Today, Salesforce debuted Lightning Experience, an overhauled interface that features an improved UI and integrated analytics. Described by Salesforce as “the biggest change in 15 years”, Lightning Experience is available in preview now, and will make its official debut in the upcoming Winter ‘16 release. In addition to introducing changes aimed at improving the user experience by decoupling Salesforce data from the interface, Lightning Experience represents important shifts for the future of Salesforce.

A dramatic update long overdue.

Salesforce released the Aloha UI in 2010, a reskin of an even older looking UI. Meanwhile, web technologies have improved tremendously over the past five years. Upstart CRM companies like Insightly and Pipedrive have shown us that CRM can indeed be beautiful and provide an intuitive user experience. There is also Skuid (available on the AppExchange) that provides a declarative UI built on top of Force.com, which has trained end users to expect a slicker experience than what Salesforce offers. Salesforce1 and Lightning Components, released over the last couple of years, are the building blocks for the new Lightning Experience.

Unifying mobile and desktop experiences.

The biggest benefit of Lightning Experience is the move toward eliminating dedicated mobile and desktop applications in favor of a single unified interface across devices and operating systems. App Builder’s responsive design will ensure compatibility as new devices are released, future-proofing Lightning as it matures.

Ready to get started? Here are three recommendations to get the most from Lightning Experience.

1. Prioritize change management and training.

The desktop UI change is big, so don't underestimate the amount of change management and training needed to get your users comfortable with the new design. Think about a communication plan to ensure they know the what, why, how, and outcome of the change.

2. Rewrite VisualForce pages — mobile first.

Develop a strategy to determine which custom VisualForce pages you'll want to rewrite using Lightning. There will be work required to get legacy pages and javascript buttons working in the new UI. Think of the pages that need to be available on mobile first.

3. Consider a pilot.

Decide if Lightning Experience is right for your organization at this time. In the initial Winter '16 release, it's limited to Sales Cloud and does not support person accounts. You can turn on the new Lightning Experience UI via permission sets, so consider doing a pilot with a small group of users to gather feedback.

While the announcements around Lightning Experience are exciting, if your company currently has a complex org with lots of customization, make sure you have a strategy to map out all of the areas that would be impacted, and consider the ongoing cost of maintaining two sets of page layouts. Contact us to connect with our Salesforce Lightning experts.