Quick Notes on Salesforce Winter and Spring '25 Release

The Salesforce Spring '25 release is set to introduce several enhancements designed to improve user experience, security, and system performance. To help you prepare effectively, here's a concise overview of the most impactful updates and recommended preparation steps:

Key Updates and Enhancements:

Change Einstein Activity Capture Permissions for Sales Engagement Basic Users:

Impact: Users assigned the Sales Engagement Basic User permission set will lose access to Einstein Activity Capture unless reassigned the Standard Einstein Activity Capture permission set.
Preparation: Identify affected users and update their permission sets accordingly.

Enable ICU Locale Formats:

Impact: Salesforce is transitioning from Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK) to ICU Locale Formats, affecting date, time, and number formatting.
Preparation: Test the new formats in a sandbox environment to identify potential impacts on your processes.

Enable LWC Stacked Modals:

Impact: To enhance page load performance, Salesforce is converting more of the user interface from legacy Aura components to Lightning Web Components (LWC).
Preparation: Review and test any custom quick actions built with Aura or LWC to ensure compatibility.

Enforce Permission Requirements Defined on Built-In Apex Classes Used as Inputs:

Impact: When using an Apex action in a Flow, users will need to have access to the underlying records being affected if the Apex action is defined to enforce user permissions.
Preparation: Review your Flows and Apex actions to ensure appropriate user permissions are in place.

Enforce Rollbacks for Apex Action Exceptions in REST API:

Impact: Apex actions run via the REST API will now roll back if they encounter exceptions, ensuring consistent database changes.
Preparation: Test your integrations to confirm they handle exceptions appropriately under the new rollback behavior.

Preparation Timeline:

December 19, 2024: Sign up for a pre-release Developer Edition environment to explore Spring '25 features.
December 31, 2024: Review the official Salesforce Release Notes for detailed information on all updates.
January 2, 2025 (by 5 p.m. PT): Refresh your sandbox to test new features against your customizations.
January 3, 2025: Sandbox Preview begins; utilize this period for thorough testing.
January 16, 2025: Salesforce will share features in the Admin Evangelist’s Release Blog, highlighting top features to be release-ready.

General Recommendations:

Plan Ahead: Schedule updates during off-peak hours to minimize disruption.
Communicate Changes: Inform users about upcoming changes and provide necessary training or documentation.
Backup Configurations: Document current settings to facilitate troubleshooting if needed.