CRT-450 resources - Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I Updated: 2023

Salesforce, the leading AI CRM platform, has joined forces with the Ministry of Education in India to revolutionize education through Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform. This strategic collaboration aims to equip 100,000 students in India with Salesforce skills by 2026, fostering a new wave of talent in the Salesforce ecosystem.

In alignment with global objectives outlined by IDC, which predicts the creation of 11.6 million jobs and $2.02 trillion in business revenues in the Salesforce economy between 2022 and 2028, Salesforce is actively engaging with academia in India. The primary focus is to bolster the availability of skilled talent through a comprehensive program that combines industry-relevant content, “train-the-trainer” initiatives, mentorship, employment connections, and Salesforce-supported virtual internships.

The collaboration emphasizes the creation of National Occupation Standard-recognized course content, ensuring that the learning modules align with industry standards. The program extends beyond conventional education, incorporating mentorship opportunities, connections to potential employers, and practical virtual internships supported by Salesforce. The content on Trailhead will be customized based on the specific requirements of programs established by the Ministry of Education, affiliated departments, organizations, and agencies.

“India’s race toward technological dominance is inextricably intertwined with the depth of its talent pool, digital adoption and the scope of technological innovation with a long-term focus on global reach. Talent is at the core of this journey, and with over 500,000 software engineers and technologists graduating each year, India is posed to be a global hub for tech talent. I’ve always believed in the immense talent opportunity that India offers, but no amount of talent will make a difference unless it is properly skilled. Hence, we are delighted to be partnering with the Ministry of Education, supporting skilling and leveraging the power of collaboration to drive change,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO and Chairperson, of Salesforce India.

“The Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education has decided to offer industry-related courses on the SWAYAM platform in collaboration with Salesforce with an objective to increase the employability of the students. By combining our resources, expertise, and network, we can create a comprehensive program that empowers students with the skills they need to succeed in the job market. I believe that this collaboration will not only benefit individual students but also contribute to the overall growth of any person participating in these courses,” said Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.

The collaboration is bridging the gap between education and industry needs, Salesforce’s collaboration with the Ministry of Education marks a significant step towards empowering the next generation of Trailblazers in India. The initiative not only aims to skill 100,000 students but also contributes to the broader global vision of a thriving Salesforce economy driven by artificial intelligence. This comprehensive approach ensures that learners receive practical, industry-relevant training, laying the foundation for a skilled and dynamic workforce in the years to come.

With so many companies out there, it can be tough to nail down the best Salesforce alternative for your business. To find the right one for you, consider your goals, budget and must-have features. Additionally, consider user reviews and review articles to get a fuller picture of what the CRM software is like. We also suggest asking friends or colleagues from other companies to see what they use for their business and if they recommend it.

Essential Features

You may have certain CRM features or integrations in mind that are necessary for your business to run smoothly. If so, be sure to write them out and reference them during your search. Consult your team and other relevant stakeholders to review the list and add to it, if applicable.

• Automation tools: Your CRM software should be a central hub for finding leads, turning leads into customers, and relating with them to build customer retention. That means you need a CRM with automation features for lead management, contact management, sales forecasting, sales completion, project management, pipeline management and even email marketing.
• Reporting and analytics: Your business requires a CRM that provides in-depth and easy-to-understand CRM analytics. The data and reports you’ll get will guide your teams to develop and maintain the marketing and customer relationship strategies they need to achieve better and faster results.
• Integration capability: Ensure the CRM you’re considering enables integration with third-party apps. That’s because you’ll need CRM integration with customer data platforms, marketing software, VoIP services, email marketing software, scheduling tools such as Calendly and Doodle, and others to relate with your customers appropriately and from one place.
• Mobile accessibility: You need a CRM that provides access to CRM features even when you’re away from your desktop. That means accessing essential customer data and insights, staying on top of relevant information and initiating or completing necessary customer relationship tasks—on your Android or iOS devices with easy navigation.
• Customization options: Choose a CRM platform that allows you to customize the app to suit your business operations. You should be able to select dashboard elements, customize workflows, personalize communications and customize your package via multiple pricing plan options or add-on availability. Even better is a CRM that enables application programming interfaces (APIs) for enhanced CRM software configuration.
• Robust data security: Ensure your chosen CRM can secure customer data. Security features to look out for are encryption, two-factor authentication and advanced user permissions.

Goals

Aligning with your team is the first step you should take when looking for a Salesforce alternative. Understand what they need or don’t need in a CRM and ask if there are any pain points with Salesforce in particular.

Measure these against your business’s priorities. Review past reports to identify gaps or areas of improvement, and make sure that a CRM can help you reach your goals. For example, if you find that your customer satisfaction score (CSAT) numbers were lower than expected, a CRM can help you streamline your customer support management to provide better service.

