Salesforce Lightning Connect enables real-time integration of external data sources into Salesforce applications using the OData protocol. It simplifies the data connection process, allowing users to access and interact with external data without storing it in Salesforce, facilitating seamless integration with legacy systems. However, while it allows certain customizations, external objects have limitations such as the inability to create formula fields, triggers, or workflow rules.

1. ©
2015,
Right
IT
Services.
rights
reserved
All
Salesforce
Lightning
Tuesday,
06th
October
2015
External
Connec4on

2. 2
Overview
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Generally
available
since
Winter
’15,
Salesforce1
Lightning
Connect
gives
your
Salesforce
environment
access
to
data
from
a
wide
variety
of
external
sources
Start
integra4ng
data
like
never
before,
today!
Connect
and
access
data
from
external
sources
with
point
and
click
simplicity
Incorporate
data
from
legacy
systems
(SAP,
Oracle,
MicrosoN,
you
name
it)
in
real
4me
in
Salesforce
applica4on
objects
DramaQcally
reduce
integraQon
Qme
to
unlock
and
modernize
back-­‐office
systems
Data
integra4on
tool
that
connects
any
database
in
minutes
and
gives
that
data
naQve
plaUorm
ability
inside
Salesforce

3. 3
How
Does
it
Work?
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Configure
your
external
data
source
with
an
OData
end
point.
Your
applicaQon
may
include
naQve
support
for
OData.
For
other
applicaQons,
major
integraQon
vendors
such
as
Dell
Boomi,
InformaQca,
Jierbit,
MuleSoN,
and
Progress
SoNware
have
partnered
with
Salesforce
on
Lightning
Connect
to
build
adaptors
Point
Lightning
Connect
at
the
OData
end
point,
either
directly,
or
through
any
middleware
solu4on
Sync
your
external
database
tables
with
external
objects
in
Salesforce.
Use
these
external
objects
throughout
any
of
your
Salesforce
applicaQons
on
any
device.
When
a
user
accesses
pages
with
data
from
these
external
objects,
Lightning
Connect
makes
real-­‐4me
callouts
to
your
back-­‐end
applicaQons
without
storing
the
data
in
Salesforce

4. 4
Cracking
the
code
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Tradi4onal
data
integra4ons
get
bogged
down
in
mapping
protocols
for
connec4ng
databases
Lightning
Connect
eliminates
this
4me-­‐consuming
process
by
leveraging
the
OData
protocol
to
connect
with
external
data
without
copying
or
storing
that
data
inside
Salesforce
Salesforce’s
external
objects
essen4ally
acts
as
a
wrapper
around
the
OData
protocol,
trea4ng
the
data
as
first
class
ci4zens
so
that
it
can
be
4ghtly
integrated
into
the
Salesforce1
PlaNorm
Every
external
object
maps
to
a
data
table
in
a
defined
external
data
source,
and
also
field
maps
to
a
table
column,
which
means
they
can
be:
Included
in
global
Salesforce
searches
Queried
via
SOQL
or
SOSL
Used
in
list
views,
detailed
list
views,
and
API
calls
Included
in
related
lists
Mapped
to
other
Salesforce
standard
and
custom
objects
via
indirect
lookup
And
because
data
is
retrieved
via
a
Web
callout,
any
Salesforce
user
can
access
trusted,
up-­‐to-­‐the-­‐minute
data
on
any
device,
from
anywhere

5. 5
External
Object
ac4ng
as
Internal
Object
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
External
Object
data
are
accessible
in
the
same
way
as
Standard
and
Custom
Objects:
in
list
views,
detail
pages,
record
feeds,
Apex
and
Visualforce
You
can
create
rela4onships
between
External
Objects
and
Standard
or
Custom
Objects
to
seamlessly
integrate
legacy
data,
and
even
enable
Chaer
feeds
on
External
Object
pages
for
collaboraQon

