You have heard about Salesforce Lightning Connect. Now you want to know when to use it, or if it is even applicable in your implementation.  Just because it’s out there doesn’t mean you have to use it. You should consider using Lightning Connect if it will save you time, money, or resources.

Our client, for example, is implementing Salesforce and wants to surface data to its 200 users from a 3rd party system. This data is to be informational and can just be ReadOnly. The data will show up on a related list on the Account Page layout. Each Account Record will have different 3rd party data.  If a company has limited time before this 3rd party data needs to be in front of users, going through a full integration, data migration, and data synchronization project can consume time, money, and resources. Most CRM Admins, consulting companies, or implementation partners will not take the risk of surfacing this data using the traditional methods in a time crunch. However, with the power of Salesforce Lightning Connect, this can now be achieved quickly and efficiently.

This is a great scenario of when to use Lightning Connect. Look for possible scenarios and consider using Lightning Connect. Your users who will need this 3rd party data will thank you for it.

Interested in learning more? Join us tonight for a deep dive into Lightning with Salesforce Product Manager, Eric Jacobson at our NYC office!

This blog originally appeared on SF for You, a blog by Silverline Technical Architect Gean Martinez.