Differences between Salesforce vs Salesforce Lightning | Enablement

difference between salesforce and salesforce lightning

In the realm of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, Salesforce has emerged as a dominant player, empowering businesses to streamline their sales, marketing, and customer service operations. Within the Salesforce ecosystem, there exists a distinct evolution in technology and user experience known as Salesforce Lightning. To fully comprehend the disparity between Salesforce and Salesforce Lightning, it’s essential to delve into their origins, functionalities, and benefits.

Salesforce: The Foundation

Salesforce, initially launched in 1999, has evolved over the years into a comprehensive CRM platform. It was conceived with the primary goal of providing a centralized platform for managing customer information, sales processes, and customer support. Salesforce offers a range of tools and features designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes across various industries. The classic Salesforce interface, often referred to as Salesforce Classic, laid the foundation for what would become Salesforce Lightning.

Key Features of Salesforce:

Salesforce Lightning: The Next Generation

Salesforce Lightning represents a significant shift in the Salesforce user experience and interface. It was introduced in 2015 as a more modern and user-friendly alternative to Salesforce Classic. Lightning was designed to enhance productivity, improve user adoption, and offer a more visually appealing interface.

Key Features of Salesforce Lightning:

Lightning Experience: The most apparent change in Lightning is its updated user interface, offering a cleaner and more intuitive design.
Components: Salesforce Lightning introduces the concept of components, allowing users to build pages with drag-and-drop ease. Lightning Components enable businesses to create dynamic, responsive, and customizable pages.
App Builder: Lightning App Builder is a visual tool allowing users to quickly create custom apps and pages.
Einstein AI: Lightning includes Salesforce Einstein, which leverages artificial intelligence to provide predictive analytics, recommendations, and automation.
Integration with Lightning AppExchange: Lightning is closely integrated with the Lightning AppExchange, which offers a vast selection of Lightning-ready apps and components.

Key Differences Between Salesforce and Salesforce Lightning:

User Interface: The most apparent difference is the user interface. Salesforce Classic has a more traditional look, while Lightning offers a more modern and visually appealing interface.
Customization: While both versions are highly customizable, Lightning offers more flexibility in designing user interfaces and pages due to its component-based architecture.
Ease of Use: Lightning is often considered more user-friendly and intuitive, which can lead to increased user adoption.
Features: Lightning includes some features not available in Salesforce Classic, such as Lightning Components and Salesforce Einstein AI capabilities.
App Marketplace: While both versions have their app marketplaces, the Lightning AppExchange is more tailored to Lightning’s modern architecture.

Can a user be enabled both in Salesforce Classic and Salesforce Lightning

Yes, a user can be enabled to use both Salesforce Classic and Salesforce Lightning simultaneously. Salesforce allows users to switch between these two user interfaces based on their preferences and requirements.

Here’s how it typically works:

User Profile Settings: Salesforce administrators can configure user profiles to allow access to both Salesforce Classic and Salesforce Lightning. They can set up permissions, page layouts, and record types for each profile based on which interface the user should primarily use.
User Preferences: Individual users can choose their preferred interface. They can switch between Salesforce Classic and Salesforce Lightning by clicking on their user profile picture (top right corner) and selecting “Switch to Lightning Experience” or “Switch to Salesforce Classic.”
URL Access: Users can also access both interfaces directly by using specific URLs. For Salesforce Classic, the URL is typically in the format: https://<your-salesforce-instance>.salesforce.com/ whereas for Salesforce Lightning, it’s: https://<your-salesforce-instance>.lightning.force.com/. Users can bookmark these URLs to access the interface of their choice directly.

This flexibility allows users to work in the interface that they find most comfortable or suitable for their tasks. Some users might prefer Salesforce Classic for specific tasks or workflows, while others might prefer the more modern and streamlined experience of Salesforce Lightning. Salesforce provides this dual-interface functionality to accommodate different user preferences and ensure a smooth transition for organizations migrating from Classic to Lightning.

Salesforce and Salesforce Lightning are two iterations of the same powerful CRM platform, each catering to different user needs and preferences. Salesforce Classic remains a robust choice for businesses with established processes, while Salesforce Lightning offers a modern, customizable, and user-friendly experience, making it a compelling option for those looking to leverage the latest in CRM technology. The choice between the two ultimately depends on your organization’s specific requirements, but both versions underscore Salesforce’s commitment to innovation and customer success.