Categories

September 08, 2011 | Alex Berg: Field-update Workflows and Twice-firing Triggers

I want to discuss an unexpected difference between two Salesforce entities: the workflow and the trigger. They both exist in the same solution space, but workflows can only do a small subset of what is possible with triggers. It seems that workflows take the most commonly used trigger functionality and completely manage it behind the scenes, attaching an easy-to-use interface that allows non-technical users to easily use them to add custom functionality to their org. Because their abilities are the same, it is natural to believe that they behave the same when executed, but this proves wrong in at least this one case.

September 02, 2011 | David Held: What is Marketing Automation?

Marketing automation is term that is gaining momentum within larger companies as well as marketing and advertising agencies. But what does it mean and how does it impact your marketing initiatives?

August 28, 2011 | Alex Berg: Force.com - Application Platform or Database Platform

For an upcoming blog post, I’m currently doing research on unit testing best practices and techniques as they should apply on the Force.com platform. While doing so, some previously unquestioned beliefs held by me are now being questioned. My question: As a Force.com developer, are we application programmers, or are we database programmers?

August 17, 2011 | Alex Berg: The Responsibility of Choosing Salesforce Apps for your Org

Apple popularized the idea of the “App” with the release of the App Store on the iPhone. It was a great conception and implementation! I love it because it makes apps very easy to purchase and install, and you can pretty much assume that they will ‘just work’. These apps flourished on the iOS, and developers flocked to the device because of the money-making potential that they weren’t seeing on other platforms. Android and Windows Phone 7 played suit with their own app markets, quite similar to the original App Store on iOS. And recently, Apple has created an app store on their desktop platform, even going so far as to distribute their latest OS upgrade through it exclusively. Beyond the OS, the digital app store model has spread to other applications, like Salesforce with its AppExchange. While there are similarities with the app store model on a mobile or desktop OS, the AppExchange is fundamentally different in one important aspect - the guaranteed ‘just works’ user experience. I’ll explain this after walking us through a likely user scenario.

August 05, 2011 | Alex Berg: A Pattern for Portable Apex Unit Tests

Force.com is a multi-tenant platform, so if your code is running rampant, your neighbors will feel its wrath. It only makes sense that Salesforce requires developers on its platform to write unit tests. When refactoring code, unit tests will tell you when something breaks. You may find that writing your unit tests for a piece of code is too difficult, which is a sign that your design is too complex and will be unwieldy when debugging at later time or by someone else. There are pitfalls when using any unit test framework, but I want to take some time to highlight a few of the more sinister pitfalls that will be invisible to you until you fall into them head-first.

July 20, 2011 | Alex Berg: Alternatives to the Average AJAX ActionStatus

Visualforce offers some great shortcuts that makes for faster development and a more consistent user experience. It is these tools to which Salesforce refers when they proudly advertise the short development cycles that programmers experience when working on the Force.com platform. It makes my life as a developer easier, and I really appreciate that. Sometimes, however, you want to add a slightly more advanced feature, one that requires pushing your code off of and beyond the tracks that the platform provides you.

July 05, 2011 | Alex Berg: The Comet Model: The Yang to the Yin that is AJAX Client-side Polling

Force.com giveth and it (hopefully doesn’t) taketh away. Salesforce provides a new tool or two with each release of its platform, enabling Force.com developers to quickly and easily create apps that are up-to-par with the rest of the web development world. Spring ‘11 brought us Visualforce dynamic binding, Summer ‘11 brought Javascript remoting. Now, a new Streaming API has been announced on the Force.com blog. Pat Patterson, a Salesforce developer evangelist, is hosting a webinar on July 7th to give a preview of this Streaming API.

May 31, 2011 | Shawn Tennyson: Personalize Your Marketing Message with VDP and PURL

Personalize your direct mail with variable data printing (vdp) and a personalized URL (purl) to stand-out from junk mail clutter and gather valuable information about your prospects at the same time.

January 31, 2011 | David Held: Choosing a Lead Management Solution: Email Service Provider vs. Marketing Automation

Should you use tools such as an email service provider or a marketing automation solution when you are evaluating vendors to automate your lead management program? I realize this is not a fair comparison as they are each distinct marketing tools with a strong case being made for both. But what should you use?

November 30, 2010 | David Held: Do Your Leads Have a Social Score?

It is becoming obvious that how we look at leads is evolving. Whether you are using a basic lead scoring system, or perhaps a sophisticated lead management program to score, age and route your leads to your sales team. Leads are no longer just names, they are assets that have a dynamic value tied to who they are, what they are looking to purchase and the interactions they have completed with your company.

October 26, 2010 | Lee Schwartz: Is Quality Lead Generation Getting Easier?

According to The Sales and Marketing Institute, 70% of business-related contact data is outdated after only 12 months.

September 30, 2010 | David Held: Salesforce Chatter - A Case Study

With the upcoming Winter ’11 release for Salesforce.com, Chatter will be rolled out to all organizations bringing a fresh new look and the tools to change the collaboration within your organization. Here at Sundog, we have been using Chatter internally as part of our professional services application (PSA) and have experienced amazing results in team collaboration and work efficiency.

“Our Professional Services Automation tool with Chatter has centralized communications, improved project collaboration and increased efficiency.” Johnathon Rademacher – EVP, Technology