Unleashing Revenue Growth: Building Resilient Salesforce Architectures with DevSecOps, AppExchange Strategies, and the Velocity of Revenue Operations

Okay, so for those that are not familiar with my story. I spent the pandemic from hospital beds, running my previous business (attempting to) from intensive care and trying to maintain a normal life. Obviously in the face of significant adversity, 26 surgeries x3.5 years gives you a lot of time to be with yourself and to understand the ingredients required not only to sustain and survive through this process but ALSO to come out the other side to thrive.

Speed and resilience were paramount for me. I had to ACT quickly and make decisions or pivot quickly. And the same strategies translate really effectively and can be applied to our organisational strategies. In this post, I want to specifically talk about my 20 years working in the Salesforce ecosystem.

In this blog post, I delve into the synergy of building a resilient Salesforce architecture with proper governance, incorporating DevSecOps strategies from the AppExchange, and tying it all together with the velocity of Revenue Operations. To bring these concepts to life, I share some of my story of resilience in the face of challenges.

1. Resilient Architecture: Sailing Through Storms

Resilience in your Salesforce architecture is not just about surviving; it's about thriving in the face of adversity. Picture your architecture as a ship navigating the vast sea of business challenges, and I am an example, as a captain, steering through storms with my unwavering will and determination.

My story teaches us that:

• High Availability is like having a sturdy ship that withstands any rough seas, ensuring your Salesforce instance is accessible and operational at all times.
• Scalability is the ship's ability to adjust its sails or pivot—enabling your architecture to handle increased loads and adapt to the changing tides of market demands. This is particularly important if you have a lot of integration points.
• Disaster Recovery is the lifeboat that ensures a swift recovery, allowing you to weather unexpected disruptions and get back on course. You must maintain your architecture to strategically manage any production issues.

2. Governance: Charting a Course with Precision

Governance is the compass that guides our ship, ensuring it stays on course. Imagine we have meticulously mapped out the route, setting standards for the crew, and ensuring the ship adheres to the rules of the sea.

Effective governance involves:

• Data Governance as the treasure map, defining ownership, access controls, and quality standards for the valuable data onboard.
• Change Management as the navigation plan, helping the crew smoothly transition between development, testing, and production environments.
• Compliance Monitoring as the lookout post, ensuring the ship complies with industry standards and regulations to avoid treacherous waters.

3. DevSecOps: Fortifying the Ship's Defenses

DevSecOps is the arsenal that fortifies the ship against unseen threats, ensuring that security is not an afterthought but an integral part of the journey. Sarah ensures her crew is well-trained and equipped to repel any attacks, much like DevSecOps in Salesforce.

Incorporate DevSecOps by:

• Automated Security Testing, acting as the ship's defense systems, continuously scanning for vulnerabilities and ensuring a secure passage.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) as the fortress, restricting access based on roles to safeguard sensitive data and functionalities.
• Secure Coding Practices as the crew's training, ensuring that each member follows best practices to maintain a secure environment.

4. AppExchange: Enhancing the Ship with Innovative Crew Members

The Salesforce AppExchange is the marketplace where you recruit specialized crew members to enhance your ship's capabilities.

Strategies for success include:

• Selecting AppExchange Solutions is akin to recruiting crew members with specific expertise, enhancing security, automating processes, or providing critical integrations. It's a secret weapon full of incredible ways to extend your investment in the platform.
• Continuous Monitoring and Updating ensures crew members (AppExchange applications) are at their best, regularly updated to navigate evolving challenges. This means monitoring new functionality and releases of integrations and apps and making sure you aren't falling behind with old code as salesforce does it's latest releases.
• Collaboration with App Developers mirrors the camaraderie among crew members, staying informed and actively participating in the Salesforce ecosystem.

5. Revenue Operations: Accelerating the Journey

Now, let's introduce the concept of Revenue Optimisation and operations as the most important ingredient; it IS the wind in the ship's sails, propelling it forward with velocity. I had a knack in my journey, an ability to adapt to changes and steer myself towards getting better. The same can be applied to your organisation by monitoring and leaning into revenue opportunities.

Key considerations include:

• Alignment of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success ensures the ship moves in harmony, leveraging the collective strength of different departments.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making acts as the ship's navigation system, guiding decisions based on real-time insights to capitalize on revenue-generating opportunities.
• Continuous Optimization is the ongoing adjustment of sails, adapting strategies based on market dynamics and customer feedback to maintain velocity.

"Resilience is a key ingredient to organisational longevity. If you also help encourage your people to have resilience they're much more likely to jump in to help steer the ship during rough seas."

Building yourself a resilient Salesforce Platform architecture with proper governance, DevSecOps, and AppExchange strategies, all propelled by the velocity of Revenue Operations, is not just a theoretical framework—it's a transformative journey. My story of resilience is a testament to the real-world impact of these strategies, but also you can use the same GRIT in showcasing how to turn challenges into opportunities and drive revenue growth in turbulent waters.