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Salesforce CPQ Specialist Certification

by with No Comment Certification

The adoption of CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) has increased over the years as more companies realise its potential within CRM. And at Cloud Galacticos, we encourage our team to stay ahead of the curve. So we’re proud to confirm that our developers, Nkosi, has recently passed his Salesforce CPQ Specialist certification. We spoke to him to get his thoughts on his latest exam success.

 

What made you decide to take the Salesforce CPQ Specialist certification?

I took the exam because I had been introduced to CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) while on a contract with one of Cloud Galacticos clients. I then discovered that the current client uses CPQ extensively, so it made sense to get certified.

 

How did you approach the prep for your exam?

The approach was based mainly on building on the knowledge I gained when I looked at CPQ for a previous client.  I also did  CPQ superbadges and an Udemy course.

 

Was it a difficult exam? You have any tips for people thinking of doing this exam?

It’s probably one of the most difficult cert I have taken. It’s about 90% scenario based. You have to know Products, Pricing, Approval rules, Quotes, Contracts and obviously Universal Containers the company.

 

What does passing the Salesforce CPQ Specialist certification mean to you in terms of your daily work?

It means I can set up or overhaul the client’s CPQ instance, which unfortunately is currently not in good shape.

 

Do you have any other Salesforce certs you plan to take in the future?

Yes, I would like to take the Javascript Developer cert since I am on the systems architect path.

 

About Cloud Galacticos 

Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, York, Sheffield and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?

 

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We are Cloud Galacticos, a Leading UK Salesforce Consultancy

by with No Comment Team Galacticos

“Hello, we are Cloud Galacticos, a leading UK Salesforce Consultancy. We have been in business for over 15 years, making us one of the longest established Salesforce consultancies in the UK.

 

Phil Walton, CEO

Led by CEO Phil Walton, our Salesforce consultancy is an all-star team of user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs, and all round Salesforce nerds. The Cloud Galacticos team are based all over the UK. Our team is located in cities including Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, and London.

 

Salesforce Consultancy Partner

We are proud to be officially recognised as a Salesforce Consulting Partner. We offer a wide range of services from clicks to code, administration to architecture, data imports to integrations, and much more.

 

Salesforce Industry Experience

At Cloud Galacticos we work with organisations in all industries and verticals, including the non-profit sector. From start up universities, to multinational chemical suppliers, hair straighteners to hair replacement clinics, our team have experience in helping businesses using the Salesforce platform succeed.

 

Salesforce Experts

At Cloud Galacticos, we live and breathe Salesforce. Our experienced team are here to help, whatever stage of your Salesforce journey you are at. We will provide you with honest and informed guidance on the best way to help your company grow.

 

Contact Us

Contact us to find out more about how we can help you succeed with Salesforce”

 

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Learning and Mastering Salesforce Apex

by with No Comment Team Galacticos

Last year our COO Paul wrote and published two books on the Salesforce Apex programming language – “Learning Salesforce Development with Apex” and “Mastering Apex Programming“. Both have received great reviews on Amazon and we asked Paul to give us a bit of background as to why he wrote the books, who might be interested in reading them, and how to best learn and master the Apex language.

 

Where the idea came from

Over the 12 years I have been working with Salesforce, I have worn a number of hats. I have been a product manager, a developer, an architect, and a trainer to name but a few. I have been lucky enough to get to help a number of people start off working on the platform. A couple of years ago I took this to the next level and became a Salesforce Certified Instructor. I have noticed there are a number of key areas which many people find tough when working with Apex. I have found this both in helping people get up to speed on the platform, and as a senior team member on projects mentoring and guiding others.

Learning any programming language is difficult, but I think Apex is uniquely tough sometimes. For starters, it is not typically taught at university. You have a few hurdles to getting setup such as getting a developer environment and knowing how to navigate Salesforce. There is often a lack of abstract learning and reference material. We are blessed with many learning resources in the Salesforce ecosystem. There are official options like Trailhead and the Trailhead Academy classes and additional material from community members including blogs and courses. I personally find I learn best from a book. I like the ideas and concepts explained to me with an example. But I also want it in a way I can come back to and use in the abstract later.

