Did you know that DevOps adoption is surprisingly low among Salesforce admins?

Even though we’ve seen massive shifts in technology in the last few years, many Salesforce admins still rely on outdated processes like change sets to move their changes from development environments to production.

But why is this?

Perhaps DevOps is perceived as something only necessary for large, complex organizations. In reality, DevOps brings value even to smaller Salesforce environments, and more importantly, it should be something that every Salesforce administrator should embrace.

The complexities of today’s Salesforce setups, custom objects, triggers, Apex code, automations, integrations, etc., have far outpaced the simplicity of change sets. Migrating changes using change sets turns your production environment from a valuable tool into a ticking time bomb.

So, how do we close this gap and get more Salesforce admins to embrace DevOps?

It starts with understanding what DevOps is, how it works, and how easy it is to embrace when you use the right tools.

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What is DevOps?

Let’s start by exploring what DevOps is and why it matters.

If you’ve ever wondered why some companies can push out new software features or updates so quickly, a good DevOps process is often the reason.

DevOps is a way of bringing together two teams that used to work separately: those who develop the software and those who manage its deployment and upkeep. In the context of Salesforce, this is often done by different team members rather than separate teams.

Have you ever had a Salesforce update go wrong and disrupt your users working in Production?

Having a DevOps process in place helps prevent those kinds of problems by making sure changes are tested and released smoothly, minimizing the chance of hiccups.

Salesforce is a tool designed to be agile, flexible, and easily updated, thanks to its “clicks not code” mantra, but even minor updates can cause major problems if a good DevOps process is not followed.

So, in a nutshell, DevOps is the method that keeps the software you use running smoothly and up to date without headaches.

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Change Sets: The Problem No One Talks About

Change sets are Salesforce’s native deployment tools designed to move changes between environments.

When Salesforce was first introduced, the system was far simpler than it is today, and change sets were a perfectly acceptable tool to migrate development between environments.

In 2024 and beyond, though, change sets are outdated and increase the risk of your production environment having critical errors due to a bad deployment.

Scalability

First, they lack scalability. Admins must manually add each component to a change set, making the process slow and prone to human error. If you’ve ever had to add more than five fields to a change set, you will understand this pain very well!

You can’t deploy large, interconnected configurations smoothly, and missing one element can break your entire deployment.

Dependency & Visibility

Change sets don’t track any dependencies between components, so it’s easy to overlook key elements. A missing field or permission can cause serious post-deployment issues, impacting functionality and user access.

Then there’s limited visibility. Change sets don’t allow a comprehensive preview of what’s being deployed. You’re often left guessing whether all necessary components are included, and there’s no clear record of what has changed between environments.

Change sets don’t merge changes with your current Production setup; they overwrite configurations to match what’s in your lower environments. Any manual changes you’ve made directly in Production, like updates to permission sets or profiles, can easily be lost if you deploy the same change set from an environment that isn’t fully aligned with Production.

Security & Confidence

Finally, there is no rollback functionality with change sets, so if your deployment goes wrong, you can’t revert to a previous version while you solve the issues. Your system will be out of action for as long as it takes to revert the changes manually.

As an admin, you want to be confident when pushing changes into Salesforce, especially after your hard work developing and testing them thoroughly.

Simply put, the hidden cost of sticking with change sets is wasted time, poor accuracy, and reduced credibility. Hours wasted manually adding components, deployment failures, and the lack of confidence when pushing changes can damage trust within your organization. What happens when a deployment fails, and your sales team can't access Salesforce?

The downtime could mean missed opportunities and revenue loss.

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Why DevOps is Non-Negotiable

DevOps may have, at one time, been seen as only being necessary for large, complex organizations, but that’s far from the truth.

DevOps is about reliability and control, which are crucial for any Salesforce implementation, big or small. Yes, complex orgs with thousands of users benefit from DevOps, but so do smaller environments.

The moment you manage configurations and deployments manually or rely solely on change sets, you’re introducing unnecessary risk. Whether you’re dealing with a handful of users or a massive org, errors can happen, and those errors can be costly. DevOps helps to eliminate that risk by introducing standardization and automation to the deployment process.

DevOps adds structure to your release management. With change sets, you often guess whether all the right components are included. DevOps ensures all dependencies are tracked and accounted for.

