Salesforce Launches Low-Code Tools for Lightning Platform

Salesforce announced today a new set of low-code tools for faster app building.

​With developers ​in short supply​, the company said, organizations are now turning to the Salesforce Lightning Platform and AppExchange for low-code tools that empower IT and business users to create intelligent, connected experiences without having to build them from scratch.

According to a recent ​IDC study​, organizations building on the Salesforce Lightning Platform saw a return on investment of 545 percent over five years. Furthermore, IDC found business users gained productivity and revenue benefits totaling $8.82 million per organization surveyed – including 63 percent faster lifecycles for app development.

“Building and deploying apps is a keystone for any business in the pursuit of digital transformation,” said Anne DelSanto, executive vice president and general manager, Salesforce Lightning Platform. “Salesforce continues to democratize app development by making it easier than ever to build or buy game-changing digital solutions that tap into the ordinary genius of citizen developers.”

The latest low-code tools on the Salesforce Lightning Platform include:

Lightning Object Creator:  A platform service that allows anyone to turn spreadsheets into modern apps with clicks, not code. This eliminates manual, labor-intensive processes. Teams can now drag and drop spreadsheets into the Object Creator, review data fields for accuracy and publish a digital form over a desktop or mobile device. In Salesforce, users can further analyze the data or add it to existing records with support for Search, Notes or Files within Salesforce, extending the power of that customer’s CRM deployment.

Lightning Flow Builder: A platform service that allows anyone to turn spreadsheets into modern apps with clicks, not code. For example, salespeople at a car dealership once had to enter customer information from paper test drive forms into spreadsheets — an error-prone, labor-intensive process. Those teams can now drag and drop spreadsheets into the Object Creator, review data fields for accuracy (e.g., car makes and models) and publish a digital form, available on desktop or mobile. In Salesforce, users can further analyze the data or add it to existing records with support for Search, Notes or Files within Salesforce – extending the power of that customer’s CRM deployment.

With Lightning Flow Builder, the same car dealership above can create a flow that takes both staff and prospective buyers through a step-by-step process to configure (i.e., color, make and model) and purchase a new car. Einstein Next Best Action guides the sale based on details from the test drive, customer history and more to suggest incentives that would help close the sale – e.g., offers for free maintenance or an extended warranty. Meanwhile, Flow Actions throughout allow the salesperson to enhance their customer interaction at relevant points within the workflow, with access to marketing videos, industry data and even the ability to take payment on the show floor.

Jennifer Lee, a Senior Salesforce Business Consultant at ​John Hancock​, unlocked the power of process automation for the financial services firm by using the Lightning Platform to build flows without a single line of code.

“We have multiple business units that share the same contact records,” she said. “So I built an app that highlights the information as well as details from cases and opportunities. I was able to get creative by using Lightning Flow to deliver a solution using point-and-click tools and not code.”

With 88 percent of Salesforce customer orgs using AppExchange solutions and almost 6 million installs, more trailblazers than ever are tapping into the power of the world’s leading enterprise cloud ecosystem.

AppExchange is now live with updates including intelligent recommendations and a new category for Flow Solutions.

Starting today, any customer can log onto AppExchange and experience:

Smarter Recommendations​, including a “Recommended for You” page that lists suggested solutions based on customer location, install history, profile data and more. For example, a business reinventing project management will see recommendations change as soon as admins search for or install an app for online appointment scheduling. These recommendations are also informed by the profile of other customers who’ve searched for or installed similar solutions.

Lightning Flow Actions​, which are partner-built, drag-and-drop solutions that unleash the full potential of automated business processes. More than a dozen partner-built solutions are already available – including Flow Actions for running credit checks (Oktana), adding a video player (Vidyard) and generating quotes for loan  processing (Accenture).

Lightning Object Creator and Lightning Flow Builder are now available in pilot.  Further pricing information will be announced at general availability in 1H19.