 

Learning Salesforce Apex

I agreed to write my first book, “Learning Salesforce Development with Apex” to help try and plug this gap for those new to Salesforce Apex. For admins and junior developers there can be a plethora of terms and concepts that are difficult to grasp. It can also be difficult to learn a programming language. Many of the pieces need you to know other pieces first. Many learners struggle as too many concepts are taught at once. This makes it difficult to understand the topic at hand.

Learning Salesforce Development With Apex Book Cover

In writing this book, I tried to make it simple and easy for someone to go through, chapter by chapter, and focus on one topic at a time. I cover a lot of the concepts in the abstract first, irrespective of the programming language. Whether it is Salesforce Apex or some other language, many of the core concepts are the same. So understanding them in general will make it much easier to apply them when needed. I also tried to make it easy to both jump to a section in the book, so it can be used as a reference. If you are a new developer or Salesforce Admin trying to learn Apex, hopefully it will help your understanding.

 

Junior to Advanced Developer – Mastering Salesforce Apex

As I was writing the first book it became clear that there were many areas I wanted to cover or cover in more detail, but were not really right for a beginners book. I therefore began noting down a list of areas that would help someone who had been working with Salesforce Apex for a few years really begin to master the language. At this point I want to thank Mike Gill, one of our awesome architects. Not only did Mike help sense check the ideas but was a brilliant technical reviewer throughout.

Mastering Apex Programming

The focus of “Mastering Apex Programming” is therefore on understanding some of the more complex areas of Salesforce Apex. I was fortunate when I started that it was easy to be on the bleeding edge of Apex. This was because the platform was a lot smaller and everything was bleeding edge. In my time working with Salesforce and Apex, a number of huge innovations have occurred to the language. Batch Apex, Platform Events, updates to the testing framework, Queueable Apex and Apex REST to name a few. These options all help you to deliver more robust and scalable applications, but are not used by every developer. They can be very min-boggling when you first start working with them.

The book falls into 3 sections. Firstly it discusses common mistakes and best practices. I felt this was an important first section to help ensure that the common silly mistakes we all make are identified and dealt with. The second section focusses on the various asynchronous Apex options and how and when to use them. The third and final section focusses on performance. This has long been an area of interest for me and I recently spoke on this at London’s Calling.

 

The Trilogy?

A few people have asked if I have a third book in mind to complete a trilogy. Currently this is a no, but never say never. Being locked indoors for a year due to the pandemic allowed me to focus on getting these books written, something that I am sure would have been harder in a normal year. I would also encourage anybody who is interested in writing a book to do it. There can never be too much material on a subject in my opinion. I categorically do not see my books replacing any of the amazing existing works out there. Rather it is a different set of eyes and experiences on the subject.

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London’s Calling 2021 Review

by with No Comment Salesforce Events

As a UK Salesforce consultancy, we, Cloud Galacticos, are always proud to sponsor and support London’s Calling. This year’s event happened last Friday 19th March. And as always, the team behind the event did a great job. Here’s our quick review of London’s Calling 2021.

 

LDNsCall 2021 Sponsors Screen Grab

 

Attendify

Firstly, we have to mention the new online events platform Attendify. It worked well as an online version of the ‘real thing’. Everything was organised in an appropriate manner and was easy to navigate. You could see which sessions were happening, check out the sponsors, and chat to other attendees. Overall, it really made the day run smoothly and a better experience than if it was all on Zoom.

“I was instantly impressed by the look and feel of the London’s Calling desktop platform. It was really easy to navigate and find my way around. I was able to see which sessions were live as well as being able to chat with other attendees in real time.” Ben Duong, Head of Marketing, Cloud Galacticos

 

London’s Calling 2021 Sessions

Paul Battisson’s Session London’s Calling 2021

As per previous years, there were plenty of awesome sessions to choose from. From the ‘Top 10 project risks’ to ‘getting connected in Salesforce Field Service’, and ‘implementing lightning message service’ to ‘using Salesforce to create happier workplaces’. Of course, we may be biased, but our COO at Cloud Galacticos, Paul Battisson’s session ‘Turn it up to 11 – Improving the Performance of Your Apex Code’ was pretty good..!

“It was another great event from the team which had a jam packed line-up. From the speaker’s perspective it was a nice change being able to engage with the audience through the live chat during the session as they were all pre-recorded.

