Integrating your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools has become a must in the modern workplace. CRM solutions, such as Salesforce, provide a vast network of applications that are often utilized in isolation. However, these tools are most effective when they are used in close conjunction. Integrating Salesforce and Microsoft Azure can assist you in better understanding your customers and in making strategic decisions.
Salesforce is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that allows companies to connect with their customers, partners, and other organizations. It helps companies to track customers, derive insights from their data, and manage customer support and complaints. Moreover, users can use Salesforce to keep track of contacts, generate reports, run businesses, and engage on social media. Microsoft Azure is a Cloud Computing platform that is open, flexible, and enterprise-ready. It allows you to create, manage, and deploy applications across a large, worldwide network using the tools and frameworks of your choice.
This article will guide you through the process of setting up Salesforce Azure Integration using 3 simple steps. It will provide you with a brief overview of Salesforce and Microsoft Azure with their key features. You will also explore the benefits of setting up Salesforce Azure Integration in further sections. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
You will have a much easier time setting up your Salesforce Azure Integration if you have gone through the following prerequisites.
- An active Salesforce account.
- An active Microsoft Azure subscription.
- Working knowledge of CRM tools and Cloud Computing services.
Introduction to Salesforce
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Salesforce is a Cloud-Based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application that assists businesses in managing sales and customer data. Salesforce CRM is simple to set up and operate, therefore you don’t need any technical knowledge to operate it. It has reshaped the interaction between businesses and their customers by forging a deeper bond between them. Moreover, it provides you with unique insights into the customer journey while also equipping you with tools to improve the customers’ experience.
Thus, Salesforce enables you to develop a one-of-a-kind solution tailored to your company’s requirements. It is a pay-as-you-go model that makes it a feasible and enticing alternative for many businesses. With a greater emphasis on the customer, it is more important than ever to nurture and build your customer relationships. This process is made a lot easier with Salesforce.
Key Features of Salesforce
In recent years, Salesforce has gained significant popularity. Below are the key features of Salesforce that makes it different from its competitors:
- Dynamic Dashboards: Salesforce’s Dynamic Dashboards provide a clear picture of how well your company is performing depending on key factors such as Market Trends, Customer Behavior, and so on. It also allows you to create Dashboards and generate real-time reports easily.
- Email Integrations: Salesforce allows you to sync your calendars and schedules with other apps like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail. It also allows you to retrieve important emails while you’re not connected to the internet and develop customized templates for potential customers.
- Real-Time Analytics: Salesforce Analytics is a tool that lets you visualize the data of your users. When users are confused by complex data, Salesforce Analytics can help them organize it in a way that is meaningful to them and easily understandable.
- Collaboration Tools: Salesforce Collaboration tools allow members of different teams to communicate in real-time. Through regular communication, each team is kept updated about the progress of their partner teams.
To know more about Salesforce, visit this link.
Introduction to Microsoft Azure
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Microsoft Azure is one of the most popular Cloud Computing Platforms that was released by Microsoft in 2008. On the Azure platform, you can create, manage, and deploy applications. Microsoft keeps it up to date so that it can support all of your deployments in the future. It is compatible with all languages and frameworks. It also ensures that your data is protected and backed up.
Microsoft Azure is a hybrid solution that combines IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service) to provide virtual computing, database, and other services.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is a Cloud Computing model in which a vendor provides internet-based access to its computing power, storage, networking, and servers.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): PaaS (Platform as a Service) is a Cloud Computing model in which a vendor grants internet access to its Cloud-Based environment to develop applications on its infrastructure.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Software as a Service (SaaS) is a Cloud Computing model in which a provider makes its applications and software available to customers via the internet.
Key Features of Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure has gained significant popularity in the market. Some of the key features of Microsoft Azure include:
- Unique Storage System: When compared to competing cloud services, Microsoft Azure has more delivery points and data centers. As a result, Microsoft Azure can provide a better user experience and deliver content to your business environment more quickly.
- Scalability: Microsoft Azure is a pay-as-you-go service that can be scaled up or down easily to meet the business’ demands. This makes it a practical alternative for numerous enterprises with varying sizes.
