Salesforce Connect

Traditionally, we’ve recommended importing or copying data into your Salesforce org to let your users access that data. For example, extract, transform, and load (ETL) tools can integrate third-party systems with Salesforce. However, doing so copies data into your org that you don’t need or that quickly becomes stale.

In contrast, Salesforce Connect maps Salesforce external objects to data tables in external systems. Instead of copying the data into your org, Salesforce Connect accesses the data on demand and in real time. The data is never stale, and we access only what you need. We recommend that you use Salesforce Connect when:

• You have a large amount of data that you don’t want to copy into your Salesforce org.
• You need small amounts of data at any one time.
• You want real-time access to the latest data.

Even though the data is stored outside your org, Salesforce Connect provides seamless integration with the Lightning Platform. External objects are available to Salesforce tools, such as global search, lookup relationships, record feeds, and the Salesforce mobile app. External objects are also available to Apex, SOSL, SOQL queries, Salesforce APIs, and deployment via the Metadata API, change sets, and packages.

For example, you store product order information in a back-office ERP system. You want to view those orders as a related list on each customer record in your Salesforce org. Salesforce Connect enables you to set up a lookup relationship between the customer object (parent) and the external object (child) for orders. Then you can set up the page layouts for the parent object to include a related list that displays child records.

Going a step further, you can update the orders directly from the related list on the customer record. By default, external object records are read only. But you can define the external data source to enable writable external objects.

For information about using Apex DML write operations on external object records, see the Apex Developer Guide.

Note If transmitting potentially sensitive information, including sensitive or regulated data such as personal health data or financial data, Salesforce recommends that customers encrypt their external data sources at rest. Transmissions through the Salesforce Connect service are already encrypted using mTLS.

Example This screenshot shows how Salesforce Connect can provide a seamless view of data across system boundaries. A record detail page for the Business_Partner external object includes two related lists of child objects. The external lookup relationships and page layouts enable users to view related data from inside and from outside the Salesforce org on a single page.

• Account standard object (1)
• Sales_Order external object (2)

• Choose Which Salesforce Connect Adapter to Use
  Salesforce Connect uses a protocol-specific adapter to connect to an external system and access its data. When you define an external data source in your organization, you specify the adapter in the Type field.
• Salesforce Connect Adapters Included per Add-On License
  Using Salesforce Connect to access external data in an org requires one or more Salesforce Connect add-on licenses.
• General Limits for Salesforce Connect
  Understand the limits that apply to all Salesforce Connect adapters.
• Salesforce Connect Learning Map
  Follow along the Salesforce Connect learning map to explore all the relevant trails, docs, and reference resources you need to integrate external data sources into your apps!