Even though FTP is one of the oldest protocols on the web, it’s still widely used everywhere. What’s more, it perfectly connects and collaborates with modern cloud applications, such as Salesforce. There are multiple methods for Salesforce FTP Integration, in fact.
In this article, we won’t review all the available ways to integrate Salesforce with FTP. Instead, we focus on the popular use cases where the combination of Salesforce and FTP brings many benefits to companies.
Use Cases for FTP and Salesforce Integration
If you’re already using each of these services separately, you probably know how awesome they are. Both Salesforce and FTP perfectly carry out their functions and resolve many business problems. However, the integration of these tools can also be very useful in certain situations.
If you’re using Salesforce but don’t implement FTP in your infrastructure, well, that might be just temporary. After exploring the typical use cases of FTP integration with Salesforce, you might also consider using it.
Data backups
Even though Salesforce is a cloud application, it’s not obliged to guarantee the integrity of your data stored there. Salesforce providers are responsible for the availability and uptime of the service. Being based on AWS, it follows the “shared” data model, where customers are responsible for the data input and stored in the cloud.
Therefore, thinking of data safety is a must for any organization aiming to keep its customer data safe and protected. One of the reliable backup methods is to transfer Salesforce data to the FTP server regularly. In case of system failure or data breaches, you’ll also have the restore option.
Document management
Salesforce has dedicated services for file storage, but there are certain limitations associated with it. First of all, the space for storage is restricted to a number of MB, depending on the license. So, it might be a costly option to keep all documents, invoices, and contracts in Salesforce.
FTP’s main purpose is to store documents and files on the server. It makes sense to keep all contracts and files there and provide the link to the associated records in Salesforce.
Another limitation of the documents stored within Salesforce is that they can only be shared and visible to internal members within an organization. Meanwhile, storing files on FTP provides a great opportunity to share them with external stakeholders. So, ensuring file accessibility and sharing might be another good reason to connect FTP to Salesforce.
Legacy system migration
Many legacy systems rely on FTP for data exchange and communication. If you need to migrate data from any legal system to Salesforce, use FTP as an intermediary airbag. It ensures great interoperability between modern and outdated technologies.
The first thing to do in this case is to extract data from a legacy system and store it on the FTP server. Then, connect Salesforce to FTP and extract that data into CRM. Salesforce integration with FTP ensures precise data migration from legacy systems to modern tools.
Distributed data storage
Integration between Salesforce and FTP might be a great basis for replicating data across multiple servers. Replicated datasets to geographically dispersed FTP servers ensure data availability and compliance with regional data regulations. Moreover, this strategy can also serve as another backup solution for sensitive and valuable data.
Benefits of Salesforce and FTP Integration
There are multiple cases when Salesforce FTP integration can be used. Both large enterprises and small companies can take advantage of the connection between the two services. Let’s explore the key benefits it brings to organizations:
- Centralized data storage. By transferring Salesforce data to an FTP server, organizations can organize their data storage. This is essential for making files and documents easily accessible to authorized users across the organization and outside it.
- Backup and disaster recovery. FTP servers provide a secure offsite location for Salesforce data backups. This greatly facilitates disaster recovery processes in case of system failures, data loss, or natural disasters.
- Improved collaboration. FTP Salesforce integration allows users to share files and collaborate more effectively with external users. It becomes easier to share documents and reports created in Salesforce.
- Enhanced reporting and analysis. Transferring Salesforce data to an FTP server enables organizations to integrate Salesforce data with reporting and analytics tools. This contributes to the in-depth analysis and reporting on key business metrics.
- Integration with legacy systems. Connecting Salesforce with FTP enables seamless communication and data exchange with legacy systems that rely on FTP for file transfer, allowing organizations to modernize their infrastructure while leveraging existing systems.
- Customized data processing. Integrating Salesforce with FTP enables organizations to implement custom data processing pipelines and perform data transformations, validations, and enrichments on files transferred between Salesforce and FTP servers to meet specific business requirements.
- Scalability and flexibility. FTP integration with Salesforce provides scalability and flexibility to accommodate growing data volumes and evolving business needs, allowing organizations to scale their operations and adapt to changing requirements over time.
- Cost reduction. Automated data transfer from Salesforce to FTP helps organizations reduce manual labor costs and minimize errors. This results in lower spending and cost reduction on operational needs.
Integrating Salesforce with FTP offers numerous benefits for organizations seeking to optimize their data management practices, improve collaboration, enhance data security, and drive business growth.
Summary
FTP is a seasoned service that can knock down many contemporary IT solutions. It’s very simple to use and is suitable for multiple cases and integration scenarios. One of those is the integration between FTP and Salesforce.
There are many cases when the connection between the two services can benefit any company regardless of size and industry. For instance, FTP Salesforce integration is excellent for document exchange with external organizations. It also appears to be a great option for backup and distributed data storage.
Overall, the integration between Salesforce and FTP enhances security, improves collaboration with external stakeholders, facilitates data migration from legacy systems, and offers immense scalability.
