Earlier this month, Salesforce sent out a Product & Service Notification regarding some new ‘map-based features’ coming in Spring ’15. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming functionality.
Details of the features are not yet fully known, but here’s what we can expect:
- Display of map images where any standard address field is sufficiently populated. This functionality will be available through the desktop interface and the Salesforce1 Mobile app.
- Standard Visualforce components for map creation.
- Address suggestion and auto-completion available when editing address fields.
The notification mentions that Salesforce have partnered with a third-party mapping provider, which we now know to be Google Maps.
One key point is that the feature will be auto-enabled in production instances when the Spring ’15 release lands (estimated for February 2015). Salesforce’s guidance is that if you wish to disable this feature, you should notify support by raising a case by December 3rd 2014. If you choose to opt out of the automatic enabling, you can instead enable the feature in a sandbox for testing before subsequently enabling it manually in production.
We will share more information as we get it. In the meantime, here are the thoughts of Arrowpointe, an AppExchange ISV in the mapping space. We share their viewpoint that mapping is a fundamental part of CRM, especially in a mobile world, and that although these new features will not make Salesforce a mapping company they are an exciting addition to the platform.