Salesforce Files Connect Enables Simpler & Faster Enterprise Collaboration

As Alan Lepofsky of Constellation Research puts it in his webcast – The State of Collaboration: 2015 Trends to Watch, “It is not about which platforms you use and how many files you have that need to be shared and what’s the cost. It is about which platforms you have and how do you use them.”

File storage and enterprise collaboration market in heating up and if the older players do not keep up, they will lose.

On this cue, Salesforce Files Connect is the right and timely roll-out (although the idea has been floating around for a long time). For the newbies, it connects Salesforce with SharePoint 2010/2013/Online for file sharing.

It has been constructed for one main idea – one single interface while files on various repositories are accessed. Switching between interfaces and applications to access and find multiple files is time consuming, energy sucking and plain irritating. Anything that eases this; is a sure winner.

Source: Salesforce Success Community

Why Salesforce Files Connect is exciting?

Winter’15 release enables integrating SharePoint online and Business OneDrive. In the upcoming releases, Salesforce will roll out integration for other platforms as well.

1. Search Federated

Available for Standard and Enterprise Sharepoint Versions. However, it does not work with the Foundation version. This will enable search results from external objects (Sharepoint 2010/2013/Online) to appear in the search results. Files Connect gives the user the ability to select the repository that needs enabling. However, a word of caution – the results only appear, if you have access to the external system.

2. Sharing[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Repositories

With the Files Connect API, it becomes easier for organizations to share documents with multiple stakeholders and extends the sharing capabilities to any app built on the Salesforce1 platform.

3. Availability[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Chatter

In spite of multiple social platforms that increase collaboration and aid in getting things done; files were, are and will be the centre of business information sharing. With Files Connect extending the sharing capabilities into Chatter; it becomes extremely convenient to find the right file at the right time, regardless of the repository.

4. Fit Mobile

Powered by the Salesforce1 platform, it will become extremely easy for reps to share files on-the-go and feel secure while doing so.

5. Environment Secure

It enforces existing file permissions i.e. whatever security permissions you have setup in Sharepoint, same will be followed inside Salesforce as well.

6. Files Social

All files can be easily accessed within the groups. The files that are shared within a specific group are available as attachments under – Group Files. These files can also be attached with a person’s profile. This one nifty feature aids faster discovery and knowledge sharing. Please note that, currently, files with formats such as PDFs and HTMLs are not supported in this application.

Editing/Sharing Rights

All the shared files are copies or references of the original document. The original document is never moved onto the Salesforce platform. To share the file, you can choose between two modes “Copy” or “Reference”. Salesforce recommends – “Choose the Copy mode if your organization needs to share files with external customers or partners. Choose the Reference mode to reflect access restrictions from the external system in Salesforce.”

Before the files are synced, read-access to the site collections and/or sites that users want to access from Salesforce, need to be enabled. However, this cannot be extended into a specific document library.

Technical Details

Enabling, Setting up permissions, configuring and sharing external files is simple with Files Connect in Salesforce.

Enabling Salesforce Connect

To use with Chatter, from Setup;

Letting users access Files Connect

Permissions can be set-up for individual users or groups. For personal setup, users enter credentials for external data sources.

For enabling for multiple users:

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Setting up Files Connect

The Connection is all about Baby Steps Right Now…

The roll-out has enabled two juggernauts to come together (and make employees’ life simpler). It is one of the first such integration for these two technologies and the baby steps they are taking, seem to be headed in the right direction. Turning these steps into leaps, Salesforce can expedite-

• Providing custom frameworks to enable custom connections
• Accelerating Dropbox’s, Box’s, OneDrive and Google Drive integration
• Rolling out integration with Communities real fast and enabling integration of multi-media rich formats like PDF
• Maybe enabling viewing referenced files on desktop app and delimiting the Salesforce1 Mobile app restriction
• Enabling SSOs
  Doing away with the requirement of a search engine’s MUST BE THERE requirement to NICE TO HAVE requirement; for connecting a web app
• Extending the search limit from current limit of 10,000 and include external web sites