The Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release promises to bring many exciting new changes, upgrades and updates. Nearly every aspect of the wildly popular cloud-computing platform is changed or updated in some way. That being said, users will not be overwhelmed by the changes. They are just subtle enough to bring much-needed improvements without drastically changing the overall design and flow of the platform. According to the official release page, there are more than 150 new features. To get a better idea about what to expect, an overview of the most important updates, changes and new features is provided below.

Dashboard Filters

The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com now features dashboard filters. This feature allows you to add easy-to-change filters to the dashboard. When a change is made, it is applied to every single dashboard component.

Data.com

In the latest version of Salesforce.com, Jigsaw becomes Data.com. More has changed than just the name, though. One of the most notable and exciting changes concerns Dun & Bradstreet information, which is now contained within Data.com. Thanks to that addition, Data.com offers superior account information and contact data, which makes it a more robust feature all around. The new version also works to keep track of company and contacts’ social accounts, which will enhance the other social media features of Salesforce.com.

Chatter Messages

Chatter messages allow users to send private messages through Chatter. This will come in handy in situations when it’s not appropriate or necessary to initiate contact with the entire company or team at one time. It also allows users to see when another person is logged into Salesforce.com.

Chatter Approvals

In the Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com, it is now possible to manage approvals through a user’s Chatter feed. This should enhance productivity and largely eliminate the need to switch between various screens.

Social Contacts

When viewing a contact’s record, information from their Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook feeds will also appear. This information will only be displayed, of course, when a contact’s usernames for such services are known. Thanks to the upgrade of Data.com, however, it will be easier than ever to keep such information current.

Updated Reports Tab

The Reports tab has been given a major facelift in the latest version of Salesforce.com. For the Winter ’12 release, it puts Dashboards and Reports in a single place, which makes it a lot easier to run them when they are needed. If you have many different dashboards and reports, you will appreciate the addition of an enhanced search function. This function allows you to track down precisely what you need a lot more quickly and efficiently.

Customer Interaction in Private Chatter Groups

It is now possible to invite customers and partners to join you in private Chatter groups through Salesforce.com. These private, secure groups are great places to exchange ideas and to perform a multitude of different tasks. Depending on the situation, such groups could be used to share messages, posts, files and other information. There is a great deal of control involved in inviting customers into these groups, so there is no risk of allowing the wrong people in.

Visualforce Charting

The addition of pre-built components for charts and reports dramatically streamlines and enhances the Visualforce process. They no long have to be built from the ground up, which is sure to save you a lot of time and effort. This update makes sense because many people create large numbers of very similar reports and charts.

Sharing Chatter Files

The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com allows you to share Chatter files with anyone. They do not have to be on Chatter. This is accomplished through the creation of an encrypted URL. The URL can then be shared via email or instant message. Many people are sure to get a great deal of use out of this new feature.

Upload and Share Files Simultaneously

It’s now possible to kill two birds with one stone when uploading and sharing files. The latest version of Salesforce.com allows you to share and upload files at the same time. When you are ready to upload a file, you can also elect to share it with certain people or groups. There is no longer a need to go back and perform this in two separate steps.

Redesigned Chatter Desktop

The ability to use Chatter through the desktop has proven to be quite popular. The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com improves upon the last design. The interface has been redesigned to make it easier and more intuitive to use than ever.

Chatter Feed Enhancements

Several exciting updates have been made to the Chatter feed. It is now possible to “like” comments that are made by others. This not only lets the person know that you “like” their comment, but it allows you to receive updates from the thread in question. This update is quite similar to the “like” function that has been available on Facebook for some time.

It is now also possible to share and play YouTube videos on the Chatter feed. Once a video has been posted, it does not automatically play. The user must click on the video to play it. This is an important point because some people may not want videos to start playing at random.

Salesforce Knowledge Articles Enhancements

Enhancements to Salesforce knowledge articles have been made in the Winter ’12 release. The most notable one is that articles can be imported along with 49 different translated versions at one time. It is also possible to save older versions of published articles.

Updated Service Cloud Console

The Service Cloud console has a sleek new look for the Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release. You will notice that a lot of the extra white space has been eliminated.