Often you are just looking at a room full of faces and unsure what people are thinking. With the chat function I was able to get more real time feedback on people’s thoughts as well as answer questions as they came up rather than waiting until the end.

The London’s Calling attendees were as engaged as ever and it definitely helped make the event feel far more connected.” Paul Battisson, COO, Cloud Galacticos

 

London’s Calling 2021 Demo Jam

The Demo Jam is always a highlight for us. We enjoy the fast paced nature and seeing our peers perform under pressure. This year’s demo jam was done live and online. There were demos from the likes of Gearset, Copado, Provar and Own Backup. The winner, chosen by the attendees, was Gearset.

 

Cloud Galacticos London’s Calling Sponsor Video

London’s Calling 2022

As we wrap up another great London’s Calling event, all eyes are on next year’s event. As great as this year’s event was online, the general consensus was that it’d be great to be able to meet in person again for 2022. The Salesforce Ohana are a social bunch, and we also enjoy being able to catch up with our trailblazer community – as well as meeting new people and making new friends. So fingers crossed all around!

 

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Service Cloud Consultant Certification Tips

by with No Comment Certification

We like to encourage our team to keep on developing and learning new skills. One of the latest exams to be included is the Service Cloud Consultant Certification. It was one of our newest recruits, Luke Menzfeld who passed this exam. Below are his thoughts and tips on passing this Trailhead cert.

Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Certification

 

What made you decide to take the Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant exam?

Mainly to test my knowledge of Service Cloud having worked on a number of practical client projects. 

 

How did you approach the prep for the exam?

Assess: I started with a detailed review of the exam guide and evaluated my strengths and weaknesses pre-preparation. I then prioritised the development areas based on the topic weighting.

Study: To study I used Focus on Force, Salesforce Help, Salesforce Answers and YouTube. I found a mixed method approach helpful. 

Test: Mainly it was testing my knowledge using Focus on Force in the initial stages, but this exam suits practical testing. Ask yourself, could you configure it, could you evaluate one function vs another, or could you make an informed recommendation given a scenario? If you’re unsure, it’s good to get hands on and test the functionality out for yourself. 

Repeat: I repeated the assess, study and test cycle multiple times to ensure that I felt confident prior to taking the exam. If there are questions or topics which wasn’t 100% clear, start from the beginning and work it through until it was clear

 

Was it a difficult exam? And any tips for people planning on doing the exam? 

The Service Cloud exam covers a broad range of topics, don’t underestimate the time involved in preparing for the exam. Be comfortable with what each section of the exam is assessing using the exam outline, then prepare accordingly with that in mind. I would never say there’s an easy exam. It’s much more a case of being sufficiently prepared. If there’s something you’re a bit rusty with or haven’t experienced first hand then get hands on in a developer org. Establish escalation rules, build/customise a service console. Don’t forget to test out Onmi-Channel skills routing to make sure you’ll have no surprises.

 

What does passing the Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Certification exam mean to you in terms of your daily work at Cloud Galacticos? 

Passing the exam was really just the beginning. The Service Cloud offers great business value for clients in terms of what it can deliver out of the box. I look forward to working on additional projects for further knowledge and practical delivery. Formalising the exam means that I can pass that knowledge on and make informed recommendations to help service organisations run efficiently.

 

Do you have any other certs you plan to take in the future? 

Yes. There are a number of the Consultant Certifications I’m interested in. I have a goal of completing the Platform Developer certification in 2021 to enhance my project delivery.

 

Anything else you want to add?

Book the exam! The rest will fall into place. It all starts with that first step…

 

About Cloud Galacticos

Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, York, Sheffield and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?

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Cloud Galacticos is Sponsoring London’s Calling 2021

by with No Comment News

Cloud Galacticos is sponsoring London’s Calling 2021. One of our favourite Salesforce community-led events will be happening again on Friday 19th March. Last year’s event was forced into a hybrid with people having the option to go in-person or watch the content online. This year will be the event’s first fully remote incarnation. Whilst it is sad we won’t be able to all meet up together in person, we are still really excited to be sponsoring and supporting the event.

