Salesforce Connect
Salesforce Connect is a Salesforce platform feature that enables real-time integration and access to external data sources without copying or replicating the data into Salesforce. It uses external objects to represent data stored outside Salesforce, allowing users to query and interact with external systems as if they were native Salesforce objects. This provides a unified view of data across multiple systems while keeping the data in its original location.
Developers should learn Salesforce Connect when building integrations that require real-time access to external databases, ERP systems, or legacy applications without data duplication. It's particularly useful for scenarios where data freshness is critical, such as inventory management, financial systems, or customer data that resides in external systems. Use cases include integrating with on-premises databases via OData, connecting to cloud applications, or accessing data from SAP, Oracle, or other enterprise systems.