Heroku for Partners: Create Engaging Apps 

Heroku helps developers build beautiful, customer-facing apps faster than ever before by removing the complexity of architecting your app for the Web. Build apps in dozens of modern programming languages — including Ruby on Rails, Node.js, Python, Java, and more — then move your app to the Web with a few simple clicks. 

Heroku apps scale to meet demand with ease, and you get full control, infinite capacity, and independent scaling for each component of an app. Since 2007, over four million apps have been created on Heroku and the platform provides companies from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises with a faster and more effective way to create, deploy and manage apps.

Be sure to join and collaborate with other partners in the "Salesforce Platform for Partners" Group.

New! Consulting partners, dive deeper into Heroku with mobile-friendly Salesforce Partner Learning Paths! Find curated content and modules to help you sell, implement, innovate, and more. 

Set your course today >

Complete Learning Experience: 
Heroku Learning Path
Curated tools and templates for Salesforce trusted advisors.

Technical:

The best way for developers to learn Heroku is to create a free developer account and create apps on the platform.
Recommended getting started paths:  
Option 1: Basic Heroku setup and usage - 
  1. Create a free Heroku account. 
  2. Follow the tutorial for the language/framework of choice (node.js, Java, Python, RoR etc) and push a "Hello World" app to Heroku (see https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/quickstart tutorials).
  3. Try adding different add-ons (e.g. Heroku Postgres) and customizing the app (see managing add-ons for help).
  4. Explore additional Heroku Features, and test them with your Heroku account and app. 
  5. Add the Heroku Connect Developer edition from the Heroku Add-ons Marketplace. 
    :: How Heroku Works
    :: Architecting Applications for Heroku 
Option 2

:: Sample apps, quick starts, etc - https://www.heroku.com/cx
:: Guided Java quick-start/tutorial for creating eCommerce app - https://github.com/abepursell/simpleSpringComputerStore

Option 3

:: Feel free to leverage course materials and content created by one of our training partners - Guided Heroku + Java + Salesforce training 

Sales and Implementation Resources

 ResourceAudience Description
Heroku Learning PathAll Find curated content and templates for Salesforce trusted advisors
Salesforce Platform First Call DeckAll Use slides from this deck to properly position the Salesforce Platform in your own presentations
Heroku EnterpriseAll The Heroku Experience Developers Love, with the Enterprise Features Large Companies Need
What is Heroku Enterprise?All Brief summary of Heroku Enterprise
Heroku Connect on Heroku Add-ons MarketplaceAll Login to install Heroku Connect
Development or Demo OrgsDevelopers, Sales See the What You Need to Know tab for Heroku account options
Product Page (Public Website)All Understand positioning from the main www.salesforce.com site
Heroku Connect Landing pageAll Learn more about Heroku Connect
Heroku DevCenterPM, Developers Documentation on Heroku Connect, including how it works, provisioning, and more
Heroku Connect Heroku ButtonPM, Developers This Heroku button is the simplest way to get a demo version of Heroku Connect. Heroku Connect makes it easy for you to build Heroku apps that share data with your Salesforce deployment.
Developer ResourcesPM, Developers Heroku is built on the Salesforce Platform
Pricing InformationSales Table of pricing and packaging 
Heroku Technical Compilation DraftSales, Marketing Technical walkthrough of Heroku Product
Find your Heroku AE & ArchitectAll Use the slides from this deck to find your Heroku AE & Architect by region

Additional Resources
:: Salesforce Platform for Partners Group
:: Want to learn more about what Heroku is? Start here.
:: Play: Loyalty
:: Play: Ecommerce
:: Play: Internet of Things (IoT)
:: Heroku Customer Success site
:: Want to demo Heroku and Heroku Connect? Watch this video to learn more. 
:: GitHub page with Deploy to Heroku button

