How does PDO work? The process and benefits of using PDO in 2022

Salesforce has become a widely used CRM platform among businesses today. With more than 6000 add-ons, Salesforce allows you to do almost anything to fulfill your customers’ demands. However, this can also make it difficult for Salesforce users to keep up with the platform and get the best out of it.

Today, having a good Salesforce team isn’t enough in the competitive business world. This is why big and small companies are choosing to partner with Salesforce PDO. PDOs are familiar with managing packages for scalability and modularity and dealing with many customer host orgs.

In this post, we discuss what PDO is, what types of PDO exist, and what are the benefits of using PDO. 

What is Salesforce PDO?

PDO is an acronym used for Product Development Outsourcer. Salesforce PDOs represent a diverse group of consulting partners and vendors with experience developing commercial AppExchange applications. They also help businesses with third-party integrations, technical configuration, implementation, and customized development.

These outsourcers deeply understand the Salesforce ecosystem and can build apps to support various business lines in multiple organizations. Many companies outsource PDOs to deal with the technical functionalities of their Salesforce org to provide the best solutions. 

Much like any other Consultants, there are tiers within the Salesforce PDO, depending upon the domain expertise and the relationship between the PDO and Salesforce. The levels are as follows: 

• Tier 1- Certified Specialist 
• Tier 2- Certified Navigator
• Tier 3- Specialist Navigator 
• Tier 4- Master Navigator

Benefits of using PDO

A good Product Development Outsourcer (PDO) can save your company time, money, and headaches. They understand the Application Lifecycle Management Processes, among other things and have mastered the security review as seasoned Salesforce specialists. Other such advantages include:

1. Bringing your Product Idea to life

During the conceptualization and development of a product, PDOs do competitive analysis, technology risks, user interviews, project risk assessment, mitigation paths, and proof of contacts. They also ensure that your prototype and design are a go-to marketing strategy so that you can efficiently navigate through the product development journey.

They can not only develop the product for you but also “pressure test” your product concept ahead of time through a thorough discovery process to ensure a product-market fit that will result in the planned outcomes.

2. Experts at Handling Projects

PDOs are Salesforce professionals with extensive knowledge of the complete technology spectrum of projects and are more than competent in handling any stage of the development process. They can also manage the entire technical scope of any Salesforce project, from ideation to app deployment on AppExchange or project delivery for implementation projects. They collaborate with your business team to ensure that you don’t have any technical project needs problems.

They can assist you through rigorous and complex Salesforce reviews with their skills. One such process is technical documentation. The PDO team can help your business get more out of a product or app idea by preparing and transferring technical documentation, codebase updates/improvements, press kits, integration APIs, and pre-sales campaign data.

3. Building Apps On AppExchange

PDOs are very familiar with Salesforce’s AppExchange ecosystem. There is no better way to get listed on AppExchange than to partner with a PDO.

Developing apps for the Salesforce AppExchange differs significantly from developing apps for other platforms. Salesforce demands extensive technical knowledge of best practices, patterns, and scalable methodologies, so becoming a Salesforce ISV is a complicated and time-consuming process. Because PDOs primarily handle custom development, integrations, and app deployments, you can focus on the most significant business and product challenges. They understand what it takes for a product to become commercially viable and successful.  

4. Well-versed in the security review process

The Salesforce Security Review process is complicated. It is tough to understand, and extensive process and preparation might take a long time. Without an expert’s knowledge and consultation, it is quite impossible to get through the review independently. 

Let’s face it- you don’t know what you don’t know, which is why working with a PDO is so beneficial. They know what to expect because they always do it by helping you create a plan to pass Security Review. No matter what stage of the development process you are in, a PDO will take care of the security process.

5. Cut Cost and Time

PDO helps companies to save money and time. Using a PDO to manage your project is both faster and less expensive. You’ll pay less in the long run, and your software will be available sooner.

Your staff will be able to concentrate on their current tasks rather than a new project on an unfamiliar platform. Because PDOs work in the Salesforce ecosystem every day, they can quickly navigate the Salesforce ecosystem and manage complex processes throughout the app development process. Another benefit of working with PDOs is that they can multitask and frequently collaborate with your business team to ensure that technical project needs are met.

Summing Up

PDOs should be regarded as a feasible AppExchange Application go-to-market strategy. They can aid businesses in collaborating as support staff to improve user adoption, which leads to faster client acquisition. Only a PDO with experience in various industries can understand the issues you and your clients will face.

Want to know more about PDOs? Contact us HERE.