[#Blogged] - Salesforce Winter ’21 Release Notes Summary

 It’s here! The Winter ‘21 Release Notes are here, that is! In this crazy year of remote work, Salesforce has managed to bring us rays of joy in their releases, even if that means they don’t happen exactly on the dates we’d all hoped for. Just like I did in the Summer ‘20 release, I’ve gone through the notes to bring you headlines from the upcoming Winter release, so you can take time to plan out and schedule how you’d like to dive in. Below, you will find a long list of features, segmented by general topic. Keep in mind, this is intended for you to read through in the short amount of time you may have, so you can get a glimpse of what’s included, and take note of features you’d like to investigate further, as you have time.  The bullet points and images included are courtesy of the Salesforce Winter ‘21 Release.

General Changes

As usual, Salesforce does include a “general changes” section, which encompasses those that don’t pertain to just one cloud. They’re now offering one place to drive your multi-factor authentication implementation, and a new release for Salesforce Anywhere (as of September). You can also search for Trailhead documentation in the help menu! Take a look at some of the other great general changes being made in this release.

• Drive Your Multi-Factor Authentication Implementation from One Place

• Smarter Natural Language Searches (Beta)

• Salesforce Anywhere: Plan and Accelerate Your Business in Real Time (Beta)

• Add Custom Theme Colors to In-App Guidance

• Search Trailhead from the Help Menu (pictured above)

• Display Survey Pages Based on Your Data

• Check Resource Availability Directly from External Calendars

• Interactively Create Engaging Email Templates

Sales

Salesforce included a good handful of updates for High-Velocity Sales, and I know we’re all celebrating the new, larger email deliverability size! There are also changes to Einstein Opportunity Scoring and it is now easier to assign a territory in Enterprise Territory Management. Check out the Sales Cloud changes below!

• Amp Up Sales Cloud with Voice

• Control Who Can Access Sales Cadences (High Velocity Sales)

• Stay Focused with Session-Long Work Queue Filters (High Velocity Sales)

• Choose Which Number to Dial for Click-to-Call (High Velocity Sales)

• Find Changed Deals at a Glance (pictured above)

• Enjoy Improvements to Einstein Opportunity Scoring

• Get Forecasts on the Go

• Update Opportunity Stages on the Forecasts Page in Lightning Experience

• Enterprise Territory Management: Assign a Territory to a New Opportunity in Fewer Steps

• Einstein Activity Capture: New Connection Options, More Control Over How Data Flows, and a New Email Insight

• Easily Coordinate When to Meet with Insert Availability in Lightning Experience

• Create Larger Emails with New Maximum Size of 35 MB

• Streamline Contacts and Leads with Default Bounce Alerts

Einstein

I’ve decided to break up the Einstein changes into functionality vs. analytics. This section takes a look at the plethora of changes that are happening in Einstein. Don’t let the limited number of bullet points fool you - there are multiple changes across multiple clouds. You can use Einstein Recommendation Builder to deliver personalized recommendations, and utilize the natural language search improvements. Really take some time to dive into these awesome features - you’ll be glad you did!

Populate the Recommended Items Object (1), the Recipient Object (2) and the Interactions Object (3) to utilize the Einstein Recommendation Builder.

• Sales Cloud Einstein: More Control of the Opportunity Scoring Model, Global Models for Lead Scoring, and Big Improvements to Einstein Activity Capture

• Einstein Discovery: Custom Improvements Text, Predict Outcomes in Process Automation Formulas, High Cardinality

• Einstein Bots: Everyone Can Bot with Intro Template, Intent Model Enhancements, and New Permissions

• Einstein Builders: Deliver Personalized Recommendations (Beta), and Show Confidence Range and Top Predictors on Records for Numeric Predictions

• Einstein Vision and Language: Image Recognition and Natural Language Processing

• Einstein Search: Personalization (Generally Available), Easier Setup at the Org Level, Smarter Natural Language Searches (Beta), and Searchable Renamed Objects Using Natural Language Search

Reporting & Einstein Analytics

Although there was not a long list of reporting changes to standard reporting, the one they did release is a big one: you can now automatically add custom fields to custom report types! Whohoo! The Einstein Analytics release changes aren’t too shabby, either - a lot of Beta and Pilot features in this one, including reusable dashboard components, and utilizing your local timezone for your insights. Check these out now!