Heroku Enterprise with Private Spaces

Q: What is Heroku Private Spaces?
A: Heroku Private Spaces, made available as a part of Heroku Enterprise, is now GA. Heroku Enterprise is the Platform-as-a-Service with everything your customers need to build, run and scale engaging applications. Heroku Private Spaces lets your customers have the best of cloud-based PaaS with the network isolation and control of on-premise systems: 
  • Selectable Regions - Run apps in Tokyo, Frankfurt, Oregon, and Virginia for better performance 
  • Trusted IP Ranges - Restrict access to apps only to users on trusted networks 
  • Dedicated Isolated Runtimes - All runtime resources in a space are shared only with apps in that space for a new level of isolation 
  • Dedicated Private Networks - Each space has its own private network 
  • Private Data Services - New private versions of Heroku data services offer network isolation benefits for storing sensitive data 
  • Stable Outbound IPs - Securely connect apps to third party cloud services and corporate networks 
Q: What does this mean for me as a partner? 
A: This new release of Heroku Enterprise with Private Spaces gives our customers enhanced security and isolation for their apps and data, removing sales blockers and expanding use cases, even in regulated industries like Financial Services and HLS. We’ve already seen large 6 and 7 digit deals emerge from the beta.
Q: Where can I learn more about Heroku Private Spaces?
A: See the Resources tab on this page for additional information and blogs on Heroku Private Spaces. 

Heroku Connect

Q: How is Heroku Connect different from what I could always do with the Force.com API? 
A: Heroku Connect allows developers to connect Heroku apps to Salesforce directly without a programmatic API integration. The highly scalable service abstracts away the complexities of managing data synchronization – developers can focus on innovation while Heroku takes care of moving data back and forth. If you know how to write an app against a Postgres database, you can now write an app against Salesforce. 

Q: How is Heroku Connect different from Salesforce Mobile? 
A: The Salesforce mobile packs help you build mobile apps that connect to Salesforce. Heroku Connect synchronizes Salesforce data to a Postgres database in the Heroku cloud, enabling any apps (including mobile apps) to access Salesforce data using any database interface: SQL, JDBC, ODBC, etc. 

Q: Can developers still use the Force.com API?
A: Yes. We expect the majority of Heroku applications to benefit from use of Heroku Connect technology though we recognize there are use cases where developers will prefer to directly integrate with the Force.com API. 

Q: Will Heroku Connect automatically update if I add new fields or objects to Salesforce? 
A: No. You will need to update your mappings within the Heroku Connect point-and-click interface. 

Q: How is Heroku Connect different from ETL tools like Jitterbit and Mulesoft?

  • Heroku Connect provides near real time synchronization between Salesforce and Postgres. ETL tools just extract data. You must find a way to get the extracted data back into your Salesforce org(s). 
  • Heroku Connect is a cloud service, hosted and managed by Heroku. Most ETL tools are on premises software with the costs, complexity and management requirements associated with on prem software. 
  • Heroku Connect is simple and can be set up by any developer or Salesforce admin. No database or ETL skills required.
Force.com and Heroku

Q: What are the differences between Force.com & Heroku? 
A: Force.com is ideal for internal-facing applications that require authenticated access to Salesforce. An important differentiator, Salesforce1 additionally enables non-professional developers to build mobile apps with drag-and-drop tools, without the need for deep programming skills. 

Heroku is ideal for customer-facing applications where professional developers require flexibility and traffic may be unpredictable. An important differentiator, Heroku is a multi-language platform designed for developers to build, deploy and scale apps quickly. Heroku apps can connect to Salesforce through Heroku1 or via direct integration with the Force.com API. 

EVALUATION PROCESS
These are general considerations, but the answer is not always simple; a hybrid approach is likely best for any complex project. 
1. The End User
Scale: Is this a public-facing app that will be accessed anonymously and could potentially scale to millions of users? If yes, choose Heroku. If the app will face a known and managed user population, choose either platform. 
Authentication: Does the user need authenticated access to data in a back-end system like Salesforce? If yes, choose Force.com. 

2. The Type of App
How does the app relate to data already in Salesforce? Is the app, for example, a traditional forms-based workflow mobile app that operates directly on data already captured in CRM? If yes, Force.com is likely the best choice. If it is a mobile engagement app with a flashy consumer-oriented UI that pushes data into Salesforce asynchronously, choose Heroku. Be sure to consider the size and complexity of the app as well as the expected evolution. 

3. The Development Team 
What resources are available to build the app? Will internal developers or an agency build the app? Who will maintain the app and with what toolsets? What languages will be used? If there will be a large team behind the app, for example, they will likely be more productive and comfortable on Heroku because the platform provides access to state-of-the-art development and application lifecycle management tools. 

4. The Trust Profile
What kind of data will be stored in the app? Are there compliance requirements or data residency restrictions? Can required data live on Heroku permanently, or even transiently? Evaluate this closely for Health & Life Sciences and Financial Services customers – Heroku can generally only be used if no data is stored on the front-end. If there are strict requirements, Force.com is likely the best choice.