Security Enhancements

A significant array of security enhancements are debuting with the Winter ’12 release. Updated encrypted custom field permissions are just one example. Just-in-Time provisioning for portals is now also available.

Cloud-Based Flow Designer

This new feature is currently in beta, but it is sure to pique many people’s interest. It allows users to update content and create new flows from within Salesforce.com. You should be on the lookout for additional enhancements to this exciting new feature in future releases of Salesforce.com.

SiteForce

SiteForce is debuting with the Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release. It’s a CMS editor that makes it a lot easier to create pages for sites. It gives you a lot more flexibility when it comes to customization. Many people are anticipating it to be a major improvement over VisualForce.

The changes and updates that are debuting with the Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com include a little bit of something for everyone. Whether you’d like more options when it comes to communicating with your customers, or if you would like to have greater control of the customization of various pages, you are sure to approve of the latest version of this very popular cloud-computing platform. A wide range of small but important aesthetic changes also make for a more streamlined and intuitive experience. Now more than ever, it is a breeze for newcomers to get up to speed with this platform. The new changes and features are creating plenty of buzz, and they will continue to do so.

The Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com is brimming with a bounty of new features that are sure to thrill every member of your team. From innovative additions to the Chatter platform to exciting new customization options for Force.com, the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com is being met with open arms by everyone who relies on it. Unlike traditional software, of course, Salesforce.com is able to continuously release new and exciting updates since it is based in the cloud. Without a doubt, Salesforce.com is cloud computing at its best; the Spring 2011 release is further proof of that.

New and improved features have been added to virtually every facet of Salesforce.com with the Spring 2011 release. The best way to get a grasp of what’s included in the latest release is by breaking things down into five basic categories: Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Jigsaw, Force.com and Chatter. Whether your company makes full use of every available feature or tends to rely on a handful of them, familiarizing yourself with what’s new in each category could open up new horizons in terms of productivity and efficiency. The following information provides an overview of what you will find with the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Service Cloud

There are plenty of exciting new ways to take your customer service to a whole new level with the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com. From multilingual functionality to first-rate search capabilities, the Service Cloud is more useful and effective than ever. A few of the most notable and important updates include:

Multilingual Knowledge in the Cloud – It’s now possible to translate knowledge articles into several different languages, all with just the click of a button. This feature makes it remarkably easy to succeed in business on a truly global scale. The world is getting smaller; the ability to pass along information in multiple languages is critical. With Salesforce.com Spring 2011’s release, you can do so with ease.

Global Search for Service Cloud Console – Not sure where to find the information that you need? The Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com comes to the rescue with this nifty new feature. It allows you to search across Chatter feeds, files, articles and many different types of records – all in a single query. In turn, your productivity and efficiency are sure to explode.

Suggested Knowledge Sidebar – Nothing is more frustrated than getting hung up on a single case. When the right answers don’t appear quickly, you can end up spinning your tires and wasting a great deal of time. Saleforce.com’s Spring ’11 release includes a real-time suggested knowledge sidebar that provides ideas for you to explore. Instead of barking up the wrong tree, then, you can start heading in the right direction seamlessly and easily.

Unique Article Numbers – Organization is a critical part of running a successful business. With the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com, every article is given a unique article number. That way, nothing gets lost in the shuffle and organizing data is a lot more intuitive.

Case Milestone Validation Rules – The latest version of Salesforce.com also reduces the risk of things slipping through the cracks by allowing you to set rules for case milestones. You can also set it up so that certain standards must be met before a case can be saved. This will help keep those loose ends at bay and keep everyone in your organization on top of what’s happening.

The Spring ’11 Salesforce.com Service Cloud is more powerful and intuitive than ever. These latest updates are sure to make your Salesforce.com experience exceptionally rewarding. Of course, they are just the tip of the iceberg; the latest release has a whole lot more up its sleeve.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Sales Cloud

The Sales Cloud in the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com has been enhanced in many unique ways. Reports make it a cinch to analyze all of the data that you could ever want. These robust features will help to give you an edge on the competition while enhancing your bottom line.