 

More #SalesforceOhana

We are particularly excited that this year’s event will be more accessible for a broader range of people. One of the challenges for any event, particularly in London, is finding a good space. We know for the organisers it is a constant balancing act. They have to find somewhere big enough to allow as many people to attend as possible, whilst also keeping within a budget. London’s Calling is normally an affordable event, with tickets under £100 for attendees. As the name implies however, the event is in London, and for those attendees outside the city (or even outside the UK) their costs can add up.

This year however your only costs are the £5 for a ticket. That’s £5 for a full day of learning from the comfort of your own home. We know some people who are able to attend this year because of how much affordable it is for them. More people will get to experience all the great sessions at the same time as everyone else and feel a bigger part of the experience.

Highlights from London’s Calling 2019

 

Great #Trailblazercommunity Sessions

Speaking of the great sessions, I love the content at London’s Calling. For me it has a fantastic blend of people like Keir Bowden and Ines Garcia, both extremely well known and experienced, along with newer speakers who haven’t shared or spoken before. The content is all pre-recorded this year so there should be a smaller chance of any technical hiccups. For those who are speaking, they can also enjoy more sessions than they might normally be able to do. Our own COO Paul Battisson is also presenting for the 5th time at London’s Calling. Make sure you check his session out!

 

London’s Calling 2021

As with previous events, we are sure that the London’s Calling team will pull of another awesome Salesforce community event. Expect the usual amazing line up of speakers from the Salesforce trailblazing community,  great keynote speaker, exciting demojam, and much more.

The past year has been very strange and stressful for many people, we are very much looking forward to London’s Calling as a bit of ‘normality’. Whilst it won’t be the same being in person, we are really pleased the event is going ahead. We can still get to see the great content and familiar faces even if only through a screen. Get your ticket here.

 

Don’t forget to follow London’s Calling event on March 19th via the #LC21 hashtag! 

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Salesforce Data Architecture and Management Designer Certification Tips

by with No Comment Certification

As we move into 2021, the focus on professional development at Cloud Galacticos continues to gain momentum. We like to encourage our team to keep on developing and learning new skills. One of the latest exams to be included is the Data Architecture and Management Designer Certification. We caught up with our Senior Consultant, Val, who recently passed this exam:

 

Salesforce Application Architect Certification

 

What made you decide to take the Data Architecture and Management Designer Certification?

As a fan of Trailhead, I’m a big believer in constantly challenging myself to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of Salesforce. I have enjoyed completing some superbadges to cement knowledge gained from working with Salesforce.

In January 2020, I decided to embark on a journey to become a Certified Application Architect and subsequently passed both Certified Salesforce Platform Developer I and Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer towards that. I needed a total of three more certifications and this one was the last requirement.

 

How did you approach the prep for this exam?

I conducted some research into other people who had taken and passed the exam. And as a member of the Ladies Be Architects group, I found some great posts and links there, which helped focus on study areas.

The consensus seemed to be that the first approach is to review the exam guide. Then to conduct a self-diagnosis of the areas I knew well, those I knew fairly well (and may need to refresh) and finally, those which I was aware of but had never touched before. From there I focussed on the items in my list which needed the most attention. 

I’d heard from colleagues and Trailblazer communities that FocusOnForce was a good resource for practice questions and exams. Although not a free resource, it was worth the small fee for trying out the type of scenario-based questions that I was likely to face. As I completed each subsection test one by one, it let me know which areas needed more work.

Then I embarked on a mission of completing Trailhead badges, trails and projects to gain some understanding & experience in completing some of the tasks involved in designing the type of solutions required of a Data Architecture and Management Designer. Not everything is covered in Trailhead, so I combined this with reading up from help.salesforce.com. I also created online flashcards for the areas I would need to revise later.

 

Was it difficult and any tips for people thinking of doing this exam?

As with the Salesforce Sharing and Visibility exam, it was harder than expected. When I hit ‘Submit Exam’, I honestly had no idea whether the result was going to be pass or fail! 

Although FocusOnForce had prepared me to an extent, these questions were very different. On some questions, it was answering on instinct more than anything else. In the end, I think what really helped was having lots of real-world experience designing and building applications. Also fixing badly designed ones! 

