Salesforce ramps up next-gen platform with slew of low-code upgrades

Salesforce has unveiled its next generation platform which includes a new set of low-code development tools to democratize creation of applications on a single platform.  

The upgrade and new solutions were announced at one of Salesforce’s flagship events, the TrialheadX, on Wednesday.   

A May 2021 study by Salesforce showed that 88% of IT leaders saw an increase in workloads over the last 12 months, with 96% saying the current demand for applications are unsustainable. 83% of IT leaders in the survey said they would utilise low-code/no code tools to make the process of app development easier.  

“The future of app development is low-code, where anyone can participate to solve any business problem,” said Patrick Stokes, executive vice president and general manager of platform, Salesforce.  

To meet this increased need, 83% of IT leaders are planning to increase their use of low-code. Low-code is a type of automated coding technique where easier to comprehend graphical user interfaces are used instead of traditional hand-coded computer programming.

One of the new features unveiled by Salesforce is called Dynamic Interactions, which will utilise low code to build apps with web components that can exchange data and react to user actions, the company said. Another new feature, Einstein Automate, will help compose workflows with complex, multi-user environments. MuleSoft, one of Salesforce’s acquistions, will be utilised to automate integrations from multiple apps and data sources into Salesforce without the need to code.  

Salesforce already possesses a no-code library called OmniStudio, whose contents can be utilised to bring together multiple apps. Creators can streamline processes by leveraging pre-built solutions on Salesforce AppExchange and products in OmniStudio, a suite of no-code tools and pre-built guided experiences.  

The California based CRM giant said the tools can be customised according to pro developers and beginners, while a service called the Salesforce Functions will allow deployment of code in serverless environments.  

Salesforce released the new CLI Unification which will help developers use commands across different clouds and platforms such as Herou, Mulesoft and Tableau, among others.  

For security in low-code environments, the new Einstein Data Detect will use AI to discover and protect sensitive company data, Salesforce said.  Another solution called the Customer Identity plus, will provide a 360-degree view of customers to help in consolidation and management of their identities. 

While three solutions, MuleSoft Composer, AppExchange and Omnistudio have been made generally available, Flow Orchestrator is expected to reach the pilot stage in late 2021, while Einstein Data Detect and Customer identity plus will be generally available by the end of this year. Other solutions are expected to release to the public in 2022.