In this section, you will learn about the concept of an org, find out where it comes from, and discover the types of orgs used by Salesforce. Did you know that there is something called the lifecycle of an org? No? Well, you are about to find out. In the end, I’ll provide you with best practices that will save you from many, many questions from your users and other administrators.
As you probably already know, Salesforce has its own universe – its structure and even its language are tailored to it, and believe me, Salesforce sounds best in English. But, getting to the point, many times when you have spoken, are speaking, or will be speaking to people working within this ecosystem, you will hear phrases such as “in my org” or “but my client’s org is truly a work of art.” You might be wondering what this whole “org” really means.
Well, “org” is short for “organization.” But do not equate it with a regular company or organization as we know it in our daily lives. Salesforce uses “org” to denote a unique environment centered on a set of data, its users, and its configured functionalities.
In the Dark Side of the Moon Hotel, there are rooms. These are our orgs, and they can have different standards, different curtains, double or single beds, among other differences (one of them has Vlad in it, remember!). Similarly, orgs are housed on Salesforce servers, with each serving as a distinct system holding its tenant’s data.
Each org is an independent ecosystem where administrators and users operate. They log in to it day after day, working without hindering users of another org on Salesforce. Within this enclosed space, the people responsible tailor the system to their needs, creating processes and objects, analyzing data, and connecting it to other external systems.
So, remember – an org is not just an organization. An org is a unique environment tailored to a company’s needs, where records, configurations, or custom solutions are stored.
Remember how I described the several types of rooms in our hotel? Double or single beds, a jacuzzi on the terrace, or maybe just a shower? Each room varies in its amenities. The same applies to orgs.
We have several types of orgs that cater to various needs throughout the life cycle of an application or configuration. By getting to know these types, you will learn how to effectively manage and deploy solutions in Salesforce:
- Production org: This is the primary environment where administrators log in, but also users who deal with Opportunities, convert leads, or create reports. It contains real data and business processes. If you delete a field from a Contact, the change will be immediately visible.
- Sandboxes or test orgs: Perhaps you’re familiar with Star Wars: The Clone Wars? It works similarly here – we clone our org. These are clones of the production environment primarily used for testing and further system development. Salesforce offers several types of sandboxes:
- Developer sandbox: This environment is for minor changes. It only contains metadata from the production org.
- Developer Pro sandbox: Essentially, a more advanced version of the previous type. What is the difference? Simply, it provides more storage space for data.
- Partial Data sandbox: This is a sandbox for special tasks. It contains metadata and a subset of data from the production org. It is perfect for testing.
- Full Copy sandbox: This one is a powerhouse. It is a complete copy of the production org. It includes all data, metadata, configurations, and development. It is best suited for integration tests.
- Developer org: This environment is utilized by developers. They test their solutions here. This environment allows for the creation and testing of new solutions. They are not tied to the production org and are a separate environment containing so-called dummy data or fictitious data. Developer org was mentioned in the first chapter, in the Setting up your Salesforce account section.
- Partner org: This environment is accessible to Salesforce partners. Such a partner can request an org that will be available to them, including for testing. Salesforce partners can request multiple such environments with different clouds.