• Avoid Stale Salesforce Data in Snowflake with Sync Out (Beta)

• Build Calculated Formula Columns with More Functions in Data Prep

• Calculate Dates with Click-Not-Code Date and Time Transformations

• Quickly Calculate Statistics with Aggregate Functions

• Freeze Some Table Columns, Scroll Through the Rest

• Expand or Collapse Grouped Columns Faster

• Add Accuracy to Your Insights with Date and Time Data in Your Local Time Zone (Beta)

• Protect Data in Embedded Dashboards with Locked or Hidden Filters

• Save Time Creating and Managing Dashboards with Reusable Dashboard Components (Pilot)

• Embed Predictions in Your Dataset During Data Prep (Pilot)

• Implement External Models in Your Salesforce Org (Pilot)

• Build Accurate Models Using Random Forest Algorithms (Pilot)

• Jump-Start Story Creation Using Templates

• Auto add fields to Custom Reports Types (Beta) (pictured above)

Services

Just like with Sales Cloud, the Winter Release offers a lot in the way of Service Cloud, as well, for 2021. There is now a faster way to set up the Service Console, and they are now offering (drumroll, please…) a Microsoft Teams integration! Another amazing platform to keep your team connected! I was really impressed with some of the features in Service Cloud for this release, but don’t just take my word for it!

• Service Setup Assistant: Go from Zero to Console in Minutes (pictured above)

• Spend Less Time Setting Up Voice with Improved Setup

• Kick Off Lightning Flows, Processes, and Workflows Based on Voice Call Records

• Work More Efficiently on Voice Call Records with Macros and Quick Actions

• Transfer Callers to the Right Agent with a More Intuitive User Interface

• Get Warnings to Avoid Ending Calls Accidentally

• Facilitate Training with Service Cloud Voice Transcript Monitoring

• Dial Phone Extensions with the Built-In Keypad

• Streamline Bot Responses for Screen Readers

• Knowledge Enhancements for Channels (Including Voice)

• Use Omni-Channel Skills-Based Routing Rules to Route Chats and Messages to Agents with the Right Skills

• Monitor Service Cloud Voice Transcripts in Omni-Channel Supervisor

• Microsoft Teams Integration: Bring Salesforce and Microsoft Teams Together for Service Reps (Pilot)

• Improve Agent Interactions with Prebuilt Flows

Communities

The Community Cloud brings forth a really awesome Build Your Own (LWC) template option in pilot mode for the Winter ‘21 release this year, and as they’re always on top of Guest user abilities, allow you to reduce object permissions, and allow users to authenticate via SMS. Learn more below!

• Manage Your Pages and URLs with the Pages Menu

• Apply Audiences to Record Detail Pages with Record-Based Criteria

• Print Lightning Community Record Details and Lists with Printable View

• Build Fast, Efficient Experiences with the LWC-Based Template (Pilot) (pictured above)

• Reduce Object Permissions for Guest Users

• Let Users Authenticate by SMS

• Customize Notifications for Changing Email Addresses

• Enable Article Sharing for High-Volume Community Users

Field Service

Wait, shouldn’t this be called “Field Service Lightning”? Nope! As part of the Winter ‘21 release, Salesforce has changed the name to be more succinct and efficient. But, that doesn’t mean they left out any great features. Field Service is still the great tool you’ve come to know and love, and with this release, you might even love it just a little bit more.

• Record Product Warranties

• Improve Preventive Maintenance with Advanced Recurrence (Beta) (pictured above)

• Get the Total Price on Service Contract Line Items

• Target Work Priorities Using Service Appointments

• Shape Up with New Tests in Health Check

• Send Meaningful Messages Using Custom Notifications

• Never Miss a Message in Notifications

That wraps it up for Winter ‘21! As you know, there are a lot of other features that are still great, but I just wasn’t able to fit it all in! I look forward to taking advantage of all that Winter ‘21 has to offer soon, and know you’ll be right there with me! 

[#Blogged] - Salesforce Summer’20 Release Notes Breakdown

Great News! The Summer ‘20 Release Notes are here! I don’t know about you, but I get really excited to see what’s been updated in each release cycle. There are so many great features this season, and I couldn’t just list a few. Not many people have time to sit down and comb through 537 pages (wow!) so I did it for you. Below, you will find a long list of features, segmented by general topic.

 

Keep in mind, this is intended for you to read through in the short amount of time you may have, so you can get a glimpse of what’s included, and take note of features you’d like to investigate further, as you have time.  The bullet points and images included are courtesy of the Salesforce Summer '20 Release Notes. 

