your users’ permissions rather than profiles. This feature, now generally available, includes an enhancement so that you can see each permission set’s object permissions for the field’s object without leaving the page.

5. Automate and Migrate User Access With User Access Policies (Beta)

Salesforce Notes: Automate your users’ assignments to managed package licenses, permission sets, and other access mechanisms based on criteria that you set. Create user access policies that automatically grant or remove access whenever users are created or updated. Or, easily migrate large sets of users to a new access setup in a single operation. Previously, Salesforce enabled user access policies, but you can now enable this beta feature on the User Management Settings Setup page. Also since the last release, you can now set more complex user criteria and monitor recent user access changes.

6. Boost Productivity With Mass Quick Actions on Related Lists (Beta) & Get Better Performance for Related Lists

Salesforce Notes: Save your users time by decluttering the actions in the highlights panel and adding quick actions directly on related lists. Your users can create related records for items in the list without leaving the page. Or they can select up to 100 records in the related list and perform mass updates instead of single record updates.

7. New Email Composer in Open Beta

Salesforce Notes: When enabled, this release update replaces the email editor in the docked and case feed email composers. The new email editor is available in Lightning Experience as a beta feature.

8. Provide More Detailed In-App Guidance With Targeted Prompts on Record Fields

Salesforce Notes: Add more granular, specific guidance for users who onboard to your Salesforce implementation. You can now target any field on a record page, dynamic form, or the Create window in a targeted prompt that you create with In-App Guidance Builder.

If you have any questions about the Salesforce Summer ’23 Release – or anything Salesforce-related – AdVic’s U.S.-based Consulting Team – which works on your hours – is standing by to help! Reach us now, here.

Related Resources:

Highlights from the Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release (Podcast)
Highlights from the Salesforce Spring ‘23 Release (Podcast)
Highlights from the Salesforce Spring ‘23 Release (Blog)
10 Hottest Salesforce Summer ’23 Features For Admins (Salesforce Ben)

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