Salesforce, being a leader in customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, offers a multitude of tools and functionalities out-of-the-box that can help businesses enhance their operations and customer interactions. Though the platform is highly customizable, one can’t deny that there is a super wide range of businesses out there, and Salesforce cannot be a one-size-fits-all product for all of them.
One of the standout benefits of Salesforce is the AppExchange: a comprehensive marketplace for apps and components that extend its functionalities. But what exactly is the AppExchange, and why is it so important for businesses to know how to maximize it? How did it become a huge selling point for Salesforce? Let’s dive in…
Overview and History of the AppExchange
Launched in 2006, Salesforce’s AppExchange is the first business app store and has grown to become the world’s largest marketplace for enterprise cloud applications. It all started as an idea: What if developers had the capability to publish their applications for the Salesforce ecosystem?
Did you know that the idea of the AppExchange actually came from someone who wasn’t part of the Salesforce founding team? Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, advised Salesforce founder, Marc Benioff, to build a cloud-based application ecosystem to foster the growth of the platform. Initially, AppExchange was supposed to use the App Store domain, but eventually, Marc gifted the trademark to Steve Jobs as a thank-you gift for this piece of advice that forever changed the world of Salesforce.
If our smartphones have the App Store or the Play Store for downloading applications, Salesforce now has the AppExchange, which has grown considerably since its launch (more than 10M installs since 2022!). It’s a platform where users can find and install solutions, apps, and integrations that enhance their Salesforce orgs. With thousands of solutions available, the AppExchange helps Salesforce cater to a wider range of business needs.
Key Features and Benefits of the AppExchange
Diverse App Selection
The AppExchange hosts over 7,000 solutions across various categories, ranging from sales and service to marketing, finance, and more. Whether a business needs tools specifically for project management, analytics, or automation, there’s likely an app that fits the requirement. This diversity enables companies to customize their Salesforce org to meet their own specific business challenges and objectives.
The diversity of apps in the AppExchange is all thanks to companies and developers who make and publish their useful apps. You could be an admin for a small business or a solution architect for a large corporation – and still, there’s bound to be an app for you.
Categorized Solutions
Being called “AppExchange”, it’s a common misconception that it houses just apps. The AppExchange is actually a collection of ready-to-install solutions categorized (by type) into apps, components, Bolt solutions, Lightning data, and Flow solutions. Each category serves a unique purpose and caters to different business needs:
- Apps: Complete, ready-to-install solutions that can be added directly and seamlessly into your org. They are developed by third-party partners or even built by Salesforce employees (branded as Salesforce Labs apps). One of the significant advantages of AppExchange is the availability of many free apps, eliminating the need for payment or refund concerns in case the app does not perfectly suit your business needs.
- Components: Building blocks that both admins and developers can use to create their own custom apps and pages in Lightning. The best part is that there is no coding needed since these components work in Lightning App Builder with drag and drop. This makes it easy to build custom functionality for unique use cases without having to start from scratch.
- Bolt Solutions: Industry-specific pre-built templates that provide a head start in setting up communities or portals. These solutions may include business processes, apps, and components designed for specific industries like healthcare, retail, or finance. They can help make deployment faster by providing an already solid foundation that can be easily customized and extended.
- Lightning Data: Offers pre-integrated, third-party data sets with real-time updates that can enrich a company’s Salesforce data. These can include valuable information like firmographics, technographics, and intent data, which can enhance the accuracy and depth of customer and prospect records. With Lightning Data, businesses can improve their data-driven decision-making, personalize customer interactions, and optimize marketing efforts.
- Flow Solutions: Partner-built integrations that leverage Salesforce’s Flow Builder, a powerful tool for creating workflows, to automate repetitive tasks or guide users through complex procedures. Flow solutions can help integrate with and perform actions on third-party systems without the need for code.
Bonus
- Consultants: The AppExchange is not only a library of on-screen apps and solutions but also gives access to certified consultants who can offer guidance and expertise to help you with your business needs. These consultants are companies authorized by Salesforce, so you can trust their ability to develop and deliver solutions that ultimately help your org.
Industry Solutions
Aside from solutions categorized by type, AppExchange offers industry-specific solutions tailored to the unique needs of various sectors like, for example, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and more. Since these solutions come pre-configured with industry best practices, businesses can leverage specialized tools and processes designed to meet the unique demands of the specific industry they’re part of.
For example, healthcare solutions might include apps for patient management and telehealth services, while financial services solutions could feature tools for risk management and financial planning. Manufacturing solutions may offer capabilities for supply chain management, production scheduling, and quality control. These solutions are tailored to their specific industries, so they help orgs quickly adapt to industry standards and requirements, providing a competitive edge in their respective markets.
User Reviews and Ratings
One of the biggest strengths of the AppExchange is its community-driven approach. Much like our smartphones’ App Store and Play Store, users on the AppExchange can also leave reviews and ratings for apps.
When browsing for solutions, these reviews can provide valuable insights to consider on a solution’s performance and reliability before ultimately deciding to install it. This rating system allows users to quickly assess the overall satisfaction of others with a particular app and see how well it has worked for businesses that are similar to their own. It’s a level of transparency that helps users have a comprehensive understanding of what to expect, and that’s greatly appreciated.