Even in less complicated environments, DevOps improves productivity by automating repetitive tasks. Instead of manually managing changes, you ensure smooth, reliable deployments. A misconfigured field or forgotten permission set could cause significant disruptions down the line, especially in a system as integral to operations as Salesforce.

Consider the business impact. If Salesforce is down, it’s not just a technical inconvenience. Sales reps can’t send quotes, customer service can’t resolve issues, and marketing teams can’t run campaigns. Downtime means lost revenue. DevOps reduces the risk of that happening by making your deployments more reliable and reducing the chances of errors that could take Salesforce offline.

Ultimately, DevOps is about giving you control. Control over your deployments, control over what changes are being made, and control over your Salesforce environment’s stability. Whether you’re managing a large or small Salesforce org, adopting DevOps is a no-brainer if you want to ensure stability.

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Making the Business Case for a DevOps Tool

When presenting DevOps to decision-makers, focus on it as an investment, not just an expense. Yes, there are “free” deployment options, like change sets or other more complex manual processes. However, these alternatives are often inefficient, risky, and often require a specialized skill set. Spending money on developers just to create your DevOps process is a massive waste of time and money when those developers could be spending more time improving Salesforce rather than just managing the deployment of new features.

Investing in a specialized DevOps tool not only reduces the need to provide dedicated, highly skilled resources in charge of this process but also democratizes the entire release management process and allows other users to get involved, like admins.

Let’s break it down.

Reduced Deployment Time

With manual methods, an admin might spend hours preparing a deployment, double-checking components, and hoping nothing is left out. With a tool like Salto, the process is automated, drastically reducing this time.

Instead of spending half a day pushing changes, you could complete the same task in minutes. Over a year, that saved time adds up to hundreds of hours. This is time that can be redirected to higher-value tasks.

Fewer Errors

Manual deployments are risky. A single missed dependency like a critical field or permission set can cause a failure that might take hours to fix, leaving parts of your system broken and users frustrated.

Salto’s dependency analysis ensures you don't miss any hidden references, preventing these mistakes. Fewer errors mean less time spent putting out fires and more time moving forward.

Plus, no more late nights troubleshooting after an unexpected system crash. Salto makes sure your deployments are clean and smooth.

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Faster Iterations

When managing every deployment manually, you hesitate to make frequent updates. It’s a slow and painful process that leads to infrequent, large releases. These carry much more risk.

With Salto, the ease and speed of automated deployments mean you can iterate quickly. New features, updates, and bug fixes can be rolled out continuously, improving your Salesforce environment’s performance in real time.

This agility allows your team to respond to business needs faster without bottlenecks.

Confidence

Without a specialized DevOps tool, you’re left crossing your fingers and saying a prayer with each and every deployment. With a tool like Salto, you’re leveraging automation, built-in checks, historical tracking, and the ability to roll back quickly if needed. You know exactly what’s going live and why. No more “deployment gods” to pray to.

Concrete ROI

Your team deploys an update, but it causes unexpected issues in production. Without Salto’s version control, finding the problem could take hours, leading to disruptions in key business operations.

With version control, you can identify the specific change that caused the issue and roll back instantly. This minimizes downtime and prevents lost productivity across teams. The deeper value lies in the ability to resolve issues fast, ensuring that critical business functions are uninterrupted and reducing the need for reactive fixes.

Not only does this save valuable time and effort, but it also means avoiding potential revenue loss from downtime. Think of sales teams unable to quote or customer service unable to address inquiries promptly.

This kind of control enables you to move confidently with each deployment, reducing post-deployment troubleshooting, which would otherwise consume time and resources.

Over time, this ability to deploy and roll back quickly without the risk of breaking the system ensures your Salesforce environment runs smoothly.

Salto is a practical choice for Salesforce admins because it’s easy to adopt, minimizes the need for developer intervention, and directly impacts your bottom line. With Salto, you’re creating real value.

Summary

It’s time to rethink how you approach Salesforce deployments.

Adopting DevOps is a technical upgrade, but simultaneously elevates your role and helps you become a strategic asset to the business. By embracing DevOps, you ensure that deployments are smooth, reliable, and drive the company forward.

The key is to start small, learn continuously, and lead the change within your organization. You don’t have to master everything at once; take that first step to make DevOps an integral part of your Salesforce processes.

Salto makes it easy to implement DevOps, whether you’re a technical expert or a hands-on admin. Stop relying on outdated processes and start deploying with confidence.

Try Salto for free today and see how easy it is to improve your Salesforce deployment process.