Cloud Coach Celebrates the 10th Birthday of the Salesforce AppExchange

Brandi Johnson

Jan 14 2016 5 min read

This week, the Salesforce AppExchange is celebrating it’s 10th birthday! The AppExchange changed the way that IT departments and users connected with developers and service providers that demonstrate a deep expertise in the Salesforce platform that we all know and love.

Project Management Software and the AppExchange

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of project management applications available. A quick google search of “project management software” returns 204,000,000 results. Searching for “project management software salesforce” still returns over 2 million results. The results are mixed – from compiled lists of software to company sites (like this one). As a Salesforce administrator, the results can be overwhelming. Narrowing your search to the Salesforce AppExchange helps you quickly narrow your choices and do side-by-side software comparisons. You can also read real reviews from customers just like you who have selected the solution.

We recently created an infographic related to Project Management solutions available on the Salesforce platform, and thus via the AppExchange. Focusing on native solutions gives users the confidence and peace of mind to know their data is stored securely within their Salesforce instance, and that it can be administered by leveraging their existing Salesforce administration skills.

Making Admin’s Lives Easier – One App at a Time

As the Salesforce economy continues to grow, so do the number of users and the number of applications in the Salesforce AppExchange. While Salesforce provides a powerful interface to develop your own solutions, finding key solutions in the AppExchange can expedite processes for your Salesforce administrators and developers, allowing them to focus their efforts on the customizations that make your Salesforce organization unique.

For example, the Battle Station App built as part of the Trailhead training provides basic project management. You create a project (aka a Battle Station), determine the resources and supplies needed, set validation rules, and notify the boss when the Battle Station is complete. As a Salesforce administrator, you can build this app for use in your environment in an afternoon.

However, if you’re looking for complex project management, including resource allocation, utilization reporting, and true task dependencies – that’s going to take more than an afternoon to develop. It may take more than an afternoon just to define the requirements, followed by weeks or months of development. A quick look at the AppExchange allows you to evaluate project management choices that meet your needs and reach out to the developers for a demonstration. You’ll work hand-in-hand with the developer to install the software to your environment, and you can begin carefully planning and managing projects securely in your salesforce environment faster than you can blow-up a distant planet.

Happy Birthday, AppExchange! Congratulations on 10 great years – we’re looking forward to celebrating with you when you reach 20!

AUTHOR

Brandi Johnson

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