When browsing apps, you can even filter according to average rating, so you can instantly see which ones are well-loved and popular. However, since users have different perspectives and business needs vary a great deal, mixed reviews can get pretty overwhelming. Knowing these 4 Biggest Myths on the AppExchange can help you choose apps wisely!
Enhanced Productivity and Cost-Efficiency
Apps and solutions from the AppExchange can help make workflows more seamless, automate repetitive tasks, and provide deeper insights through advanced analytics. Aside from that, there is less time spent trying to develop solutions in-house, which leads to increased productivity and allows teams to focus on strategic activities rather than customizing solutions and manual processes.
AppExchange solutions are not only time-efficient but also cost-efficient. Instead of building custom solutions from scratch, it’s easier to deploy ready-made apps to meet business needs, saving both time and resources. Many solutions on the AppExchange are available at a lower cost (or even completely free!) compared to developing similar functionalities in-house. This cost efficiency, combined with the ability to quickly implement and start using the solutions, can provide a significant return on invested time and money.
However, don’t go around installing random solutions just because they seem cool or have multiple positive reviews from other users. Make sure you’ve established your own business needs and identified or analyzed any gaps in your processes before ultimately deciding on getting an app.
7 Apps to Get You Started
At this point, we’ve established that the AppExchange is definitely a good ecosystem of solutions that can make your life easier on the platform. Did you know that about 40% of the solutions on AppExchange are free? If you’re new to all this and have just decided to start looking for solutions, consider checking out these free apps which may be helpful for your org:
1. Clone This User
Fast-growing startups always have new hires who may need to be added as Salesforce users. This app looks up an existing user and serves as a template for the new user. You can have the new user inherit the existing user’s permission set assignments, queue and public group memberships, as well as shared reports/dashboards, without having to assign them manually.
2. Dashboard Pal
For companies that have users who deal with multiple separate dashboards (not a single, dynamic dashboard) often, this can be a nifty tool that helps them display what they need from the homepage. It’s a Lightning component that allows them to choose a dashboard from a list of available folders in the org, replacing the default dashboard for that user in order to avoid having to look for, select, and then view a dashboard every time! It’s the convenience of fewer clicks that does it again.
3. Time Warp
This app offers a different way of visualizing related records – end users seem to love it! It’s a great tool that adds an interactive timeline when viewing a specific record. This timeline can show related records to the one you’re currently viewing, including tasks, events, cases, opportunities, work orders and more. Hovering your cursor on a timeline entry can show key information as well, making it easier to get a full overview of interactions related to an account or customer.
4. FieldSpy
Salesforce orgs have limits, and large companies can easily reach these limits without realizing it. Field limits are one of the easiest ones to reach in a growing org. FieldSpy helps you get to know your objects and fields better by giving you an overview of how often a field is populated, as well as the potential impact of changes made to a record. Knowing things like an object’s current field count, remaining fields, record count, and field population percentage can help admins make smarter decisions during org cleanup or planned changes.
5. Rollup Helper
Businesses want rollups in their org to efficiently aggregate and analyze data across related records. However, rollups have their limits too. The number of rollups allowed for an object, as well as the need for a master-detail relationship, are only some of them. Rollup Helper enables admins to roll up any information in the org without the need for custom code or additional report creation.
6. Act On It
Aiming for more productive users with increased efficiency? This app enables managers to customize push notifications for team members, all while giving the users the ability to choose how they are notified. These notifications appear in an organized and filterable inbox, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks – whether it may be new tasks, idle cases, forgotten follow-ups, contracts up for renewal, or leads going cold.
7. PopUps
One of the most-used out-of-the-box features in Salesforce is the validation rule. Most admins use it to keep data clean by preventing users from saving a record unless formatting/field content is correct. A customized error message or popup should appear when this happens. However, validation rules require a bit of knowledge in creating validation rule formulas – and what if you’d like to implement some sort of soft validation or wizard-like interface? This app lets you easily configure how these popups should appear to users!
How to Install a Solution from AppExchange
Great! You’ve found an app of choice and would now like to add it to your organization. Follow these steps to learn how to install it seamlessly:
- On AppExchange, make sure that you are logged in and that your Salesforce account is connected to your Trailblazer account. You can verify by going to your Profile Settings > Connected Accounts. You can connect your account by navigating to Connect an Account > Salesforce and typing your org credentials to log in.
- Go to your preferred app’s page. In this example, we’ll try to install Salesforce Lab’s Dashboard Pal.
- Click “Get it Now”.
- Choose whether to install it in a Production or Sandbox environment. The dropdown will show a list of your connected orgs.
- Click “Install in Production (or Sandbox)”.
- The next window will show installation details. Tick the checkbox for “I have read and agreed to the terms and conditions” if there is one, then proceed to hit “Confirm and Install”.
Summary
The AppExchange is more than just a marketplace – it’s a powerful ecosystem that enables businesses to enhance and extend their org’s capabilities. By offering a wide range of apps, components, and consulting, AppExchange can help companies boost productivity and achieve greater scalability without having to develop in-house functionality or learn extensive code.
Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, exploring this treasure trove of solutions can unlock new opportunities and drive success in your Salesforce journey.
What was your first-ever solution from the AppExchange? Leave them in the comments below!