As the Salesforce community celebrated Adam Seligman’s 16th birthday, thousands of users gathered at 100 locations across the world (with many more viewing it live) to experience the introduction to the Lightning Experience.
I happened to be in New York, so this was my 2nd Salesforce event that I got to attend. The ambiance, décor and excitement really set the tone for what was to be an incredible announcement. And so it was.
Lightning Experience is more than just a revamped interface. It is a revamp of the entire user experience, setup and the way end users will use the platform. It comes with a sleek, modern feel and real time updates – 2015 here we come!
Here are some of my favorite takeaways:
- To say it again; the sleek, modern interface is drool-worthy! The tab bar has been replaced with a sidebar and icons for each object, the crisp design is efficiency driven and will really put users ahead of the game.
- I love the real time capabilities! Searching for a list view is no longer a struggle – start typing in the name and results will appear! Need to edit a contact? No problem. A pop-up will appear, make the changes and press save. The list will automatically update with the new values. Entering addresses is now powered by Google and will populate as you type.
- List views retain their awesome capabilities but are more data and results driven! The chart button on the right immediately displays the list view data in various chart formats. And check out the new functionality for opportunities! You can display opportunities in a board which align them according to stage, total the amounts and alert you if there are no related tasks or overdue tasks. More than that, you can create the task right from that page and even more than that….you can drag and drop opportunities as they move through the sales process! Totals will update in real time and totally keep you on the ball.
- This Lightning Experience release really focuses on the sales cloud and that is why we are seeing so many incredible changes to the standard sales object. On a general level, each object record has its own layout and design, based on it’s use. The opportunity object was glorified with a highlights panel that indicates the stage, and can be customized to give you relevant tips to guide you through the next steps.
- Reports & Dashboards are extra snazyy and can leave your head spinning with all the great changes. While creating a report is fairly the same, running it leaves you no doubt that you are experiencing the Lightning Experience. As to dashboards, with the feel of Wave, dashboards components can now be resized and arranged in more than 3 columns! This definitely got a great cheer!
- The setup/backend is also part of the New Salesforce. Items are now grouped according to their functionality and as always have a quick find search box. No more separation of custom & standard objects
What does this mean to me?
As with any Salesforce release, it is a good idea to prepare and familiarize yourself with the changes to come. While Salesforce Classic (as we knew it until now) will still be supported, you will surely want to migrate your users to a better experience. Thankfully, Salesforce has been preparing for this and already has extensive documentation in place.
Here are some great resources to get you started:
Trailhead – there are 4 trails to blaze!
Sign up for a pre-release org – Currently not available
And of course, get social. Join the discussion. Come to Dreamforce!
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