Lightning Connect - Connect with the external data at lightning fast speed

A brief Introduction to the Lightning Connect :-

Traditionally, to access and use the data from external source we had to use ETL (Extract Transfer Load) process. In ETL process as the name suggests, first step involves the extraction of the data from the external source, second step transfer the data into the Salesforce and later load and manage the data in the Salesforce .Also the developers were required to write hundreds of line of code in order to manage the entire process. This sounded tedious to many.

The launch of the Lightning Connect – Proved a big relief to many. The Lightning Connect is a framework used to copy and access the external data which is currently residing outside the Salesforce and make it available to the users. It is a relief from the tedious and heavy ETL process. With the launch of the Lightning Connect, the developers are no more required to write hundred lines of code in order to implement and manage the external data. A few clicks and the mission accomplished. Though the Salesforce peers even exclaimed that the Lightning Connect should not be considered as the replacement to the ETL process but a complimentary to ETL.

                                             

So what is the approach that makes Lightning Connect a relief to many? The Lightning Connect framework maps the data from the legacy systems like Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, etc into the Salesforce. As this framework maps the data directly into the Salessforce, it eliminates the need to copy the data and then process it. The data acquired is real time and redundant with no duplicates. With this approach, External objects are created in Salesforce. 

                          

Now the question arises: 

What are the External Objects?

External object is the data residing in some legacy system like Microsoft, SAP, etc.The external objects are just like the custom objects with few exceptions stated below:

1. External objects API name is suffixed with __x.

Let’s have a brief overlook over it. 

 In salesforce, when the custom object is created example: Payroll. Payroll is a custom object hence it will be suffixed with __c (Payroll__c) whereas when the same object is accessed from an external system it will be suffixed with __x (Payroll__x).

2. Custom objects have CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) permissions wherein the External objects have read only permission i.e they cannot be created, updated, deleted. Wherein its is in road map of Salesforce that in few more releases the user will have permission to create, update and delete the external objects as per the requirement.

3. The Custom Objects are created in the Salesforce itself whereas the External Object maps the data from the legacy or the external systems.

 4. For the Custom objects, users can create workflows, formula fields, write triggers, etc wherein the External objects for now this features are not available.

Along with the above features, external objects in Salesforce is accompanied with two relationships namely Indirect Lookup Relationship and External Lookup Relationship. To establish the relationship between Salesforce data (objects) and external data (objects), users can make use of these two relationships. Brief description of the relationship is stated below.

a) Indirect Lookup Relationship :- Used to relate external object (child) to the salesforce object (parent).

b) External Lookup Relationship :- Used to relate salesforce object (child) to the external object.

 Now the next question arises: 

When to consider Lightning Connect as an approach to access the data from the external source?

To consider Lightning Connect as an approach consider the following points:

1. When you need bulk data from an external organization.
2. The data in the external system is constantly changing and needs to be replicated into the Salesforce.
3.  To store the replicated data on cloud or in the legacy system but access through Salesforce.

The above provided information is just a walk through the Lightning Connect. To learn more refer Salesforce help and training or  Salesforce trailhead.