TrailblazerDX (TDX) is my favorite Salesforce event of the year not only because when I started with Salesforce back in 2013 my first role was as a Platform Specialist, but also because it is the Salesforce event where the rubber meets the road. TDX is for Administrators and Developers, you know, the people who actually have to make it all work.
When you attend the various sessions at TDX, you don’t see marketecture on the screens, you see code. You see step-by-step instructions on how to do something or very technical explanations for the reason why something is the way that it is. You also get to hear straight up, what is good and what is not so good.
Now that I am at AAXIS and a member of the ecosystem, TDX is a great barometer of the current state of the Salesforce universe. With that in mind, here is my 3 big takeaways coming out of TDX 2024:
GenAI Everything – Everyone gets that GenAI is going to be as big or bigger than the internet, but not everything has to be about GenAI. Needless to say that it was impossible to walk 5 feet at TDX without seeing some sort of AI messaging, but true to form, TDX was not really about the messaging Salesforce wanted to deliver. It was about the conversations devs and admins wanted to have. It was the conversation taking place in the halls, in the queues and across the lunch tables. What was that conversation about, “How do I pick the right model for my use case?” Trailblazers of all stripes wanted to learn how their peers are tackling this challenge. This question resulted in lots of great discussions! In short, everyone is still trying to figure it out.
DevOps Center – Anyone who has ever dealt with change sets joined in a collective cheer during the sessions (from both Salesforce and partners) focused on the investment that Salesforce is making in this free solution to bolster source driven development. Certainly not perfect, and not quite on par with third party options (yet), DevOps Center is definitely a step in the right direction.
True to the Core – If there is a fan favorite (outside of the characters) it has to be this session. For those new to the Salesforce world, True to the Core is where customers have the opportunity to provide Salesforce Execs, Product Management, and Development with some very candid feedback on virtually any topic they want. This year’s TDX 2024 session did not disappoint. From requests for more OmniScripts product coverage to challenging Salesforce to continue pushing D&I, gender pay equality and ESG initiatives even though such topics have seen a noticeable decline in the broader marketplace, the topics raised truly spanned the spectrum. While some requests are harder to deliver on than others, when it comes to product stuff, Salesforce does listen, as evidenced by a number of improvements to LWCs and Flows, so when you see a good idea out there be sure to pile on and vote it up!
There is no question that AI is here to stay. Salesforce is investing heavily not only in tooling across the portfolio, but also in creating a trust layer that ensures GenAI is well grounded and applicable for enterprise use cases. Even though AI was everywhere, it was good to see that TrailblazerDX is also still well grounded in its roots, Administrators and Developers.
Full disclosure, I still hold my Administrator Certification so I may be a bit biased.
