Does your organization use Salesforce to manage its CRM? If so, then it might be beneficial to integrate it with an external database to help you make sense of the massive amounts of data that Salesforce provides. This blog will help you achieve Salesforce database integration by providing an overview of how you can go about this integration.
Table of contents
Introduction To Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM tool that helps you maintain and manage your interactions with your customers. Salesforce also offers many cloud-based products, including the internet of things products and data analytics products, in addition to its flagship CRM tool. Salesforce is also able to integrate with a myriad of software tools, which makes it an incredibly versatile tool.
We will primarily focus on the Salesforce CRM tool for this blog.
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Introduction To Databases
A database is simply a collection of electronic data stored in a computer system. There are many types of databases, but for this blog, we’ll briefly look at two types of databases. These are relational and non-relational (NoSQL) databases.
Relational databases
A Relational database is a database that stores data in uniquely identifiable tables known as relations. These relations represent entities in your business solution, and each relation also has columns, which are the attributes for these entities. Relational databases continue to be the most popular type of database in use today, although alternatives (like NoSQL databases) are gaining traction. Their popularity is largely due to the maturity/early entry, ease of use of the SQL language, and its effectiveness in maintaining high-quality data. Below are some of the examples of popular relational databases in the market:
- MySQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Postgres
- Oracle Database
- MariaDB
- IBM DB2
1.MySQL
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MySQL is the In MySQL, the SQL part of “MySQL” stands for “Structured Query Language”. SQL is the most common standardized language used to access databases. world’s most popular database that is open source and free. MySQL was acquired by Oracle as a part of Sun Microsystems acquisition in 2009.MySQL is a database management system.
2. Microsoft SQL Server
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SQL Server database developed by Microsoft is one of the most popular databases in the world. Initially launched in 1989 and written in C, C++, SQL Server is now widely used among major companies. SQL Server is also a part of Microsoft’s Azure cloud as Azure SQL Server.
3. Postgres
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PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source object-relational database system that uses and extends the SQL language combined with many features that safely store and scale the most complicated data workloads. PostgreSQL is known for its architecture, reliability, data integrity, robust feature set, extensibility, and the dedication of the open-source community behind the software to consistently deliver performant and innovative solutions.
4. Oracle Database
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Oracle database is a relational database (RDBMS). Relational databases store data in the tabular form of rows and columns. Column of a database table represents the attributes of an entity and rows of a table stores records. An RDBMS that implements object-oriented features such as user-defined types, inheritance, and polymorphism is called an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS). Oracle Database has extended the relational model to an object-relational model, making it possible to store complex business models in a relational database.
5.MariaDB
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MariaDB Server is one of the most popular database servers in the world. It’s made by the original developers of MySQL. MariaDB turns data into structured information in a wide array of applications, ranging from banking to websites. It is an enhanced, drop-in replacement for MySQL. MariaDB is used because it is fast, scalable, and robust.
6. IBM DB2
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IBM Db2 database is a relational database that delivers advanced data management and analytics capabilities for your transactional and warehousing workloads. This operational database is designed to deliver high performance, actionable insights, data availability, and reliability, and it is supported across Linux, Unix, and Windows operating systems.
Non-Relational databases
Non-relational databases do not use the row and column schema that is used in relational databases. They also may not employ the SQL query language. They are also not uniform and typically have their query language and data objects. Some popular non-relational databases are:
- MongoDB
- Cassandra
- HBase
- Neo4J (Graph Database)
1. MongoDB
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MongoDB is a document database with the scalability and flexibility that you want with the querying and indexing that you need.MongoDB is an open-source document database and leading NoSQL database. MongoDB is written in C++. MongoDB’s document model is simple for developers to learn and use, while still providing all the capabilities needed to meet the most complex requirements at any scale. We provide drivers for 10+ languages, and the community has built dozens more.
2. Cassandra
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Apache Cassandra is an open-source NoSQL distributed database trusted by thousands of companies for scalability and high availability without compromising performance. Linear scalability and proven fault tolerance on commodity hardware or cloud infrastructure make it the perfect platform for mission-critical data.
