Customer Relationships and Data Management processes are essential for the growth of any organization. Nowadays, the majority of companies are deploying Salesforce to provide a hassle-free buyer’s journey to their customers and to manage their data. Salesforce is built on a Cloud-based technology that provides tools to manage and collaborate the work of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Teams. It is used by businesses as a simple and secure way to store Sales related data, gather more Leads, optimize Marketing Campaigns, and build strong relations with customers.
Every business deals with a large amount of data and managing it requires organizing and storing information in files that can be shared across the company. If you run a business with offices in multiple locations, it can be difficult to ensure that every employee has instant access to Business Intelligence and the essential documents. Moreover, the process of managing such data if done manually can be cumbersome and error-prone. SharePoint is a tool used globally to optimize and automate this process. It is a Microsoft resource that enables employees to build websites that can store, organize, share, and access critical business information from any device.
To take things one step further, companies are now looking to use the Salesforce SharePoint Integration to enhance their data management. This article introduces Salesforce and SharePoint along with their key features. Also, it lays out a detailed guide, explaining the steps to set up the Salesforce SharePoint Integration. Read along to understand the steps of this integration and learn how it can benefit your business!
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Before initiating the Salesforce SharePoint Integration process you must have:
- A Salesforce account.
- A SharePoint account.
- Working understanding of Salesforce and SharePoint.
Introduction to Salesforce
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Salesforce provides Customer relationship Management (CRM) Software as a Service (SaaS). It offers a variety of software solutions and a platform for users to develop and deploy custom software. In this tool, several clients share common technology and they are all running on the latest Cloud version. Moreover, it can seamlessly manage your Sales related data and also enables you to collaborate with your Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Teams. Salesforce also provides automatic updates of the app or infrastructure. This allows your business to focus on innovation rather than technology management.
Key Features of Salesforce
The following features make Salesforce a necessity for today’s businesses:
- Fast Setup: Salesforce only takes a few weeks to be fully configured, unlike many other CRMs on the market, which on average requires a year to be built from scratch.
- Convenient: Salesforce utilizes an intuitive user interface and engaging workflow. Therefore, employees do not need any training to start using this tool.
- Personalization: Salesforce allows companies to modify some of its features. Therefore, businesses can tailor this tool according to their needs.
- Invoice Planning: Salesforce provides enough data about your customers to allow your Sales Team to develop intuitive strategies for these prospects, targeting them individually. It can help you build customer loyalty and increase your success rate.
- Availability: The Cloud technology enables Salesforce users to access their accounts from any remote location. In addition, Salesforce has a powerful mobile application that is popular with its users.
You can learn more about Salesforce CRM here.
Introduction to SharePoint
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SharePoint, developed by Microsoft, is a document collaboration and management platform. Companies use it to optimally utilize the archives, documents, reports, and other essential content that affects their business process. SharePoint platform is designed by keeping the needs of enterprises in mind. However, companies of all sizes can use it to work with their business data.
Organizations rely on SharePoint for creating Websites. To improve user productivity, this tool supports various features such as Notifications and Approvals, as well as Lists and Libraries. SharePoint improves sharing and collaboration of content on the company’s intranet. Users share their message, resources, news, etc., across the company and create Websites and portals that engage customers. This tool improves organizational efficiency by sharing applications that can easily set up various processes and create communities of interest.
Key Features of SharePoint
SharePoint comes along with the following useful features:
- Faster Navigation: Users can set landmarks on pages to simplify navigation and use numerous keyboard shortcuts to speed up the process of documenting activities. Modern SharePoint Libraries, allow users to quickly access information about their documents, including permissions and metadata.
- Security: SharePoint enables its users to specify the security settings according to their requirements at each checkpoint. Moreover, you can configure archiving and auditing policies, as well as actions required to be taken when business records expire. This helps the organization maintain compliance, while effectively controlling and managing critical information activities.
- Easy Customization: You can customize your team’s Website very easily in a matter of minutes. The background images, colors, site layout, etc., can be customized by just using the Properties option. This way, you can make the required customizations and create the best SharePoint Website that fits your needs perfectly. With such customization options available to the customers, creating the best SharePoint Website becomes a hassle-free experience.
- Social Connections: It provides social networking, a news feed, and tagging capabilities, as well as the ability to search, locate and interact with people through their skills, organizational position, and their relationships.
You can learn more about SharePoint here.
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Steps to Set Up the Salesforce SharePoint Integration
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File Connect is a platform that makes it easier to integrate SharePoint and Salesforce. Most of the companies prefer this integration platform because it saves them enough time by speeding up the necessary file transfer once the 2 software are synced. The Salesforce SharePoint Integration using File Connect can be completed within a few minutes with the following steps:
Step 1: Initiate the Salesforce Files Connect Tool
To start your Salesforce SharePoint Integration, log in to your Salesforce account, and in the Quick Search box type Files Connect and press search. After clicking the Files Connect from the search results, go to its Edit option and update the settings according to your requirements. Make sure to check the Enable Files Connect box while configuring the settings.
Step 2: Grant Permissions to Salesforce Files Connect Tool
On the Salesforce homepage go to the Quick Search box and type Permission Set. Select the User Access Permission Sets in the search results and enable them to give access to your users and File Connect to make the required changes on the platform. After providing access, you and other users will be able to make any necessary changes to make the system ready for Salesforce SharePoint Integration.
The following 2 points should be kept in mind during this step:
- If you are using SharePoint 2000 or 2013 in the Salesforce SharePoint Integration, click on On-premise File Connect and check the list of users who share the same permission sets as you.
