Tag Archives: record data

The enter key on a computer keyboard with the word oops on it representing version control for Salesforce CPQ configuration.

Benefits of Version Control for Salesforce CPQ

In this blog, we discuss the benefits of version control for Salesforce CPQ configuration, such as the fact that it lets you roll back to prior states with laser precision. In addition, it helps you meet SOX requirements, collaborate more effectively, and implement an agile release management process.

Easily Roll Back to Prior States With Laser Precision

With a version control system (or “oops button,” as we like to call it), you can quickly and easily roll back a specific change or many changes to a mission-critical system like Salesforce CPQ.

The enter key on a computer keyboard with the word oops on it representing version control for Salesforce CPQ configuration.

Let’s say you’re having issues with a Price Rule. Your production org may have dozens or even hundreds of Price Rules, so figuring out which one contains the bug will take time. Do you really want to do that in production… while the downtime prevents sales reps from closing opportunities?

With a version control system (VCS), you have a running log of every change to your Salesforce CPQ configuration. This log is the source of truth for your CPQ implementation, which is why it’s called source code. In the case of CPQ, this includes configuration data

So if there’s an issue, you simply hit the “oops button” and roll back the change to the previous version of the code. Now you’ve restored the system for users, you can do your debugging in a sandbox where you can’t do any damage.

Meet SOX Compliance Requirements

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is designed to help protect investors from fraudulent financial reporting by public corporations. For companies using Salesforce CPQ, this means they have to comply with two main requirements:

  1. They must maintain a complete audit trail of changes to all financial data, including pricing and products.
  2. They must maintain separation of duties.

Failing to meet SOX regulations can result in steep financial penalties, as well as prison sentences. For example, accountants and auditors who are not in compliance can face up to a decade behind bars. 

Recently, auditors have started to catch on that record data falls within the scope of compliance requirements. Record data provides configuration for Salesforce CPQ.

Version control for Salesforce CPQ provides an immutable record of what changes were made, by whom, and who checked them in. And you need a version control system. Why? Because even if you haven’t heard anything from the auditors, you’re breaking the law if you’re not SOX compliant. That’s why it’s advisable to get ahead of the situation and implement version control (VC) as soon as possible.

Collaborate More Effectively With Version Control for Salesforce CPQ

A version control tool for Salesforce CPQ lets you collaborate more efficiently and effectively with your team. Everybody should configure their specific changes in their own environments. Once they’re done, they should check in their work to the source. As a result, every team member can work on their part of the project without fear of wiping out each other’s work. 

In addition, with a version control system (VCS) for Salesforce CPQ, you can thoroughly review all proposed changes before deploying them. This gives you the opportunity to identify conflicts and errors. If there are any, you can resolve them before they go into production.

Implement an Agile Release Management Process

Clearly, Salesforce CPQ version control effectively facilitates an agile release management process. It helps you reduce development time and time spent troubleshooting. As a result, you can deploy successful changes faster.

FAQs

What is version control?

Version control is a data management practice that’s also referred to as source control or revision control. It’s a critical tool for tracking changes to your Salesforce CPQ configuration data or record data as you move it through the release pipeline. This is especially true in an agile environment where you make changes quickly and dynamically. Learn more about version control.

What is a VCS and how does it work?

VCS stands for version control system. When you integrate Salesforce CPQ with a version control system, you can record and manage the changes you make to your configuration data. 

You check a file out of the VCS, update it with the changes you’ve made, and check it back in. If any of the changes you made don’t work during testing, you can refer back to the source configuration file to revert the configuration back to the earlier version. Learn more about version control systems. 

An image of a finger pointing at a world map on a hologram screen that represents Enterprise Territory Management in Salesforce.

How to Automate Enterprise Territory Management Deployments

In this blog, I’ll explain how you can use automation to quickly and easily deploy Enterprise Territory Management changes. Plus, I’ll discuss how to schedule your Enterprise Territory Management deployments—so you can enjoy your New Year’s Eve with your family and friends! 

Automatically Deploy Enterprise Territory Management Updates

Manually deploying changes in Salesforce Enterprise Territory Management is a complex, time-consuming process. Why? Because some components are metadata, while other components are built with complex relational record data—also referred to as configuration data. 

In contrast, with Prodly DevOps, you can promote your changes quickly and effortlessly—no matter whether they’re metadata or record data. What’s more: You can do it all in one go in our user-friendly “clicks, not code” UI.

For example, let’s say your sales team is expanding and your CRO has asked you to model various ways to divide sales territories to create equitable opportunities for everyone. Enterprise Territory Management makes it easy to set up and test sales territories, so you’ve built several territory models with territory account assignment rules in your sandbox. Now you want to deploy these new territory models to production.

Prodly DevOps lets you do this quickly and easily using an automated guided deployment. Watch this video to see how easy it is: 

Here’s how to automatically deploy Enterprise Territory Management updates in just a few easy steps:

  1. In the Prodly DevOps UI, navigate to the Guided Deployment page.
  2. Select your source and destination environments.
  3. Select the metadata you want to deploy. Prodly highlights the differences between your environments and shows you exactly what’s changed to help you get it right the first time. 
  4. Select the data you want to deploy by choosing the Enterprise Territory Management data set from Prodly. A data set is a pre-built automation that identifies which data to move.
  5. Optionally, select Temporarily Deactivate Events to automatically deactivate and reactivate all available platform automation during deployment.
  6. Click Deploy.

How to Schedule an Enterprise Territory Management Deployment in 3 Steps

Because sales territory alignment is a common end-of-year activity, making updates to Enterprise Territory Management often requires a release manager or advanced admin to sacrifice their New Year’s Eve. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way! With Prodly DevOps, you can schedule Prodly DevOps deployments so you don’t have to work after hours. And that way, you get your New Year’s Eve back.

To schedule automatic deployments in Enterprise Territory Management, all you need are the IDs of the data set, source environment, and destination environment. After you’ve gathered this information, perform these three steps:

  1. Open the Developer Console.
  2. Navigate to Debug > Open Execute Anonymous Window.
  3. Copy and paste the code on this page using your IDs:
Code for scheduling an Enterprise Territory Management deployment.

Now, you can choose the exact time you want to push the updates to production. That means you can schedule the deployment for 5pm on December 31st—after everyone has stopped working—and go enjoy your New Year’s Eve. Then when you, your RevOps team, and your sales team get back to work in the new year, your new territories are all set and ready to go!

Discover How Prodly DevOps Can Benefit Your Business

Just imagine the peace of mind you can get by automating your deployments—not to mention the added convenience of being able to schedule them. Discover how your business can benefit from Prodly DevOps—request a personalized demo!

FAQs

Why is it so difficult to deploy record data from multiple objects in Salesforce?

Salesforce doesn’t have a tool for deploying related record data all at once. When you’re dealing with a lot of complex relational record data, it can take hours to map objects—even longer if you make mistakes and have to start over.

How can I deploy reference data in Salesforce faster and more accurately?

With the automation provided by Prodly DevOps, you can select pre-built data sets and deploy them from one environment to another 66 percent faster than other solutions. Plus, you can ramp up productivity by 80 percent!