3. HBase
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HBase is a column-oriented non-relational database management system that runs on top of Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). HBase provides a fault-tolerant way of storing sparse data sets, which are common in many big data use cases. It is well suited for real-time data processing or random read/write access to large volumes of data.
4. Neo4J (Graph Database)
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Neo4J (Graph Database) is a database designed to treat the relationships between data as equally important to the data itself. It is intended to hold data without constricting it to a pre-defined model. Instead, the data is stored like we first draw it out – showing how each individual entity connects with or is related to others.
Understanding the Salesforce Database’s Relational Nature
Salesforce databases thrive on object-based relationships and allow users to either; leverage the standard objects & their relationships or create custom objects and derive relationships to share complex and dynamic information seamlessly. With Salesforce Databases in place, you can develop relational tables that not only store your customer data but also “share data” to provide more actionable insights, avoid data redundancy and boost performance.
Salesforce Databases follow two main types of relationship for their objects:
- Lookup Relationships: This represents the most simple and basic relationship between Salesforce objects. It allows users to lookup one data object from the other. It consists of data objects that are sometimes associated with one another.
- Master-Details Relationships: These relationships consist of one master and numerous detail objects, with the master controlling the detail object. It consists of data objects that are sometimes associated with one another. For example, if the master accounts object manages the contacts detail object, then deleting the master will result in all contacts getting removed.
Methods To Achieve Salesforce Database Integration
The following are some alternatives to connect Salesforce to your external database:
- Using Force.com Web Services API
- Using WSDL (Web Services Description Language)
- Using Hevo Data
- Using CopyStorm
1. Using Force.com Web Services API
Integrate your data on Salesforce.com database and store it using the Force.com web services API. You can then use Data Loader to update it or build a Visualforce page on the data when needed.
2. Using WSDL (Web Services Description Language)
If you have a web service that provides a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) then you can do the following:
- Import it to Apex Data Loader, which will then auto-generate Apex classes.
- Use HTTP Apex REST classes to construct a web messaging service.
3. Using Hevo Data
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Use a fully automated, No-code Data Pipeline solution like Hevo Data. Hevo allows you to move data from sources like Salesforce to any database of your choice in real-time and for free. Hevo also helps you prepare, clean, enrich, and transform your Salesforce data, making sure that it is analysis-ready at any point in the targeted data warehouse.
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Key Features Of Hevo
- Fully Automated: Hevo is a fully-managed platform that requires minimal setup and maintenance on your part.
- Fault-Tolerant: Hevo has a fault-tolerant architecture. This ensures that your data loads from Salesforce are done reliably and consistently, without any data loss.
- Real-Time: Hevo’s real-time data streaming architecture ensures that your data loads are instant and without delay.
- Simple: Loading data with Hevo is very intuitive and easy. Using Hevo will ensure that your data is transferred from Salesforce in just a few clicks.
- Secure: Hevo ensures that your data is secured as they offer two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption.
- 100+ Pre-Built Integrations: Hevo offers pre-built integrations from 100+ data sources across SaaS applications, databases, cloud storage, etc.
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4. Using CopyStorm
If you only need to send the data in one direction, then you can use one of the following Salesforce relational database integrations available through CopyStorm – Salesforce to SQL Server, Salesforce to MySQL, Salesforce to H2 or Salesforce to Oracle.
Conclusion
Even though Salesforce does not provide direct integration with an external database, the above 4 alternatives can help you achieve much of the same functionality if they are implemented well. Achieving Salesforce database integration, by using web services by Force.com or by using WSDL, requires extensive hard work and time. So, if you want to avoid the hassle involved in these methods and opt for fully automated service, then Hevo is the right choice for you.
Hevo is a No-code Data Pipeline. It can easily migrate your data from Salesforce to your desired destination within minutes and for free. It also offers pre-built integrations from 100+ data sources.
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Share your experience and comments about Salesforce database integration in the comment section below.