Pricing and Budget

CRM providers vary in price. Companies such as Freshsales CRM and monday.com offer free versions, but you’ll need to pay something per month or year to get their premium features or add as many users as required. Generally, CRM pricing ranges from a few dollars per user to hundreds per month. It all depends on your needs. However, consider factors such as a CRM’s per-user per-month rates and whether discounts are available for bulk subscriptions.

Also, check for the need for specific contracts, add-ons or integration capabilities. For instance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables software integration only when you pay for its add-on feature. So, consider each CRM’s pricing peculiarity and nail down your budget ahead of time to make your search easier.

Ease of Use and Support

You need a CRM that is easy to set up and navigate. So, choose one with user-friendly layouts that allow you to create tasks, import and export data and update information. Also, ensure the CRM supports its users via various channels, including phone, live chat and email. Other popular support channels to look out for are tickets, user forums and resources such as webinars, tutorials, live demos and a rich knowledge base of answers to FAQs, infographics and videos. A CRM software that is easy to use will help you enjoy CRM benefits, and a reliable support team will make sure you don’t miss out on those benefits due to glitches.

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Businesses must successfully convert leads and manage and grow customer relationships to succeed. Salesforce CRM features myriad customization options to achieve these goals, empowering businesses of all sizes – and across various industries – to better understand and support prospects and customers. You can adapt nearly every aspect of the software’s interface and performance to help sales, marketing, customer service and technical support teams succeed. Salesforce CRM features thousands of fully integrated apps, plug-in scripts, and a superior API interface to help businesses create a flexible, customized solution. Once implemented, you’ll enjoy a beautifully designed product that’s speedy, powerful, and perfectly tailored to your company’s specific needs and processes.

Salesforce collaborated with the Ministry of Education in India leveraging Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, to skill 1,00,000 students in the next three years (by 2026). This collaboration focuses on making Salesforce skills accessible to next generation Trailblazers and creating new talent in the Salesforce ecosystem.

According to IDC, the global Salesforce economy, powered by AI, will create a net gain of 11.6M jobs and $2.02T in business revenues between 2022 and 2028. In alignment with these global objectives, Salesforce is actively collaborating with academia in India to enhance the availability of skilled talent.

The program will be made available with industry-relevant, National Occupation Standard, recognized course content. This includes “train-the-trainer” engagements for the educators, mentorship and employment connections to Salesforce partners and customers looking to hire Salesforce skilled talent and Salesforce supported Virtual Internship. Modules will be customized on Trailhead based on requirements of the programs through the Ministry of Education, affiliated departments, organizations and agencies so that the learners can benefit from these programs.

Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO and Chairperson, Salesforce India, said, “India’s race toward technological dominance is inextricably intertwined with the depth of its talent pool, digital adoption and the scope of technological innovation with a long-term focus on global reach. Talent is at the core of this journey, and with over 500,000 software engineers and technologists graduating each year, India is posed to be a global hub for tech talent. I’ve always believed in the immense talent opportunity that India offers, but no amount of talent will make a difference unless it is properly skilled. Hence, we are delighted to be partnering with the Ministry of Education, supporting skilling and leveraging the power of collaboration to drive change.”   

Mr Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, said, “The Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education has decided to offer industry-related courses on the SWAYAM platform in collaboration with Salesforce with an objective to increase the employability of the students. By combining our resources, expertise, and network, we can create a comprehensive program that empowers students with the skills they need to succeed in the job market. I believe that this collaboration will not only benefit individual students but also contribute to the overall growth of any person participating in these courses.”

Genentech, Tesla, Cruise, Salesforce, Kaiser Permanente, Chronicle Books, Minted, CamelBak, Bold Insight, InterVenn Biosciences, San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and The Hartford were all there.

“When our students talk face-to-face with smart, energetic young alums from top companies, career dreams become career realities,” said Stephanie Belfiore, assistant director of employer relationships at the Career Services Center.

Students Learn

Gurshan Singh ’27, a computer science major, met with Salesforce, Tesla, and Cruise. “I hope to work in a field that gets me to the front end of stuff since my background is in design,” he said. “I enjoy trying to make something that looks nice and something that people can connect with.”

Lilliah Aaliyah ’23, an entrepreneurship and innovation major who met with Salesforce and Cruise, said she wants to work in business relations or operations. For her, the highlight of the event was hearing “tricks and tips on how to get these jobs.” 

Chloe Ramirez ’24, a computer science major who met with CamelBak and Bold Insight, said she’s interested in machine learning, augmented reality, virtualization technology, “and the interactive/creative side of tech. Meeting people who have gone to this school makes me feel hopeful to be in that same position.”

Yazan Tadros ’24, a business management major who also met with Salesforce, Tesla, and Cruise, said, “I’m most excited about possibly getting a business development and marketing job. This event felt casual and comfortable and enabled me to be myself.”

Alumni Advise

Three USF graduates who represented their employers at the event gave this advice to students:

“Network!” said Natalia Clarke ’20, the social media manager at Minted. “Network as much as you can. Connect with people on LinkedIn; send out as many messages as you can, just to get exposure to the people that you’re talking to.”