Opportunity Product Sort – Not all products are created equal, especially from a marketing standpoint. After analyzing your data to determine which products need the most attention, you can sort them in order of priority. This allows you to zero in on what matters, without having to sift through mountains of confusing information. Your sales will be more effective and efficient with the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com.

Scatter Charts – All of the data in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t make sense of what it all means. Instead of poring over that information for hours or days on end, you can turn to the Sales Cloud’s Scatter Chart feature. This feature helps to discern emerging trends and patterns on your behalf. It also makes it easier to spot outliers and anomalies amid the information that’s being presented. In short, Scatter Charts help you work with data in a smarter and more effective way.

Enhanced Features for Outlook – There is a bevy of new features for Sales Cloud and Outlook in the Spring ’11 release. You can now associate any object with an email; in that way, you can keep tabs on important information in a more streamlined way. Chatter Sync lets you sync your Chatter contacts with your Outlook contacts. Web login via Outlook is also included in the latest version of Salesforce.com.

Report Builder Filters – Run reports and skim through the results more quickly with Report Builder filters. Filters can be applied in a variety of different ways in order to hone in on the data that is the most important to the task at hand. The one-click design of this feature ensures that virtually anyone can make positive use out of it. Any company that relies on reports in Salesforce.com is sure to appreciate this useful feature.

From sorting and filtering reports to syncing contacts across Outlook and Chatter, Salesforce.com’s Spring 2011 release is loaded with nifty new Sales Cloud features. Generating leads, making sales and closing deals can all be done more effectively and intuitively through these innovative new features and enhancements.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Jigsaw

Out-of-date information and contacts can put a huge damper on the success of any marketing or sales campaign. Every company knows the importance of accurate, up-to-date information. Salesforce.com has always offered prime features for keeping data current; the Spring ’11 release takes things one step further, with Jigsaw.

Jigsaw is a real-time data cloud that is loaded with plenty of remarkable features. A few of the key perks of Jigsaw include:

Access to Millions of Contacts – Business contacts are culled via a crowd-sourcing system to produce large volumes of accurate, useful information. More than 23 million business contacts can be accessed via Jigsaw for Salesfoce.com’s Spring 2011 release. More than 1.2 million people in the business community refresh that information continuously; in turn, up-to-the-minute data and contacts are always right at your fingertips.

High-Quality Leads – Instead of throwing away a lot of time and effort on leads that never would have gone anywhere, you can turn to Jigsaw for leads that pack a real wallop. These pinpointed leads aren’t just effective – they are also exceptionally accurate. Why waste your time with contact data that is woefully out of date, when the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com puts topnotch information in the palm of your hand?

Real-Time Data Change Notifications – Find out immediately whenever a contact’s information changes through Jigsaw’s real-time data change notifications. You’ll never waste your time with outdated phone numbers, email addresses and other contact information again when you start relying on Salesforce.com’s exciting Jigsaw feature.

Automatic Data Cleansing – Nothing is more frustrating than dealing with hundreds of old, useless records. Jigsaw automatically cleans out obsolete data so that you can keep plugging along in a productive and efficient way. You are sure to appreciate this automated feature, which requires no special effort on your part.

Complete, New Contacts within Salesforce.com – The best aspect of Jigsaw is the fact that all of this fresh, up-to-date information is pushed into Salesforce.com automatically. There is no legwork involved whatsoever. Everyone in your organization is sure to benefit from this important feature.

Jigsaw brings even more efficiency and usefulness to the table for Salesforce.com users. By updating to the Spring ’11 release, you can get your hands on this innovative new feature that is sure to enhance the way in which you do business. Most importantly, you will enjoy an even sharper competitive edge than ever.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Chatter

Since its debut, Chatter has been a wildly popular part of the Salesforce.com lineup. For the Spring 2011 release, Chatter gets even better. The incorporation of many well-known social networking features allows users to jump right in on the action without missing a beat. A handful of the most enticing features of Chatter for the Spring ’11 release are outlined below.

Unique New Ways to Communicate – Chatter for the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com includes features like @ mentions, which allow you to shoot quick replies to others. Private file sharing is also available. Email replies are also included so that you can take the conversation out of the stream, if necessary.

Trending Topics – Discover what topics are popular in your organization by making use of this exciting new feature. It’s a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your world.