- Flexibility: Microsoft Azure gives your company the flexibility to use any degree of functionality it requires. Moreover, with nearly no downtime, your company can swiftly deploy and update web apps to Microsoft Azure.
- Analytics Support: Microsoft Azure comes with built-in data analysis and critical insight support. These features aid businesses in identifying new business leads, improving customer service, and making strategic decisions.
To know more about Microsoft Azure, visit this link.
Introduction to Azure Data Factory
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Azure Data Factory is a Cloud-Based Data Integration solution that allows you to orchestrate and automate data movement and transformation using data-driven workflows. It has both programmatic and UI capabilities for monitoring and managing the workflows.
Some of the key benefits of using Azure Data Factory include:
- Integrability: All of the drivers required to integrate with Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and other data stores are managed by Azure Data Factory. As a result, Azure Data Factory is compatible with a wide range of supplemental tools, including Databricks, and can be used with most databases and clouds.
- Productivity: It is highly automated and aids in the efficient orchestration of data. As a result, the performance of Azure Data Factory allows you to spend less time setting up the tool and you can put more time into gaining the insights.
- Accessibility: Azure Data Factory has a global cloud presence, with data migration possible in more than 25 countries.
To know more about Azure Data Factory, visit this link.
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Hevo takes care of all your data preprocessing needs required to set up the integration and lets you focus on key business activities and draw a much powerful insight on how to generate more leads, retain customers, and take your business to new heights of profitability. It provides a consistent & reliable solution to manage data in real-time and always have analysis-ready data in your desired destination.
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- Minimal Learning: Hevo, with its simple and interactive UI, is extremely simple for new customers to work on and perform operations.
- Hevo Is Built To Scale: As the number of sources and the volume of your data grows, Hevo scales horizontally, handling millions of records per minute with very little latency.
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- Live Monitoring: Hevo allows you to monitor the data flow and check where your data is at a particular point in time.
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Steps to Set Up Salesforce Azure Integration using Azure Data Factory
Setting up Salesforce Azure Integration is very simple. To set up Salesforce Azure Integration, you need to create a linked service to Salesforce in the Azure Data Factory. This linked service will help you to copy data from Salesforce to Azure. Below are the steps you can follow to set up Salesforce Azure Integration with ease:
Step 1: Log in to Microsoft Azure and Create a New Linked Service
Select Linked services from the Manage tab in your Azure Data Factory, then click New as shown below.
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Step 2: Search for Salesforce Connector in the Data Store
In the Data store, look for Salesforce and choose the Salesforce connector as shown below.
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Step 3: Configure your Linked Service and Connect with Microsoft Azure
Create the new linked service by configuring the service details and testing the connection as shown below.
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With this, you have successfully set up your Salesforce Azure Integration. It is as simple as this.
Benefits of Setting Up Salesforce Azure Integration
Salesforce Azure Integration has numerous benefits. Some of the key benefits of setting up Salesforce Azure Integration include:
- Salesforce Azure Integration allows you to track leads and seamlessly move data between various platforms.
- Salesforce Azure Integration allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of digital initiatives as well as gain insight into why specific services or products aren’t working as expected.
- Salesforce Azure Integration allows you to gain insight into your customers’ browsing behaviors based on their purchase history.
- Salesforce Azure Integration allows you to maintain everything in one place, eliminating the need to update different systems in response to security updates or organizational changes.
Conclusion
Overall, setting up Salesforce Azure Integration is an excellent way to analyze and get meaningful insights about your customers. This article gave an overview of Salesforce and Microsoft Azure with their key features. It also included a step-by-step procedure to set up Salesforce Azure Integration. You can now create your own Salesforce Azure Integration to evaluate your customers and get the most out of this Integration.
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Businesses can use automated platforms like Hevo Data to set the integration and handle the ETL process. It helps you directly transfer data from Salesforce for free to a Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence tools, or any other desired destination in a fully automated and secure manner without having to write any code and will provide you a hassle-free experience.
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Share your experience of setting up Salesforce Azure Integration in the comments section below!
Ayush is a Software Engineer with a keen interest in data analysis and writing technical content. He has authored numerous articles covering a wide array of subjects in data integration and infrastructure.