We built Geopointe because we wanted geolocation on the Salesforce platform, and we knew others would want it too. Recently, Salesforce notified customers about some mapping features coming in the Spring ’15 release. The notice allows customers to opt-out, but has also served as an off-cycle announcement of features to come.
Geolocation should be part of CRM
We could not be more excited to see Salesforce investing further in geolocation features. We won’t know all the details until the release notes are available, but what we glean from the notice is that some fundamental mapping capabilities will now be part of the Salesforce platform. Standard address fields will include a map displayed along with the address. Auto-completion in Salesforce1 will help standardize address data. Visualforce will include a component allowing developers to display maps of records.
Basic geo capabilities like these belong at a platform level. Salesforce recognizes this, and is putting effort into making them a part of the platform. Location based features began several releases back with the introduction of the geolocation field type. The Spring 15 release takes it a step further and we’ll see what happens after that.
What should I do with the notice?
We encourage all Geopointe customers to opt in to the new mapping features for Spring ’15. These features will be complementary to anything we offer. As we learn more about the direction Salesforce is going, Geopointe will adapt to take advantage of everything the platform offers. That’s what we do today and what we’ll keep doing as the entire Salesforce platform matures.
What does the future hold?
Salesforce is a platform company, not a mapping company. The breadth of possibilities when applying data to maps is endless. Geopointe will continue provide a comprehensive solution in support of all the various customer use cases we hear about. Any changes that Salesforce makes to the core platform will only strengthen the foundation of what we offer. We’ll leverage all the platform capabilities, as we go forward and innovate in the application of location to CRM.