 

 

General Lightning Changes, Lightning Flow & Lightning App Builder

 

There were a lot of general lightning changes, as well as some interesting Lightning flow and Lightning App Builder changes as well. The Split View for Lists is a big one, as it allows you to navigate much easier without losing your place. Also, Flow Builder had some great improvements, as well as being able to add dynamic actions in the app builder. Don’t forget to check out the Search features as well!

• Work Through Lists with Ease Using Split View for Standard Navigation (pictured above)
• Lightning Experience Engagement: Walkthroughs, In-App Guidance Builder, Prompts
• Salesforce Surveys: Deeper Org Integration and More Tools for the Builder
• Lightning Scheduler: Automatic Resource Assignment, Anonymous Scheduling, Enhanced Scheduling Experience for Global Users, and More
• Search: Find Information Faster and Get the Most Relevant Results
• Flow Builder: Platform Event-Triggered Flows, Record-Triggered Flows That Run After Save, More Debug Options, and System Context for Running Flows
• Lightning Flow Management: Prebuilt Report for Screen Flows, Resource Consumption in Debug Logs, and Flow Error Emails for Platform Events
• Lightning App Builder: Add Dynamic Actions to the Highlights Panel for Custom Objects (Beta)
• General Setup: Record Page Full View Is Generally Available, a New User Profile, and Lightning Page Tab Translation

Sales Cloud

 

Summer ‘20 did not disappoint regarding sales features, either.  There are more Einstein features to assist your sales team by knocking it out of the park, with Einstein Call Coaching, and Lead Scoring with Activity Data. They’ve also included better functionality with Enterprise Territory Management, and improvements with Google and Microsoft integrations.

• High-Velocity Sales: Einstein Call Coaching (pictured above), Engagement Details, and More Sales Cadence Customization
• Get a Cleaner View of Sales Cadence Tasks in the Activity Timeline
• Sales Cloud Einstein: Opportunity Scoring Includes Consistent Labels and Field-Level Security and Lead Scoring Includes Activity Data
• Use a Higher Split Limit to Make Opportunity Splits More Effective
• Set Up Alerts for Big Deals in Lightning Experience
• Enjoy Consistent Field Labels for Opportunity Scores 
• Orders: Enable Orders Without Price Books
• Enterprise Territory Management: More Options for Record Access and Object Labels
• Productivity Features: Email Threading, Tasks to Queues, New Email Insight, and Improved Kanban Views
• Integration with Google: Track Email Setup Changes, Text Shortcut Improvements, and Lightning Sync Setup Available to More Admins
• Integration with Microsoft®: Track Email Setup Changes, Text Shortcut Improvements, Changes for Lightning Sync and Retirement for Salesforce for Outlook

Service Cloud

 

I have to admit - I get really excited about Service Cloud changes. It’s very easy to see a path that Salesforce is paving towards more self-sufficient support reps and more efficiency in general.  They included a host of Field Service Lightning Changes this time, as well as making the customer experience more pleasurable, with a Dynamic Channel menu and improved chat headers. Also, Voice is something we heard about at Dreamforce last year and is starting to appear in this release. That is an awesome feature to keep an eye on!

• Field Service: Enhanced Shift Management, Optimization Insights, Asset Availability, and Confetti
• Voice: Intelligent Telephony Inside the Service Console
• See a Live Channel Menu Preview
• Respond with a Dynamic Channel Menu (pictured above)
• Enhance Conversations with an Improved Chat Header
• Transform Chat Sessions from Start to End
• Add Post-Chat Surveys for Five-Star Service
• Use Salesforce Sharing with Lightning Knowledge (Beta)
• Routing: Status-Based Capacity and Prioritized Additional Skills
• Show Extended Record and Polymorphic Relationships with the Related Record Component

Community Cloud

 

Summer ‘20 has continued to expound upon the Community Cloud, focusing on better organization and security in this release. More personalization, page management and sitemaps are key in helping to make it a better experience. They’ve also made some changes to Guest User security, which is definitely worth checking out. 

• Override Standard Actions in Lightning Communities
• Take Personalization Further with Navigation Menus, Tile Menus, and CMS Collections
• Reset Mission Activity Counts
• Better Manage Your Community Pages (pictured above)
• Generate Sitemaps for Your Community Pages
• Add Dynamic SEO Properties to Content Detail Pages
• Super Customize Your Community with the Revamped Tile Menu
• Get Flexible with the New User Profile Menu Component
• Get More Options for Multi-Level Navigation in Your Community 
• Guest User: Security Policies Enforced
• Security and Sharing: Two-Factor Authentication for External Users, Embedded Login

Einstein

 

Just when you think it doesn’t get any better, it does! The development they’re putting into Einstein is really a game-changer, across multiple clouds. Each of these points spans the course of pages in the release notes, but as you can see below, the functionality included is really changing how we do business. I can’t pick a favourite here - they’re all pretty awesome!

