Observability and Monitoring Strategies for Salesforce Development
Salesforce development presents unique challenges for monitoring and observability. Unlike traditional web applications, Salesforce blends Apex code, declarative automation (Flows), and multiple external integrations, which makes tracking performance, exceptions, and system health more complex. While Salesforce doesn’t offer a full observability suite out-of-the-box, there are effective strategies to gain visibility across your org.
Native Salesforce Monitoring Capabilities
Salesforce provides several built-in tools that form the foundation of observability:
🐞 Debug Logs → Apex & workflows
⚠️ Apex Emails → Unhandled exceptions
🔄 Flow Logs → Flow failures
📊 Event Monitoring → Activity & API
⏱️ Jobs UI → Async job health
🌐 API → Usage & limits
Third-Party Tools & Integrations
To bridge Salesforce’s observability gaps, many teams integrate with external platforms:
Splunk – Ingest Salesforce Event Monitoring and Apex logs for dashboards, alerts, and search capabilities.
Datadog – Consolidates Salesforce logs and metrics alongside other system data.
New Relic & AppDynamics – Primarily for external apps, but can capture Salesforce API latency and integration metrics.
Sentry – Can centralize Apex exceptions via custom logging frameworks that send errors to Sentry’s API.
These platforms help aggregate data, create real-time alerts, and provide cross-system insights that Salesforce alone cannot offer.
Custom-Built Monitoring Solutions
Many organizations create tailored solutions to enhance observability:
Custom Apex Logging – Wrap critical logic in try-catch blocks and log errors/performance data to custom objects.
Flow Failure Handling – Use fault paths to log errors internally or externally.
Scheduled Batch Jobs – Aggregate logs periodically for simplified performance monitoring.
Outbound Messaging / Platform Events – Push diagnostic or error data to external systems for centralization.
Example: Logging slow-running SOQL queries in a batch job can help pinpoint performance bottlenecks before they impact users.
Tracking Technical Debt & Performance
Monitoring goes beyond errors—it includes maintaining code quality and avoiding slow transactions:
Static Code Analysis & Linters – Identify code smells and inefficiencies.
Apex CPU Time Tracking – Monitor governor limits via debug logs or Event Monitoring.
Performance Dashboards – Aggregate SOQL/DML counts, async job durations, and slow-running operations.
Change Management & Documentation – Track deprecated components, known issues, and Salesforce releases that may affect performance.
Integrating Salesforce with Enterprise Observability Platforms
Enterprises with existing monitoring tools can integrate Salesforce data effectively:
Streaming Event Logs – Use the Event Monitoring API to push user activity and logs to centralized platforms in near real-time.
API Gateway Monitoring – Track API usage and latency through middleware between Salesforce and external systems.
Custom Middleware – Aggregate logs, async job states, and performance metrics into your enterprise dashboards.
Alert Correlation – Feed Salesforce exceptions into existing incident workflows for consolidated root cause analysis (RCA).
Recommendations for Salesforce Teams
Enable native logging & Event Monitoring for critical orgs or environments.
Build lightweight custom logging in Apex and Flows for business-critical errors and metrics.
Integrate with existing observability tools via APIs or middleware for centralized dashboards and alerts.
Create Salesforce-specific dashboards so admins and non-developers can monitor system health easily.
Prioritize alerts on key exceptions, API limit breaches, and slow-running jobs.
Regularly review technical debt to prevent performance regressions over time.
Conclusion
Effective Salesforce monitoring requires a layered approach: leveraging native tools, enhancing observability with custom solutions, and integrating with enterprise-grade platforms. By combining these strategies, teams can detect issues faster, optimize performance, and reduce downtime, ultimately keeping both developers and users happy.
Written with Chat GPT