Salesforce is a platform that is still a market niche in Poland, although it is gaining huge popularity among foreign companies. It is also a leader among CRM solutions, and the company itself was founded in 1999 and already employs thousands of employees, the income generates millions of dollars. Every year, there are more and more companies that decide to use applications created on this particular platform. The main slogan of Salesforce is “no software”. The platform runs in the cloud, websites are actually applications, so you need internet access and a browser to use the platform. The entire application code is accumulated on Salesforce servers, the actions are also fully processed there, and the user in response receives a regular page, which I load very efficiently. Thanks to this, the applications are very universal, they work on various devices, browsers and operating systems. The new interface allows developers to easily create websites adapting to the dimensions of the tablet or smartphone screen. The creation of the applications themselves can be done using only the web browser.

The least complicated applications can be created with just clicks, i.e .:

• create a data structure
•  secure this data appropriately
•  create a relationship between objects
•  build pages, displaying both single and multiple records
•  generate reports
•  define business processes

Salesforce provides a whole range of ready-made mechanisms that fully meet the business requirements of customers. Some limitations resulting from the old solutions are compensated by the speed of their implementation. The platform will meet even non-standard customer needs using only the browser, providing the Developer Console which offers several possibilities:

• creating and editing pages, classes, components
• application debugging
• running unit tests
• generating database queries
• code coverage check

In summary, the entire application can be created on the development console without even having any programming tools, but the fact is that in order to create an application easier and faster, it is worth using such tools. This is where Salesforce comes to the rescue by providing the Force.com plugin for the Eclipse environment. By connecting with API Salesforce and I give the same possibility as Developer Console, but in a more accessible form. Unfortunately, even though it is the official version, it contained bugs from the very beginning and is no longer supported. Salesforce does not suggest any official programming environment, instead there are such solutions:

• Mavensmate plug-in for Sublime Text editor (paid after trial period) and
• Illuminated Cloud plug-in for IntelliJ Idea environment (paid after trial period)

each of the mentioned plugins is perfectly sufficient for creating full-fledged cloud applications. There aren’t many options when browsing the database, but the recommended program is Real Force Explorer, although not every version works with the latest Salesforce edition. New versions of Salesforce appear three times a year, and their names are given from the season in which they were published, each with its own logo related to the period in which it appeared. The frequency with which they appear is both a curse and a developer salvation. Newly introduced mechanisms usually make it easier to build an application and make it work more efficiently. On the other hand, there are errors, it can be assumed that after the next version, the new functionality made available will be safe for use, but all possible shortcomings can be reported in a special portal. There, too, ideas for new features and improvements are introduced.

Contrary to its name, Salesforce is not only for promoting sales, but it is completely universal. By using standard mechanisms and building your own, non-standard ones, the applications generally have unlimited possibilities and scope of operation. Salesforce’s clients include various industries, such as logistics, cosmetics or pharmaceutical companies, generally in every company, whether large or small, it will find applications that improve the current management of entire processes. Combining this with low licensing costs and companies that create applications in the cloud makes Salesforce the perfect choice when it comes to CRM. The platform is not completely free from some shortcomings, but overall it is perfect for managing data and business processes, and considering the ease of application development, general use and multiple updates, it is no wonder that its popularity continues to grow.