Evaluate Business Needs11% of the exam
Integration requirements that drive CRM adoption
Which integration requirements make or break CRM adoption: surfacing external data in Salesforce without needless replication, a system of record per field, acceptable latency per data set, visible exception handling, a separate historical load, one API Only integration user per integration, and reuse of an existing ESB.
Given a use case, identify key factors for CRM success that should be included as integration requirements.
~8 min read · 7 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Turn "reps work entirely in Salesforce" into which external data users must see, and whether it must be stored in Salesforce.
- Name the system of record per field and the acceptable latency per data set.
- Require that integration failures reach the user, with retry and notification defined.
- Plan the one-time historical load separately from the ongoing sync, and set integration standards (one API Only integration user per integration, External Client Apps, reuse of an existing ESB).
- Key terms: system of record (the system whose value wins for a field); data virtualization (showing external data in Salesforce without copying it); integration user (a dedicated API-only Salesforce user per integration); External Client App (the app registration for new integrations); ESB (enterprise service bus, centrally governed middleware).
Key facts
Avoid unnecessary replication
- Detail
- Use data virtualization with Salesforce Connect unless data must reside in Salesforce
Salesforce Connect mechanism
- Detail
- External objects access data in real time via web service callouts, no copy
Direction question
- Detail
- "What system should be the source of truth?" is a data flow question
Exception handling question
- Detail
- Retry, notify or fail; does the user need to see the result
Initial load
- Detail
- Plan bulk loads such as the initial load for a new instance in advance
Data Import Wizard and Data Loader
- Detail
- Not a recommended base for a data integration strategy
Integration user standard
- Detail
- One user per integration; Integration license with Minimum Access - API Only Integrations profile
App registration
- Detail
- Dedicated External Client App per new integration; new connected apps disabled by default from Spring '26
Existing ESB
- Detail
- Reuse it for governance and centralized management before adding tools
- When should external data be replicated into Salesforce instead of virtualized?
- Why does naming a system of record per field restore trust in shared data?
- Why give each integration its own API Only user?
- Which two requirements cover "complete history on day one, then daily changes"?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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