Let's Talk DevOps and CI/CD for Salesforce: Why It's a Game Changer (Especially Now)

If you’ve ever had to wrangle Salesforce change sets, you know the pain. By and large, change sets are still a viable option, but are more often than not used by smaller teams when deploying simple customizations. That’s because manually selecting components, remembering what to include, and testing late in the game make it clunky, slow, and easy to mess up for larger updates. 

And while Salesforce has not officially announced the end of change sets, the platform is clearly encouraging teams to modernize. The release of Salesforce DevOps Center, plus growing momentum around tools like Gearset, Copado Essentials +, and AutoRABIT, shows where the ecosystem is heading: toward scalable, automated deployment strategies.

We’ve lightly touched on this topic in multiple blog posts, but if you haven’t started exploring CI/CD yet—or third-party DevOps tools—now’s a great time to get ahead of the curve.

What’s DevOps (and Why Should You Care)?

DevOps is all about getting your developers, admins, and release managers to work in sync. It combines tools and practices that make your release process faster, safer, and more collaborative.

In Salesforce, that means:

• Using version control (like Git) to track every change to metadata and code.
• Automating tests and deployments to avoid surprises in production.
• Creating a shared release pipeline so everyone’s on the same page.
• Keeping all orgs—production, sandboxes, and dev sandboxes—aligned, so you know exactly what’s going live before it does. 

What Is CI/CD?

CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or Deployment). Basically, it’s the automation that makes DevOps run smoothly behind the scenes.. Here’s the quick breakdown:

• Continuous Integration (CI): When someone updates Apex code, Flows, or other metadata, it's automatically tested to ensure nothing breaks.
• Continuous Delivery/Deployment (CD): After testing passes, those changes can be automatically (or manually) deployed to sandboxes or production, using pipelines.

CI/CD removes the bottlenecks of manual change sets and allows your team to ship changes faster and more confidently.

Wait. What’s DevOps Center?

Salesforce DevOps Center is a free, native tool that helps teams implement DevOps practices inside Salesforce without needing to buy third-party tools. It provides:

• A visual interface to track changes
• DevOps Center currently integrates directly with GitHub repositories. Support for other Git providers like GitLab or Bitbucket may require manual setup or third-party tools.
• A pipeline view to manage deployment stages, meaning changes are bundled into Work Items, which are then pushed through environments using a visual pipeline. This is different from traditional Git branching strategies used in tools like Gearset, Copado, or Copado Essentials +.

It’s an excellent starting point for teams new to DevOps, especially those looking to transition away from change sets while staying within the Salesforce ecosystem.

Why This Matters (Especially Now)

Let’s clarify: change sets are still supported in Salesforce and haven’t been deprecated. However, Salesforce’s investments make it clear to us that the future is DevOps.

Tools like Salesforce DevOps Center now offer a source-driven approach to building and deploying changes. You can track changes with Git, bundle them into work items, and push them across environments without opening a change set.

That means:

• No more guessing which components to include in a deployment.
• No more last-minute test failures in production.
• No more error-prone manual steps.

However, while DevOps Center keeps getting better, there are still some gaps. Things like Experience Cloud components, managed package metadata, and profile settings can be tricky and might still need some manual steps or third-party tools to handle correctly. Profiles and Permission Sets, for example, often require digging into XML or using smarter diff tools to get them deployed cleanly.

Note: Salesforce has mentioned they’re working on broader Git support and better coverage for Experience Cloud metadata, but there’s no official timeline yet. So, it’s best to double-check what your org needs and choose tools to fill those gaps.

Real Benefits for Salesforce Teams

Modern DevOps practices aren’t just about staying future-proof; they deliver practical wins today:

Faster Deployments: No more waiting for end-of-sprint weekends. CI/CD pipelines let you deploy changes daily or even multiple times a day.

Higher Quality: Automated Apex tests help catch bugs early by making sure your changes don’t break anything important. And if you want to take it a step further, you can add static code analysis using tools like PMD, CodeScan, or SonarQube. These help flag potential issues and keep your code clean before it ever hits production.

Better Collaboration: Admins and developers work in the same system, using shared pipelines and a single source of truth in Git.

Easier Scaling: DevOps tools make your release process repeatable and consistent, whether you’re working across multiple sandboxes, teams, or full orgs.

Before vs. After: Change Sets vs. DevOps

How to Get Started Without Overthinking It

You don’t need to be a DevOps pro to start. Here’s a roadmap:

Salesforce’s DevOps Center is free and native, which is great for getting started. If you need more advanced features like deployment rollback, metadata comparisons, or cross-org workflows, tools like Gearset, Copado Essentials +, and AutoRABIT are solid choices.

Start managing all your metadata—Apex, flows, layouts, permissions—in Git. That gives you transparency, traceability, and a way to roll back if needed.

Clarification: Rollbacks in Salesforce aren't a one-click "undo." You’ll need to redeploy the previous metadata version from your Git history. Tools like Gearset simplify this with visual diffing and re-deploy options.

Set up your pipeline to run tests automatically and promote validated changes. This saves hours of time and reduces the risk of broken deployments.

4. Encourage a DevOps Culture
Tools only work if the team’s on board. Build a strong foundation with:

• Shared documentation of release workflows and approval processes
• Onboarding materials to help admins and developers learn Git basics
• Regular retrospectives on deployment outcomes
• Collaborative tooling (like Slack + GitHub notifications) to keep teams in sync
• An internal champion to coach team members and remove adoption blockers

So What Does it All Mean?

Salesforce change sets aren’t gone, but the platform is clearly nudging teams toward a more innovative, scalable way to work. If you want faster releases, fewer errors, and happier users, you might want to consider embracing DevOps and CI/CD.

These aren’t just buzzwords; they’re how top-performing Salesforce teams build and deliver today.

Whether you’re a solo admin or part of a larger development org, making this transition will help you save time, reduce risk, and deliver more value from your Salesforce investment.

So why wait? The tools are ready. The benefits are real. The future is already unfolding.

Ready to Modernize Your Salesforce Deployments?

Tired of deployment headaches? Let’s leave failed releases behind for good.

Dynamic Specialties Group specializes in helping Salesforce teams move beyond manual change sets into scalable, modern DevOps practices. Whether you’re evaluating the right DevOps tool—like Salesforce DevOps Center, Gearset, or Copado Essentials +—or looking to build your first CI/CD deployment pipeline, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Let’s simplify your release process and set your team up for success.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation or DevOps readiness assessment.