There were more questions than expected about query efficiency and, surprisingly, none about Customer360. Mine was the Winter 21 version of the exam, so undoubtedly, Customer 360 will be included in later versions.

 

Salesforce Data Architecture and Management Design Certification

 

What does becoming a certified Salesforce Application Architect mean to you in terms of your daily work at Cloud Galacticos?

As a Senior Consultant at Cloud Galacticos, my role includes designing and implementing solutions on the Salesforce platform, so it is important to make sure the knowledge that goes into providing our customers with advice and solutions is correct and up to date. That includes studying areas of functionality that I haven’t personally touched on but which could come up as important in my next project.

 

About Cloud Galacticos

Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?

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Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant Certification Tips

by with No Comment EinsteinSalesforce study resources

Over the past few years I have worked numerous times with Salesforce Einstein Analytics (now Tableau CRM) and always wanted to get pass the Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant Certification but never had the time. I found myself with a a couple of days free before the Christmas holidays with nowhere to go, so I set about getting myself certified. As a slight spoiler, I passed, here are a few things I found helped me to achieve the certification. Note I will use the old name “Einstein” throughout this post to match the exam.

 

Before We Start – What Even is Einstein?

 

Einstein

Firstly, I want to just clearly define what is being discussed here. In this blog I am referring to Salesforce Einstein Analytics (now known as Tableau CRM) and the related Discovery tools. Einstein is a fairly catch all term with Salesforce now and so it can be confusing. This exam and certification focusses on these products specifically and not any of the following:

  • Next Best Action
  • Bots
  • Language
  • Vision
  • Prediction Builder

 

Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant Exam Format

There are 60 multiple choice questions that are scored with 5 non-scored questions, with 90 minutes to complete. The passing score is 68% or 41 marks. The key areas covered in the exam are:

  • Data Layer – 24%
  • Security – 11%
  • Admin – 9%
  • Analytics Dashboard Design – 19%
  • Analytics Dashboard Implementation – 18%
  • Einstein Discovery Story Design – 19%

Of all the Salesforce exams I have taken this is one of the more evenly distributed in terms of material so make sure you cover off all of the areas thoroughly. The exam also covers a lot. Einstein Analytics and Discovery/Tableau CRM is a full platform rather than just an individual product and it shows.

 

Study Resources

If you really want to get really detailed information on everything to do with Einstein then the best place to go is the Salesforce Blogger site where Rikke Hovgaard and others share an absolute ton of tips, tricks and information. A few of the Galacticos team enjoy the blog and even if you have passed the exam I would highly recommend reading through it.

Trailhead has got lots of great trails and resources for you including two very detailed superbadges. I haven’t done the superbadges all the way through. However, they are extremely detailed and completing them will surely ensure you are ready.

Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant superbadges

I also took one of the Trailhead Academy courses for Tableau CRM, namely the ANC301 course as a refresher as I was familiar with the tool. The course was a really good 3 day deep dive into building out dashboards and managing data. If you have the chance, I would highly recommend attending a course to help prepare you as they contain a lot of detailed info and allow you to ask questions of an expert. As a disclaimer, I do teach some of the developer courses for the Trailhead Academy, but love attending them regardless.

 

Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant Certified!

 

Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant Certification

Meet the Galacticos Phil Walton

Phil Walton, CEO – Meet the Galacticos

by with No Comment Team Galacticos

In our Meet the Galacticos series so far this year, we’ve met project managers, COOs, Senior Salesforce Consultants, and Developers. And as 2020 draws to a close, we meet the man behind the magic at Cloud Galacticos, our CEO, Phil Walton. I caught up with Phil via email to find out more about him and his experiences.

 

Phil Walton, CEO

Hi Phil, thanks for finding a few minutes in your busy schedule to help people learn a bit more about you. Can you give us a bit of background about yourself and your history with Salesforce?

I started using Salesforce back in 2004. It was simple back then. There were help files and a 250 page ‘Salesforce for Dummies’ book which covered EVERYTHING! So I see myself as rather fortunate, that I got to experience Salesforce early, and learn in steps as Salesforce grew. 

