Implementing intentional release automation tools sets you up for a productive and streamlined Salesforce DevOps strategy throughout the new year and beyond.
Why It Matters: Every error found in your DevOps lifecycle amounts to wasted developer time. Not only does the initial effort not positively contribute to the project, but the time spent reworking the error adds delays to the production timeline.
- Manual processes inevitably create errors, and these mistakes slow down deployment cycles, introduce data security vulnerabilities, and degrade the end-user experience.
- An optimized Salesforce DevOps strategy requires the integration of strategic, automated tools to give developers the support they need to produce reliable updates.
- The steps you take today will have a snowball effect throughout 2025. Do you want those effects to be positive or negative?
Here are seven release automation tools that will streamline Salesforce DevOps processes in the new year:
1. CI/CD
Working with a large team means there will be a lot of merges from various developers. Automating the process of testing and integrating these changes into the main repository saves a ton of time.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tools are the centerpiece of a comprehensive Salesforce DevOps strategy.
CI/CD tools provide the infrastructure your team needs to expedite releases by avoiding laborious manual processes.
2. Static Code Analysis
When it comes to the application lifecycle, your code is your lifeblood. Anything less than flawless code leads to faulty updates and security vulnerabilities.
Static code analysis fits seamlessly within a CI/CD pipeline to provide immediate notifications to developers when a coding error is entered into the system.
Supporting your release automation tools with quality and security tools offers the best chance for reliable updates in 2025.
3. Version Control
Multi-developer teams are becoming increasingly popular. But when numerous people are working on the same project, problems like overwrites and incongruous code become more likely.
Version control offers the visibility dev teams need to roll back updates if an error is identified.
Time stamps and personal identifiers make it easy for teams to fix these errors while avoiding unnecessary rework.
4. Artificial Intelligence
You can’t go anywhere without hearing about artificial intelligence (AI) these days. This includes Salesforce DevOps.
2025 is going to see an increased reliance on AI—which means you need to instill guardrails to ensure these tools don’t create more problems than they solve.
Read our ebook, The State of AI Security in Salesforce DevOps, to learn everything you need to know about safely using AI tools in your development pipeline.
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5. Deployment Automation
Manual processes are slow. And when it comes to moving deploying changes, automation expedites processes and drastically increases consistency.
Implement deployment automation to increase your capacity for releases in 2025.
These tools reduce errors and streamline the deployment of coding updates so your team can focus on innovation and security.
6. Data Loader
Data management is a huge aspect of an optimized Salesforce DevOps pipeline. Teams need to have a strategy—and the tools to accomplish their goals—to properly handle the massive amounts of data stored within their Salesforce environments.
A data loader simplifies bulk data operations to help DevOps teams perform these tasks faster and more accurately than ever before.
Seeding new orgs with data and metadata helps teams get right to work without worrying about configuring environments to align with other aspects of the project.
7. Data Backup and Recovery
Every aspect of your DevOps strategy needs to keep data security in mind, including the way your team uses release automation tools. Planning for the worst-case scenario ensures you are prepared to minimize disruptions so your team can get back to work after an outage.
Data backup and recovery tools are an essential consideration that must be configured to meet internal standards for data protection.
Having a recent backup snapshot reduces downtime when an outage occurs so your team can get back to furthering initiatives instead of wasting time trying to roll back to before the outage occurred.
Next Step…
Release automation tools go a long way toward helping Salesforce DevOps teams increase their release frequency, but the way your team operates within the pipeline will also help or hinder your approach.
Check out our blog, 8 Ways Proper Sandbox Management Cuts Down on Wasted Time, to learn more about trimming the fat within your DevOps pipeline and increasing productivity.