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What's Salesforce? (2019)

retool.com

181–190 of 206 posts

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Salesforce owns Marketo now. My company is using it along with our Salesforce org. Integration is pretty seamless. Although we do have to train users on how to write in Microsoft SQL Server 2016 which is what Marketo is using apparently.

It’s actually Adobe that owns Marketo now. Source: former Adobe employee

You’re right. I was thinking of Marketing Cloud.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to buy a specialized backup product like Ownbackup or Spanner. These in turn, utilize Salesforce's bulk apis. Salesforce does not let anyone touch the underlying databases.

It's baffling that a product like Salesforce relies on paid third party products to deliver an essential feature like restoring backed up data. And even those can't change autonumbered standard fields, like the case number. That's problematic, because they don't only live in Salesforce but get referenced from outside.

You have to adopt an ERP mindset when working with Salesforce. That is you are trying to satisfy auditors and have a clear permanent record. You do not update key fields like Case Number. Usually you deactivate or soft delete a record. You then repoint the external systems to the new record.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#183
post #25

The trouble with Salesforce is that it’s turned into the very thing they set out to replace. It’s big, unwieldy, clunky, and frustrating to use. It’s “SaaS” which was an upgrade on what they replaced initially, but seems like they’re increasingly the ones bound to be “disrupted.”

Retool recently released “modules”, and it made me think the same thing, that this is one step closer to the thing they’re trying to replace. Resolving merge conflicts in json (which is what defines a retool app) is another area where the benefits of “yes code” become more obvious. “No code” is not something I’m convinced is good. I personally think embracing code (but making it optional) leads to a platform more dev…

But was one supposed to write that code in the example oneself? I thought it showed code generated by this venerated "no-code" tool... If that's not the case, then the whole "no-code" moniker is marketing BS.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#184

"Salesforce’s point-and-click database editor and drag-and-drop UI builder alone make it much more than a CRM. But when you bolt on other apps and 3rd-party APIs, it gets close to programming without code: a new way to build software." Seems analogous to Wordpress for building websites, without actually knowing how to build websites, yes/no?

Yeah, much of the article reads like free advertising for Salesforce.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#186
post #129
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love this comment. My company is rebuilding our EHR software right now to make it more customizable among other things. Know any good resources on making the right architectural and product decisions to protect against or prevent this eventual fate?

Fix the business processes first or you risk codifying bad business processes in the platform.

This, also if you want a good piece of software to fit your needs the current process must be well documented and reviewed many times.

I am currently working on a large project, which unfortunately needs to communicate with DB2 and interact with AS400 (old ERP system). At this point nobody knows how things work and how the business operates exactly. Managers hold pieces of information but it is not documented at all. I have hit many road blocks because one thing was said, which turned out not to be true after a bit of investigation.

I could develop this software in 3 months, but it is taking 1+ years due to lack of documentation, developers not being on the same page, and nobody understanding the current systems.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#187
post #162

The true question is: what is the light open-source "it simply works" alternative?

I think Wikipedia has a list. Perhaps not just of FOSS CRM, but usually their lists of software have a License column; with a bit of luck you can sort the table on it. Otherwise, copy-paste it into a spreadsheet and sort it there.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#188
post #14

Salesforce is amazing, in the sense that it truly lives up to its name. Everytime I've been hired into an executive role I've cancelled our Salesforce subscription and productivity has gone up. Its clunky, slow and overly complex if you ask me. But their success cannot be denied, thus they must have an amazing salesforce.

> Everytime I've been hired into an executive role How many times are we talking about here, like 2 or 20? And why did you end up leaving those roles?

2 times. First I left because of a disagreement on strategy after 2 years. The second I left because of mismanagement at the highest levels.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#189
post #14

Salesforce is amazing, in the sense that it truly lives up to its name. Everytime I've been hired into an executive role I've cancelled our Salesforce subscription and productivity has gone up. Its clunky, slow and overly complex if you ask me. But their success cannot be denied, thus they must have an amazing salesforce.

"Everytime I've been hired into an executive role I've cancelled our Salesforce subscription and productivity has gone up." ... Great observation. But what did you replace it with?

The answer is a bit more complex, but in short: A spreadsheet and process documentation.

Re: What's Salesforce? (2019)

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Everytime I've been hired into an executive role I've cancelled our Salesforce subscription and productivity has gone up." ... Great observation. But what did you replace it with?

This is classic new-hire behavior. Come in, shake things up by changing a big system to put their stamp on things, (no telling if productivity would’ve gone up if nothing had happened, e.g. company was already growing), then bounce to the next executive gig before the honeymoon wears off.

Do you you know why we say, that one should never "assume" ?
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