After attending Cloudforce events and User Group events in London, I kept asking why there weren’t similar events happening elsewhere in the UK. One day someone called my bluff and said I should set one up in my home city of Manchester, so I did. I also spent a lot of time on the Answers forum, working with Appexchange, writing my Salesforce blog, and because of this was first awarded as Salesforce MVP in Christmas 2013. I am now in the MVP Hall of Fame as ‘MVP for life’.

 

Cloud Galacticos at Salesforce World Tour London 2019

What made you decide to set up Cloud Galacticos?

I had been a freelance Salesforce Consultant since 2005, so the company has been going since then. But with a few rebrands and updates, we re-launched as Cloud Galacticos in 2017. I wanted a brand that reflected the high skillset of the team. The term ‘Galacticos’ can be used as superstar, or in the football/rugby world as an exceptionally skilled and celebrated player. A bit over the top, but it made a point. 

It was also a great chance to work together with like-minded people. When you have a small team like this, you can work a lot faster, and smoother, and in a friendly and respectful environment.

 

You’ve worked on a lot of Salesforce projects through the years, can you tell us about some of your favourite or memorable ones?

I have lost count of the hundreds of Orgs I have looked at and worked upon, the number of Clients, Users, and industries. There’s been so many great people and experiences. But I feel you only learn from the difficult situations – the easy wins are a bonus, but don’t help you to grow. I look back at some global rollouts where a year of work all hinged on a go-live in an evening/weekend. Where the deadline was tight but we all piled in to make it happen. Or where a mis-communication could nearly have ruined a project and a working relationship. These things happen in business! But it is how you react to a potential issue that marks you out. And having an experienced team that has battled through the tough times, makes us ready and prepared for whatever lies ahead.

 

Phil at Punta Dreamin

Looks like you’ve done a lot of travelling and have been to a few Salesforce events around the world, can you tell us some of your highlights?

Yes, I have been very lucky to speak at Salesforce events on five continents in the last few years. Some of the team went to India Dreamin in 2018 and 2019. It was a fantastic experience to travel with friends and colleagues, meet people in person that we had ‘e-met’ on social media and Trailblazer Communities, and spend time with some of our extended team. I travelled to Uruguay and Argentina for Punta Dreamin in 2018, my first trip to South America. Everyone was so welcoming, and the steaks and red wine were amazing.

Closer to home, I am looking forward to the chance in 2021 to get back to in-person meetings with the local Salesforce Communities. You can’t beat them!

 

Aside from Salesforce and running Cloud Galacticos, what else do you enjoy doing?

Normally I enjoy running. When the first lockdown happened, it didn’t feel enjoyable anymore, so I tried weight training. I am not sure if it will last, but I have already had to buy new t-shirts to fit! 

I enjoy spending time with my family (my wife and two young sons). There is always something going on. Last month on a bike ride we ‘discovered’ the remains of a 5th century Saxon defensive fortification.

 

Cloud Galacticos Christmas Zoom 2020

What tips would you have in working with clients remotely, or working remotely in general?

The ‘new norm’ has been just ‘norm’ to me and most of Cloud Galacticos for the past 10 years. I think the key is communication. You don’t get those visual signs that you get from being sat next to someone in an office – verbalise them. If you need something, be prepared to ask. When you have done something amazing, be prepared to tell people. If you are unavailable, feel free to show a notification. Reinvent the water-cooler/coffee break moments. 

While I believe 90% remote is great, 100% is not so great. We all need that in-person catch up, with clients, colleagues, friends, and family. For those hospitality businesses that can survive Covid, I think they will be very busy when the coast is clear and we can all meet in person. See you at the party! 

 

ABOUT CLOUD GALACTICOS

Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?

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Cloud Galacticos 2020 Highlights

by with No Comment Team Galacticos

There’s no denying that 2020 has been a strange and difficult year for many people. So as this year comes to a close, the team at Cloud Galacticos tell us their highlights, and what they’ve been grateful for this year. Why not join in the conversation on Twitter using #SalesforceGratitude?

 

Val Southern, Senior Salesforce Consultant

“My first work related highlight would be passing both the Salesforce Platform Developer I (PDI), and the Sharing and Visibility Designer certifications on the first attempt. It felt particularly good to have studied successfully to a structured plan. I did not leave school with great results, so it probably was something of a ‘see if I can do it for myself’ situation. It was a great confidence booster!