- Also, your users should have Cloud authorization that is present in the Profile section of Files Connect. Again, make sure you’ve permitted all of your users to access the information.
Step 3: Establish the Authentication Provider
Your Salesforce SharePoint Integration requires certain authentications before it can be deployed. After granting permissions in the previous step, go to the Quick Search box on the Salesforce homepage and type Auth Provider. In the search results, click New and then select Provide Type option. Now, in the Provide Type option, choose Microsoft Access Control Services as the provider of the SharePoint platform.
After that, enter the required details and click on Save. This will take you to the Auth Provider screen that will contain a Callback URL. Save this URL as it will be useful for the next steps of Salesforce SharePoint Integration.
Step 4: Configure SharePoint Account
An important task during the Salesforce SharePoint Integration is to configure your SharePoint account. To do this, sign in to your SharePoint instance and navigate to any collection of sites that you wish to integrate. Note the location (path) of the site collection, it would be useful later.
Now, you need to create a Microsoft 365 application using a Client Sheet using the following steps:
- Visit the URL: https://[your company name].SharePoint.com/[site collection path]/_layouts/15/appregnew.aspx.]
- This will lead you to the App Information page. Now, click on An app running on a web server option and then select the Generate button present alongside the Client Id. In the same way, create and save a Client Secret which will be used later.
- Now Salesforce domain will act as your application domain. Click on Create to generate a new application. You will be redirected to a new page that will display the newly generated application.
Step 5: Configure the Developed Application
At this point, you have successfully created a miniature version of an application and are now ready to configure the application you created. Now, navigate to the URL which will open a new form, where you will be prompted to add the app ID you created in the previous step. After pasting the same, select the Search option which would result in the display of a permission set box on the screen. Provide standard entry in the box and decide what level of access you are willing to grant users out of the following 3:
- http://SharePoint/content/sitecollection/web: This allows users of Salesforce SharePoint Integration to access a single site collection, but prevents them from accessing the subsites.
- http://SharePoint/content/sitecollection: This constrains the users of Salesforce SharePoint Integration to a single site collection, however, all the subsites of that collection are accessible.
- http://SharePoint/content/tenant: This is used to allow the users of Salesforce SharePoint Integration to access every site collection.
Step 6: Set up Salesforce Files Connect Tool
Now that the SharePoint app is configured, you need to reconfigure the Salesforce files. Go to the Salesforce File Connect option and provide the required data according to your preferences.
Note: Consumer Secret in the Salesforce File Connect will be the Client Secret that you generated in SharePoint in Step 4.
Step 7: Generate an External Data Source
This is the last step of Salesforce SharePoint Integration. Once the SharePoint platform is configured, you must create an external data source and provide the necessary permissions to it. After that, you can see SharePoint in your external Salesforce tabs, which you can now start using as needed and convenient.
That’s it! Your Salesforce SharePoint Integration is ready.
Benefits of Salesforce SharePoint Integration
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Using the Salesforce SharePoint Integration can benefit your business in the following ways:
1) Improved Load Balancing
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When it comes to archiving file loads, SharePoint has the upper hand over Salesforce. Although Salesforce provides the option to attach documents and notes to your accounts, this will create a huge pile of data consisting of your invoices, contracts, work records, etc. This will ultimately slow the Salesforce application and will diminish its operational capacity. The Salesforce SharePoint Integration solves this issue by allowing you to move files in SharePoint which is a document management system and is the optimal choice for such work.
2) Efficient Customer Portal
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SharePoint websites enable users to share their ideas and knowledge by using Article Announcements and Promotions. Salesforce on the other hand uses a Customer Portal to provide information to external users. The customer portal when implemented using Salesforce proves to be a costly option. However, using the Salesforce SharePoint Integration, the portal will be based on SharePoint integrated with the Salesforce CRM. The former option may seem simpler but using the integration will reduce your cost and improve productivity.
3) Collaboration in Low Cost
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Salesforce provides a feature called Salesforce Chatter that makes it easier for employees to collaborate and communicate with user profiles, flows, groups, etc. However, this particular service is expensive and users on the free level of Chatter can’t see Salesforce data or edit documents in the CRM. Moreover, you may bring external users into Chatter, but Salesforce grants them access to limited functionalities. They can’t access events, calendars, content libraries, and even contacts. So even the collaboration between internal and external users suffers from disconnection.
SharePoint doesn’t have these limitations, and it is cheaper in comparison to Salesforce Chatter. So, the Salesforce SharePoint Integration provides the option to use SharePoint as a collaboration tool while retaining Salesforce as a CRM.
4) Enhanced Documentation
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The Salesforce SharePoint Integration also enhances the document management process for your business. SharePoint provides automatic file versioning for your Salesforce documents. This allows your Sales Teams to have better control over the documentation process. Furthermore, they can now review, edit and share documents seamlessly online even on mobile devices. The scale and data limits of documents using the Salesforce SharePoint Integration are also much higher as compared to managing documents on Salesforce.
Conclusion
The article introduced Salesforce and SharePoint applications and described their key features. It also provided a step-by-step guide using which you can set up your SharePoint Integration with Salesforce. Furthermore, the article listed the various benefits of integrating your SharePoint and Salesforce accounts.
Now, managing your data and organizing valuable documents regarding your most businesses’ development will no longer be a time-consuming and expensive task. The Salesforce SharePoint Integration automates most of these tasks and provides a single platform for your employees to share resources and data.
For any information on Salesforce Data Import, you can visit the former link.
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Abhinav is a data science enthusiast who loves data analysis and writing technical content. He has authored numerous articles covering a wide array of subjects in data integration and infrastructure.