10 Useful Resources For Salesforce.com Developers

CEO Marc Benioff once shared background on how Salesforce started to envision itself as an ecosystem because of an early conversation with a business icon at TechCrunch Disrupt:

While building Salesforce, Benioff went to Jobs for advice, and relayed one great story of how a particular meeting ran — a meeting that later served as inspiration for building the Salesforce platform, in fact. He asked Jobs what he should do next, and Jobs said three key things. One, Salesforce needed to be 10 times larger in the next 24 months or it’s over, he said. It needed to get a huge client, and it needed an application ecosystem. “What’s an application ecosystem, Steve?” Benioff asked at the time, recalling that Jobs’ enigmatic answer was something along the lines of “I don’t know, but you’d better figure it out.”

Yesware is a proud partner of Salesforce as a member of the AppExchange, where we see huge value to connect Gmail users with this robust CRM.

Take a look at Yesware’s Sales Activity Dashboards for Salesforce:

Salesforce Resources to Get You Started as a Salesforce Developer

Now, while many developers are focusing their attention on building apps for iPhone and Android (disclosure: we’re hiring iOS engineers!), we wanted to curate a list of Salesforce resources to get you started as a Salesforce developer. Here’s a look at the top ten:

1. Sign up for a free Developer account: Get full Enterprise functionality of Salesforce for free and be able to trial and error as you learn the in’s and out’s of Salesforce

2. Force.com Books, recommended by Salesforce: A curated a list of different books that will assist you in developing on Salesforce.

3. Force.com Platform Fundamentals: An introduction to custom application development in the cloud. This book provides a thorough introduction to the declarative aspects of the Force.com platform.

4. Developer Workbooks, provided by Salesforce: The Force.com Workbook provides a set of practical, step-by-step tutorials that walk you through building and deploying a simple application. This is a great way to get started.

5. CodeTalk: A new pilot program for developers to have their Force.com technical queries answered via a live, unscripted 30 minute Q&A session on pre-selected topics.

6. History of other Salesforce webinars on app development.

7. There are dozens of YouTube videos organized by Salesforce and outside Salesforce experts on how to become Salesforce developer. Three of the most popular include Introduction to VisualForce, Intro APEX Code, and Learn to Build Apps Webinar.

8. Search for a Salesforce User Group: Look for other Salesforce enthusiasts by identifying a local user group you can join to meet other Salesforce developers you can learn from.

9. Join a Salesforce community online via Facebook, Linkedin or even on Salesforce.

10. Salesforce Developer Certification: With a Developer credential, you’ll demonstrate your ability to use the Force.com platform to the fullest. Your credentialed skills will be sought after by companies who want to unleash the potential of cloud computing. To earn this credential, you must pass a multiple-choice exam at a testing center or in an online proctored environment. Want to learn more? We recommend checking out:

• • This blog post on why Salesforce certification matters.
  • How to study for Salesforce Developer exam
  • Overview of Salesforce Developer Certification