Finishing the Cloud Nine implementation was another highlight this year. I had to overcome some significant challenges and this project was a learning process for me. Not my first implementation by far but it was different from any other. I really enjoyed working with the Cloud Nine team and took away a lot of satisfaction from helping them. I also enjoyed mentoring Katie in the first few weeks of working at Cloud Nine.

On a personal note, I’m grateful for witnessing my partner’s success in her new writing career. For most of 2020, Jen has been going through the (surprisingly complex) process of getting her new book series ready to be published. I’ve been lucky enough to have done some beta-reading, and loved brainstorming funny ideas for story ideas and illustrations. I could not be prouder!”

 

SalesforceGratitude Phil Walton

Phil’s #SalesforceGratitude

Phil Walton, CEO

“I think my highlight of 2020 is seeing how adaptable we all are. It is easy to get used to the status quo (not the band!). Big changes or events can really shake things up and enforce change. When life throws you lemons, make lemonade!

Also, it wasn’t a choice to stay in the house for months on end, but I’ve been grateful for the chance to spend more time with my family. In the last couple of years I have spoken at Salesforce events on five continents. This year I am not sure I have gone 5 miles away from my house.

I have also enjoyed reading books. I got out of the habit, but this year have read a mix of fiction (including some 1970’s science fiction that I found in a skip!?), and non-fiction (including Paul’s book, Ines’ book, The Barcelona Way, Range, Factfulness).”

 

Emma with one of her paintings

Emma with one of her paintings

Emma Frost, Project Manager

“I’m grateful for the fact that we now have a second person, Pippa, to work on project management. It has been great to share the workload with her. Also having someone else to bounce ideas off and discuss what we can do to improve our project management offering.

This year I managed to launch a new website for my landscape painting. With opportunities for art fairs and exhibitions completely at a stand still, I knew it was time to sort out my online offering in order to continue selling work and reach new audiences. It was a lot of work and I’m very proud of the final result.

Finally, I’ve managed to give out over 100 bikes through my charity, Bikes in Need. During lockdown I have given pool bikes to be used by asylum seekers staying in a hotel on the outskirts of York. This took me over the magic 100 which has been a personal goal since I started.”

 

Rhi McCorkindale, Lead Developer

“My work-related highlights for 2020 would be getting the Salesforce Certified Service Cloud (SP20), and Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Cloud Consultant (SP20) Certification. These were areas that I have done a lot of work in but so far hadn’t taken any certifications for, so it is nice to be able to back up my experience with the relevant certifications. I hope to make some inroads into the Integration Architecture Designer Certification too this year as part of the journey towards becoming a Certified Systems Architect.

Outside work, it would be moving house. We were lucky enough to move just before the first lockdown happened. The new house has much more space for myself and my partner. We both work from home full time, along with my partner’s children who also spent half the time in lockdown here. With the extra time on our hands, we were able to do a lot of work renovating the house and garden. Looking forward to being able to have visitors in 2021!”

 

Learning Salesforce Development with Apex by Paul Battisson

Paul’s first book, ‘Learning Salesforce Development with Apex’

Paul Battisson, COO

“I think my main highlight for 2020 has been getting my first two books published!

I’ve always had an itch to write a book, but this year thanks to lots of time indoors and a lack of travel options I managed to get not one but two books on Apex programming written. It has been great to have the physical copies of the books in my hand and to finally share some of the practices and tips I have learned over the past 12 odd years with the rest of the Salesforce Ohana.”

 

Nkosi Ncube, Developer

“Amazingly, I managed to run a total of 200 miles during the first lockdown with my wife. We’ve been married 18 years and never thought this day would come. And a work highlight would be having two go-lives on projects!”

 

Sales Cloud Consultant Certification Luke Menzfeld

Luke’s Sales Cloud Consultant Certification

Luke Menzfeld, Salesforce Consultant

“ It has been a turbulent year for all with a very real requirement to adapt to day-to-day life in many different ways. My ‘highlights’ would be surviving and thriving in lockdown, changing jobs/starting at Cloud Galactico, hosting a number of events for the Newcastle User Group, mastering domestic project management (a.k.a home improvements), lawn management and gaining three Salesforce certifications.”

 

About Cloud Galacticos

Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?