Better Together The AppExchange More than just a place where apps can be bought and sold, the Salesforce AppExchange is at the center of an ecosystem built around the Salesforce Platform. The newly established Salesforce AppExchange Partner Program and Salesforce Platform Fund accelerate the virtuous cycle of best-in-breed app development. If you don’t already know what you’re looking for to suit your needs, you may be overwhelmed by the more than 3,000 apps available to choose from. Exploring the AppExchange is a part of your Salesforce journey, so here are some tips for how you can take advantage of it. Build better apps. Be mindful of platform compatibility. Developers can choose among hundreds Many of the products on the of free applications that are distributed AppExchange work out-of-the-box, as unmanaged packages. With full but know that setup isn’t always as access to source code, you can modify straightforward if you have a highly or extend apps as needed, instead of customized Salesforce org. Understand building them from scratch. You can also what you’re investing in, and be sure augment Salesforce or create new components are compatible with what applications with Lightning components, you already have. using the Lightning App Builder. Reinforce adoption. Know your requirements. Salesforce evangelists within a Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) company, such as administrators or and Salesforce have their own annual IT, can look to the AppExchange for release schedules that present new solutions that extend and reinforce possibilities and add new capabilities. company-wide platform adoption. See It’s helpful to have a trusted consulting what products are available to improve partner who can identify the best-in- employee experience and encourage class solutions that are the right fit for employees to stay in the platform. your company’s platform requirements The AppExchange is useful as a first and who knows which capabilities to stop to see what could help. seek out for specific use cases. The State of Salesforce The AppExchange 57