Lauren Quiring ’22, who works in event marketing at Cruise, said, “My advice would be to constantly raise your hand for things and put yourself in front of future employers.”

Emilio Ashley ’22, associate people development partner at Tesla, said, “Utilize your resources on campus. You’ve got career coaches, counselors, and professors who have backgrounds in the field you want to work in. These people are there at your fingertips. They’re there to help you.”

Alumni Identify the USF Difference

Asked what sets USF students apart from other job seekers, Emilio Ashley ’22 said, “At USF, you are literally in the hub of opportunity, and companies like that because you’re familiar with the culture, you’re in a diverse setting, and you value different perspectives — that puts you ahead of the game.”

Natalia Clarke ’20 said what sets USF students apart “is how much they want to make a difference in the world. That’s super unique.”

Catherine Rivera ’24 contributed reporting to this story

via Shutterstock

Data has long been vital to the success of business initiatives. However, with the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI) data has become even more important. Salesforce, a leading cloud-based CRM platform, in collaboration with Tableau, released its inaugural State of Data and Analytic report.

One of the roadblocks in realizing the full potential of AI is to manage and leverage data for business needs. According to Salesforce Chief Data Officer Wendy Batchelder, “The AI revolution is actually a data revolution, and a company’s AI strategy is only as strong as its data strategy, with trust at its core.” 

The Salesforce report was compiled by surveying over 11,000 information technology, analytics, and line-of-business leaders across 18 countries to discover how businesses are navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape. 

A Strong Data Foundation Fuels AI

Advances in AI are moving fast, and data management teams are feeling the pressure to supply algorithms and high-quality data. Almost 9 in 10 (87 percent) of IT and analytics leaders believe that the rise of AI makes data management a higher priority.

Over nine in 10 (91 percent) business leaders say generative AI would benefit their organization, however, they are concerned about their organization’s ability to capture generative AI value. Early adopters of generative AI are already seeing positive results such as improvement in customer satisfaction. It’s not surprising that the early success of some organizations has resulted in over three-quarters of business leaders (77 percent) fearing their company is missing out on generative AI’s benefits. 

According to the report, a major roadblock to deriving maximum value for generative AI is the lack of a united data strategy that integrates generative AI into the existing tech stack. Eighty-six percent of respondents believed the AI outputs are only as good as the data inputs. There are also some ethical concerns about the use of AI and uncertainty about generative AI bias that can potentially lead to inaccurate results. 

The report highlights the importance of data maturity as a sign of AI preparedness. Organizations that have higher data maturity have a more positive assessment of their organization’s data quality, technology infrastructure, and AI strategy. 

(Kostyantyn Skuridin/Shutterstock)

Data’s Full Potential Remains Elusive

While business leaders realize that data is the key to getting AI benefits, there is significant misalignment between data strategy and business goals. According to the report, many line-of-business leaders (41 percent) believe that their data strategy has either partial or no alignment with business objectives. Similarly, 37 percent of analytics and IT leaders also see room for improvement. 

The core reasons for this disconnect include the lack of shared KPIs across teams, dealing with overwhelming volumes of data, and security threats. Technical and line-of-business leaders are concerned that integrating new data sources could increase security vulnerabilities. 

The lack of data visibility could be a reason why business leaders are concerned about security threats. Nearly half (45 percent) of analytics and IT leaders say that they have partial or no visibility on how data is used within their organization. 

The teams closest to data, including the analytics and IT teams, have the highest confidence (57 percent) in data quality. This shows an opportunity to instill data confidence across other teams including marketing, sales, and service teams.

The Road to Data and AI Success is Winding

Building confidence in data accuracy is more than just a technical fix – it requires a shift in mindset. There needs to be a collective change in behaviors and beliefs about the importance of data. The good news is that analytics and IT leaders are taking action. Nearly eight in ten analytics and IT leaders plan to increase the budget for data training and development. 

The findings of the report show that data governance can play a key role in buying data trustworthiness with 85 percent of analytics and IT leaders using data governance to quantify and Improve data quality.

“Managing data is the most important action a business can take to successfully implement generative AI,” said Batchelder. “To effectively manage data, leaders must use data governance strategically and invest in a strong culture now more than ever.” 

The report indicates that analytics and IT leaders lean on cloud solutions to mitigate data gravity, which refers to the concept that data has mass as the mass grows larger it pulls additional resources making it more challenging and expensive to manage that data. 

Analytics and IT leaders are relying on better infrastructure (44 percent), using multiple cloud providers (41 percent), and employing decentralized or distributed data storage solutions (40 percent) to mitigate the threats of data gravity. 

Looking ahead, companies need to overcome several hurdles to unlock the full potential of AI. The Salesforce report indicates that business leaders are aware of the key challenges and understand what tools can help them succeed in leveraging the power of AI technology. 

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