Salesforce Industries (Vlocity): A Few Steps from an Exceptional Product

Salesforce Industries (formerly Vlocity) delivers pre-configured, industry-specific solutions built on the Salesforce platform, designed to address the needs of various industries.

I have had the opportunity to work with Vlocity on a couple of different occasions/clients and have listed my current observations below. Please be aware that the product is continuously evolving, so things may have changed since my evaluation.

Here are my considerations:

1. Build with Ease: The Power of Drag-and-Drop

   
   

The idea of building powerful UIs (essentially LWCs) through drag and drop is excellent, especially when your team lacks coding expertise, and it is incredibly powerful. The same is valid for other components, such as Integration Procedures for data extraction and manipulation, and Omni-Scripts for handling multi-step business processes. However, be cautious that some preconfigured components (like View on Assets) may not be practical due to limitations and inflexibility, particularly when using a custom data model. Additionally, when you're diving into the wonderful world of FlexCards, get ready to perform the magical ritual of "Empty Cache and Hard Reload" more often than you'd like to admit 😅.

2. Align your data model and process with Industry Standards

I've worked with Salesforce Industries within the Telecommunications sector, and I can certainly understand why this product is appealing for those seeking a solution that adheres to Industry Standards. Specifically for the Telecommunications world, I'm talking about the Information Framework (SID) that provides an information/data reference model along with a common vocabulary for implementing business processes or the Capability Framework (TMF-CF) or any other TM Forum standards...You name it, Salesforce Industries has it.

3. Less Docs, More Know-How

In comparison to other Salesforce products, I believe this one still lacks documentation. Many details are learned through experience and found out in blogs rather than official documentation. For instance, if you use AI tools like ChatGPT to generate a class to support a Remote Action within an Integration Procedure, you could get an incorrect response, such as not using the correct interface vlocity_cmt.VlocityOpenInterface. This indicates that knowledge is somewhat fragmented and documentation is not yet fully available online. Furthermore, it's important to keep in mind that the deployment process for promoting components between environments is distinct and relies on specific tools (the 'Vlocity Build Tool' is now referred to as the 'Omnistudio Build Tool') and Vlocity commands (not the usual 'sfdx' or 'sf ' commands).

For these reasons I believe that collaborating with a professional service firm that knows the product well is essential for a project's success.

Final Thoughts

With industry experience and a preference for declarative tools over programmatic ones, you'll probably value most of the features of Salesforce Industries and the Omni-studio tools. Although there might be some challenges, they typically provide substantial benefits, particularly when working with clearly defined industry-specific data models and processes, like those specified by the TM Forum for Telecommunications.

You can discover more insights about SFI in various online blogs and the official Salesforce documentation. Below, I've included some helpful links:

• What is Vlocity (Salesforce Industries)? by SFBEN

• Vlocity: Powering the Future of Salesforce Industries by Bret Taylor

• Vlocity Platform APIs by Salesforce

Please note the views expressed on this blog are my personal opinions and do not represent the official stance or opinions of the company I work for.