• Use Einstein Voice Assistant on Mobile to Ask Einstein for Record Info, Update Records, and Give Feedback (Beta)
• Einstein Search: Clearer Setup Process, Natural Language Search Examples, and Better Recommended Results on the Salesforce Mobile App (Beta) 
• Salesforce Einstein: Better Results in Einstein Search, Detect Text in Images with Einstein OCR, and Better Predictions with More Algorithms and Data in Einstein Discovery
• Einstein for Service: Reply Recommendations (pictured above), Multi-Language Article Recommendations, Enhanced Bot Event Logs, and Facebook Messenger for Bots
• Einstein Discovery: Tree-Based Modeling Types, Random Forest Models (Pilot), and Increased Row Limits 
• Einstein Voice Assistant: Pre-Built Skill Sets, Voice Skill Enhancements, and In-App Feedback (Beta)
• Einstein Prediction Builder: Define Your Prediction Set, Run Reports, and Enable Predictions from the Scorecard 
• Einstein Platform Services: Image Recognition and Natural Language Processing

Analytics

 

Salesforce also included some small - but mighty - changes for analytics in general, as well. Although in Beta, you can now (or will be able to soon) attach .csv files to report subscriptions, which is a big help if you pass reports through different departments for tasks like data cleansing, for example. And, you can now build reports on Price Book Entries and use unique fields in row-level formulas.

• Filter Knowledge Reports by Category 
• Attach .csv Files to Report Subscriptions (Beta) (pictured above)
• Enable Enhanced Folder Sharing (Update)
• Work with up to 5 Unique Fields in Report Row-Level Formulas
• Build Reports Based on Price Book Entries

Mobile

 

As we saw in late 2019, they did a huge revamp of the Mobile app, which was very much needed and appreciated! The Summer ‘20 release continues to expound upon that with tying in some of the Einstein Voice functionality we’ve discussed above, and generally better organization with reordering navigation menu items. It is also worth mentioning the Mobile Activity Reminders (Pilot), as well. 

• Salesforce Mobile App Requirements Have Changed 
• Retiring Salesforce Mobile Web Browser Experience
• Access All Lists on Android Object Home Pages
• Clear Your Cache Anytime on Android 
• Reorder Navigation Menu Items for Lightning Apps
• Keep Your Reps on Time and on Task with Mobile Activity Reminders (Pilot)
• Protect Your Data with Enhanced Mobile Security Updates
• Einstein Voice Assistant: Pre-Built Skill Sets, Voice Skill Enhancements (pictured above), and In-App Feedback (Beta)
• Notifications: Notification Builder Platform and More Push Notifications
• Switch Between Testing Modes with the Publisher Playground App (Beta)

Critical/Security Updates & Security-Related Features

 

Salesforce continues to take Security very seriously and has added a host of ways to increase security measures in Summer ‘20. Although not as much of a security issue, I did tie in a great feature in Beta for reviewing org changes with release updates. I can say from experience, that admins and developers are cheering out loud for this one. They’ve also enhanced two-factor authentication and increased security with salesforce sites. Safety is the name of the game - check out how to keep your org safe with some of these features below. 

• Review Important Org Changes with Release Updates (Beta) (pictured above)
• Authentication and Identity: Enhanced Two-Factor Authentication, Federation IDs, and Delegated Authentication Enablement
• Domains: OCSP Stapling, Salesforce Edge, and Shorter URLs
• Platform Encryption: Scratch Org Features for Testing, and Goodbye to Blocked Events 
• Event Monitoring: General Availability of Threat Detection Real-Time Events, Transaction Security Support for Threat Detection Events, Legacy Transaction Security Retiring
• Store a New Contact Point and Customer Consent Information
• Customize and Store-More Customer Consent Channels
• Improve the Accuracy of Consent API Calls
• Other Security Changes: Private Connect (Generally Available), Stricter Security with Salesforce Sites, and Stronger Algorithms with Apex Crypto Class 

Whew! That was a lot! Clearly, this is not every listed feature in the release notes, and I encourage you to explore chunks of the notes in the official release as you feel they may pertain to you. Also, a reminder we’re all familiar with - nothing is official until it is actually released, so it’s best to not base purchasing decisions on what you read here. But, I still encourage you to get excited! I know I’m looking forward to implementing some of these changes soon, and can’t wait until a few weeks from now for the official release!