A Quick and Simple Guide to ISV Technical Resources at Salesforce
Having been a part of the AppExchange for over three years now, I’ve had a chance to work, laugh and wear silly hats with the talented, fun and ever technology-hungry ISV Technical Enablement Team (like my friend Stu Bernstein featured above). Among the many resources available to partners in the Salesforce ecosystem (and what I believe to be one of the most important resources for ISV partners) is the ISV Technical Enablement team — a team of Technical Evangelists (TEs), or Salesforce technologists and experts, that help ISVs build, develop, and distribute enterprise- grade applications in the Salesforce ecosystem.
But don’t take my word for it. We asked ISV partners who work with TEs about their experience. “The [ISV Technical Enablement] team empowers us to think forward, driving us to adopt new Salesforce technology. This has allowed us to be ahead of the curve and accelerate our focus on new Salesforce products, like Wave, Communities, Einstein, and more,” shares one partner
Here’s a quick guide to your technical resources as an ISV, so you can be as forward thinking and ahead of the curve.
What does the ISV Technical Enablement team do?
The ISV Technical Enablement (TE) team’s mission is to inspire and create a thriving, dynamic and growing ecosystem, filled with exciting new apps and technology showcasing the capabilities of the Salesforce platform. To accomplish this goal, TEs help ISVs launch new applications and build successful businesses on the AppExchange through 1:1 relationships and 1:many evangelism.
Members of the TE team also serve as the voice of the ecosystem internally, working with the Salesforce platform product organization to drive the roadmap, as well as help launch new products and technologies into the ecosystem.
“TEs are your gateway to all the knowledge of the technical resources Salesforce has. They won’t have an answer to every question, but they will help you find the right place or person,” shares Neil Crawford, Co-Founder of NC Squared.
What are their areas of expertise?
In order to ensure the team has technical expertise across the full breadth of the platform, each TE participates in one to two ‘Expert Areas’ of the Salesforce platform. As such, different TEs may have partner-facing conversations based on their area of expertise. TEs are also responsible for creating partner-facing content regarding their area for each ISV Release Readiness webinar, and often present to the global TE team to inform, train, and share their specific expertise with the whole team. All of this knowledge and content is published to the partner community through blogs, content pages, webinars, and specific Chatter groups.
How else do they assist ISVs?
The TE team plays the critical role of evangelizing ISVs and the AppExchange internally, aggregating feedback from the ISVs out in the field to provide top issues and enhancements to the Salesforce product organization. As the voice of Salesforce ISVs, the TE team has a critical mission to help raise awareness of any issues and drive the Salesforce roadmap to better support ISVs.
“Prior to submitting a package, the TE provided reviews of our documentation, addressed questions, and validated everything was completed properly to minimize rejection and/or incompletion of documentation,” says Roya Azima, VP of Product Management at CallidusCloud.
How do ISVs get started with the TE team?
There are a number of ways to get involved. Start with these steps.
1. Take the Platform Trailhead modules, starting with Salesforce Platform Basics. Complete all ISV Trailhead modules.
2. Check out the ISVforce Guide for information on packaging, licensing, upgrading, trialling, and distributing your application.
3. Join the AppExchange & ISV Technical Enablement Chatter Group to collaborate with the ISV TE team and the greater technical ISV community.
4. Check out AppExchange & ISV Virtual Circles of Success to learn specific topic areas, ask questions, and learn best practices straight from the experts — and surrounded by other partners just like you.
If you have a TE, what do you do next?
Jaako Pellosniemi, Founder of Fingertip recommends, “”Share all your concerns and ambitions openly with your TE. He or she has a unique, independent and transparent position to think in your best interest.”
In addition to having your burning questions answered, take that next step and stay informed. Set up alerts to stay current on all urgent and prioritized communications as it relates to possible changes or impacts to your application. Join the ISV Technical Enablement Monthly Webinar to hear directly from TEs about the focus on new Salesforce technologies, ISV Release Readiness content, and architectural best practices.
