SALESFORCE CI CD
Achieving a reliable, continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) process can be complicated for any enterprise, but especially for those that rely on Salesforce. Common road blocks include multiple Salesforce sandboxes, challenging deployments, working with complex triggers, and ensuring proper version control. Developing strategies to overcome these challenges and establish an efficient and effective CI/CD for Salesforce-based projects results in improved quality of applications, quicker turnaround of changes to production and the ability to more efficiently handle critical production issues.
A quality CI/CD strategy for Salesforce projects will be based on the following core principles:
1. Agile Collaboration: Establishing an agile workflow streamlines development and deployment cycles, encourages collaboration among teams, and facilitates faster, more accurate deployments to production.
2. Automation: Build upon the features of Salesforce to create a full automation of the CI/CD process. Automation can include designing automated tests, automated deployments, and automated infrastructure.
3. Deployment Strategy: Carefully plan ahead and determine the deployment strategy that best meets the complexities of the Salesforce environment. Each organization has its own unique, environment-specific needs and considerations.
4. Version Control: Maintaining proper version control is one of the most crucial steps in the CI/CD process. Utilizing version control reduces risk, facilitates rollback to beneficial versions, and simplifies collaboration between teams.
5. Security & Compliance: As with any CI/CD process, a well-designed security and compliance system is essential. Regular monitoring and risk mitigation is critical to safeguard the organization’s data and ensure that all deployments are compliant with applicable rules and regulations.
For most enterprises, establishing an effective CI/CD pipeline specifically for Salesforce is a significant undertaking. Fortunately, many third-party solutions are available to help streamline the process and reduce the complexity. Solutions such as Salesforce Release Management, Salesforce Data Backup and Recovery, and Salesforce Security, are examples of vendors that help enterprises establish best-in-class Salesforce CI/CD processes.
Salesforce Release Management
Salesforce Release Management solutions provide an effective platform for managing development, testing, and deployment cycles for Salesforce applications. By automating the process, they help to reduce manual errors, improve traceability, and ensure quality products are pushed to production in a timely manner. Know more about the Top 7 Salesforce Release Management Best Practices to maximize your Salesforce system.
Salesforce Data Backup and Recovery
Salesforce Data Backup and Recovery solutions provide an additional layer of protection and ensure data is consistently backed up in the event of an emergency. Additionally, these solutions allow organizations to quickly and easily roll back to a previous version or revert to a previously deployed stable state. Take a look at these 5 Easy Ways To Improve Salesforce Data Backup Recovery Strategy.
Salesforce Security
Salesforce Security solutions are key for maintaining the security of Salesforce implementations by automating the process and facilitating reliable and secure deployments. Such solutions typically include robust governance tools and provide an automated method of auditing deployments to verify no sensitive data is inadvertently pushed to the production environment. Learn more about the 7 Key Tools to Boost Salesforce Security of Your Organization.
By leveraging the right tools and strategies, organizations can successfully achieve a reliable and secure CI/CD process for their Salesforce applications. With an effective CI/CD pipeline in place, organizations will benefit from improved quality applications, quicker turnaround of changes to production, and the ability to efficiently manage production related issues.
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