My #Topics – Keep tabs on which topics are used the most by you and your team members with this innovative new Chatter feature. It works in a similar way as the Trending Topics feature, but its focused on the broader topics that matter to you and your organization.

”Like” Posts – It’s all too easy to let important topics fall through the cracks. The latest release of Salesforce.com allows you to “like” posts in Chatter. Once you’ve “liked” a post, you are kept apprised of any updates that occur within it – all without having to scroll back through all of the same information again.

Chatter Desktop – Access Chatter via your computer’s desktop in the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com.

Chatter Invitations – Allow others to make use of Chatter for free with Chatter invitations. You can get more people in on the conversation with this exciting tool. In turn, you will be able to take in a lot more information from a greater variety of sources – even if they don’t have Chatter set up at their own organization.

File Versioning – Stay abreast of what is happening with various files – and make sure that you’re always using the latest version – with file versioning.

Chatter Mobile Enhancements – Make quick and easy use of Chatter from your mobile device, whether it’s an iPad, an iPhone or a BlackBerry. On-the-go information is always at your fingertips when you enable this topnotch feature.

Chatter for Salesforce.com is more robust and useful than ever. The Spring 2011 release has brought many remarkable features to the table. Anyone who is acquainted with services like Twitter will be able to jump right in on the latest improvements.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Force.com

Generating new and useful apps for your organization couldn’t be easier, thanks to Force.com. The Spring ’11 release brings many new integral features to the table. A few examples of the most useful features include:

Rest API – These days, it’s vital to be able to integrate apps with popular online apps like Google and Facebook. The Rest API feature in the latest release of Salesforce.com streamlines the process considerably. Now it’s a snap to take advantage of everything that Facebook, Google and other topnotch apps have to offer.

Google Chrome Browser Support – The growing popularity of the Google Chrome web browser means that more people are using it than ever. In the past, Force.com was incompatible with the browser. Happily, the Spring ’11 release eliminates this issue. You can now use Google Chrome with Force.com for optimal performance.

Mass User Licensing – Quit wasting your time issuing one license after another. The newest version of Force.com allows you to mass issue user licenses. This will clear up a lot of free time that can be used for more important tasks.

Customizable Error Messages – It’s now possible to create custom error messages for users. This is important, since generic error messages simply don’t convey the specific information that you may need to pass along. Customize and tweak your error messages so that they are as relevant as possible to your users.

Visual Workflow – This exciting new feature works by applying business logic to the custom apps that you create. As a result, they produce better and more noticeable results for your organization. They are easy to put to work, too.

Customer Success Console – Provide more direct support to your users with this unique new feature that rolls out with the Spring ’11 release of Force.com and Salesforce.com. They will benefit from more direct support; you will benefit by being able to implement necessary changes in a more focused and targeted way.

System Log Console Execution Summary – Quit being in the dark about what’s happening with your code. This topnotch new feature lets you check your code’s performance quickly and easily. Nip issues in the bud, before they have negative impacts on your business and your users.

Getting the most out of the custom apps that you create for your business has never been more intuitive or simple. Salesforce.com’s Spring ’11 release bolsters the incredible effectiveness of Force.com in ways that you are sure to appreciate.

The Bottom Line on the Spring ’11 Release of Salesforce.com

As you can see, the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com is jam-packed with innovative new enhancements and features that make running a business easier. If you thought that your existing version of Salesforce.com was helpful, you won’t believe the difference that the latest version makes. Productivity and efficiency go through the roof with the most recent release of Salesforce.com. Key enhancements and improvements to everything from Chatter to the Service Cloud are sure to improve your company’s chances of success.

In addition to enhancements and improvements to existing features, the latest release of Salesforce.com brings entirely new functionality to the table. Chatter is bolstered by popular social networking features; Jigsaw puts up-to-date contacts at your fingertips. Support for everything from Google Chrome to the iPad, iPod and BlackBerry devices make on-the-go business simpler than ever. Bring your company up to speed with the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com. Whether you make regular use of all of the new and improved features or just a select handful of them, you are sure to see some marked improvements on the way in which you do business in the cloud.