A Salesforce Org (organization) is a unique instance of Salesforce that contains data, applications, and customizations specific to a company or individual.
Every Org operates independently with its own security settings and user access control.
It serves as a central hub for business operations like Sales, Service, Marketing, and Automation.
Discuss real-world use cases where Salesforce Orgs help companies scale their operations efficiently.
Types of Salesforce Orgs
Production Org – The live environment where real business data is stored and actual transactions occur.
Sandbox Orgs – Used for development, testing, and training purposes. Types include:
Developer Sandbox – For coding and unit testing.
Developer Pro Sandbox – For more storage and user testing.
Partial Copy Sandbox – For testing with a subset of production data.
Full Copy Sandbox – A complete replica of the Production Org for large-scale testing.
Developer Edition – A free Org provided by Salesforce for developers to test and build applications with limited data storage.
Trailhead Playground – A practice environment available on Salesforce’s learning platform, Trailhead, where users can complete hands-on exercises.
Org Architecture Overview
Salesforce is a multi-tenant cloud platform, meaning multiple customers share the same infrastructure but have isolated data.
Each Org has unique metadata and business logic.
The platform ensures security, reliability, and scalability.
Check metadata-driven architecture and how changes in one Org do not impact another.
Check Org limits such as data storage, API limits, and governor limits in Salesforce.
Key Components of a Salesforce Org
1. Data Model (Objects, Fields, and Relationships)
Objects: The fundamental building blocks of Salesforce data.
Standard Objects: Accounts, Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, Cases, etc.
Custom Objects: Created by users to store unique business data.
Fields: Store different types of data such as text, numbers, formulas, picklists, and relationships.
Relationships:
Lookup Relationships: One-to-one or one-to-many relationships between objects.
Master-Detail Relationships: A tighter relationship where child records depend on the parent.
Junction Objects: Used for many-to-many relationships.
Show a simple Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) to explain relationships visually.
2. User Management (Profiles, Roles, and Permission Sets)
Profiles: Define what users can do in Salesforce (object-level and field-level access).
Example: A Sales User Profile might have access to Leads and Opportunities but not Cases.
Roles: Define what records users can see based on hierarchy.
Example: A Sales Manager can see all Opportunities owned by their team.
Permission Sets: Provide additional permissions without changing a user’s profile.
Example: Assign “Export Reports” permission without modifying the base profile.
Groups and Queues:
Public Groups for sharing data with multiple users.
Queues for managing records that multiple users can work on (used in Cases, Leads, etc.).
3. Security Model (Org-wide defaults, Sharing Rules, and Field-Level Security)
Org-Wide Defaults (OWD): Control the baseline visibility of records (Private, Public Read, Public Read/Write, etc.).
Sharing Rules: Allow more specific access to records based on criteria.
Field-Level Security: Restrict access to specific fields for certain users.
Example Use Case: Ensuring only HR users can view salary details of employees.
4. Automation Tools (Workflows, Process Builder, Flow, and Apex)
Workflow Rules: Simple automation for email alerts and field updates (deprecated in favor of Flow).
Process Builder: Advanced automation that defines multiple conditions (being replaced by Flow).
Flow: The most powerful tool for automating complex processes, including screen flows and triggered automation.
Apex Triggers: Custom-coded automation for real-time data processing and validation.
Example: Automating lead assignment based on geographic region.
5. Customization vs. Configuration
Configuration: Point-and-click customization without coding (e.g., modifying page layouts, using Flow, etc.).
Customization: Using Apex, Visualforce, and Lightning Web Components to create advanced functionalities.
Best Practice: Use configuration wherever possible to avoid future maintenance issues.
Org Setup & Best Practices
Setting Up a New Org
Navigating the Setup Menu.
Configuring Company Information and Fiscal Year Settings.
Adding and managing Users and Roles.
Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for security.
Best Practices for Org Maintenance
Data Management:
Regularly clean up old records and duplicates.
Set up validation rules to prevent incorrect data entry.
Security Review:
Regularly audit user permissions and access levels.
Metadata Backup:
Use Salesforce Backup & Recovery or external backup tools.
Health Checks:
Use Salesforce Optimizer to analyze Org performance.
