If you’re thinking about implementing Salesforce (or even if you’re a relatively new implementation) one important thing to consider is the strength of our integration tools.

It’s almost guaranteed that when you implement Salesforce, you’ll have some need to integrate it with other systems. This could be a requirement for data updates that happen behind the scenes. Or perhaps you have a data warehouse in which you want to store Salesforce data. It could be that user interface integration is what you need such that when someone updates an opportunity record, users are automatically notified as they’re working in the system. Regardless of what types of integration you need, in the words of an un-named insurance company, “We’ve got you covered.”

Salesforce offers a rich set of APIs that can handle your integration requirements. Depending on the level of integration you need and the technologies of your other systems, Salesforce provides a suite of APIs and technologies specifically for enabling integration.  For a full list, see Which API Should I Use? Here you’ll find an overview of the Salesforce APIs and links to more information to get details for each. In addition, the Integration page gives you more information for each specific API.

Of course, there will be work to do on the business side. Your analysts – which could be an entire team, or in smaller companies, possibly your system admin or a power user with domain knowledge – will need to define what processes and data are part of your integration scenario. Likewise, your development team will need to understand which protocols they need to use (REST vs. SOAP, for example) and how to be use the APIs in your unique environment.

Integrating Salesforce with your other applications is like creating a unique bridge between the systems. Luckily, you’ve got the building blocks you need to build that bridge.