6. 6
Open
Data
Protocol
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Lightning
Connect
uses
the
Open
Data
Protocol
(OData)
standard,
a
modern,
REST-­‐based
integraQon
protocol
External
Objects
essen4ally
provide
a
wrapper
around
the
oData
protocol
which
does
iniQate
web
service
calls
to
retrieve
the
data
as
it’s
presented
on
the
screen
or
queried
This
allows
the
data
to
be
4ghtly
integrated
into
the
plaNorm
and
used
in
standard
layouts,
and
even
SOQL,
SOSL
and
APIs
Remember,
this
data
is
never
stored
in
Salesforce
but
pulled
in
on
demand
through
web
services,
this
means
you
avoid
the
unnecessary
(and
expensive)
limits
and
costs
of
data
storage
Salesforce
queries
the
external
data
source
via
web
service
when:
A
user
clicks
an
external
object
tab
for
a
list
view
A
user
views
a
record
detail
page
of
a
parent
object
that
displays
a
related
list
of
child
external
object
records
A
user
performs
a
global
search
in
Salesforce
or
Salesforce1
mobile
app
An
external
object
is
queried
via
the
APIs,
Apex,
SOQL,
or
SOSL

7. 7
Lesson
Learned
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Pros:
Incorporate
data
from
legacy
systems
in
real
Qme
in
Salesforce
applicaQon
objects
Data
integraQon
tool
that
connects
any
database
in
minutes
Lightning
Connect
eliminates
Qme-­‐consuming
process
Data
is
never
stored
in
Salesforce
but
pulled
in
on
demand
through
web
services
External
Object
is
automaQcally
created
(Custom
Fields,
Page
Layouts,
Search
Layouts
and
Buons)
when
the
External
Data
Source
is
synchronized
External
Object
data
are
accessible
in
the
same
way
as
Standard
and
Custom
Objects
You
can
create
relaQonships
between
External
Objects
and
Standard
or
Custom
Objects
You
can
create
several
Page
Layouts
and
assign
them
to
different
Profiles
You
can
enable
Feed
Tracking
(to
have
the
ability
of
Chaer
in
the
records),
although
Fields
on
external
objects
can
not
be
tracked.
Cons:
You
can’t
create
Formula
Fields,
Triggers,
Record
Types,
Sharing
rules
and
Workflow
Rules
in
External
Objects
You
can
create
new
Custom
Fields,
but
they
won’t
do
anything
in
the
integrated
database

8. 8
Links
Salesforce
Lightning
-­‐
External
Connec4on
Salesforce
Add
External
Data
Source
-­‐
hWps://help.salesforce.com/HTViewHelpDoc?id=plaNorm_connect_add_external_data_source.htm
Salesforce
Sync
Considera4ons
-­‐
hWps://help.salesforce.com/HTViewHelpDoc?id=plaNorm_connect_considera4ons_sync.htm
How
does
Lightning
Connect
Work?
-­‐
hWps://developer.salesforce.com/events/webinars/Lightning-­‐Connect
Guide
-­‐
hWps://secure.sfdcsta4c.com/assets/pdf/misc/plaNorm-­‐lightning-­‐connect-­‐guide.pdf
Lightning
-­‐
hWp://www.salesforce.com/plaNorm/services/how-­‐you-­‐integrate/
Watch
Demo
-­‐
hWp://www.salesforce.com/plaNorm/services/lightning/
Odata
-­‐
hWp://www.odata.org/odata-­‐services/

9. WHEN
YOU
HAVE
TO
DO
IT,
DO
IT
RIGHT
©
2015,
Right
IT
Services.
All
rights
reserved
Rua
Odee
Saint
Maurice
|
Lote
3L
|
Escritório
A
|
1700-­‐921
Lisboa
|
Portugal
|+351
218
232
261
|
+351
215
975
418
Miguel
Duarte
–
Technical
Architect
|
Hugo
Costa
–
Technical
Architect
Salesforce
Lightning
Tuesday,
06th
October
2015
External
Connec4on