Salesforce and Microsoft Outlook Integration

Image Credit: http://www.ihovik.com/sfdc/index.htm

Salesforce.com is my favorite CRM tool. Microsoft Office is my favorite productivity tool. Having a solid integration between the two applications is a no-brainer, but I've always been frustrated by current integration, particularly when it comes to synchronizing Salesforce / Outlook contacts, emails and calendar events.

This blog post takes a look at the current state of Salesforce / Outlook integration, gives Salesforce.com administrators some alternative options, and a glimpse of what's to come.

Salesforce.com / Outlook Integration Today

Today, Salesforce.com publishes a free Outlook plug-in called “Salesforce Connect for Microsoft Outlook”. akaCRM has written an excellent blog titled, "Outlook Integration with Salesforce.com". It's a great read, especially if you're looking to deploy this tool for your own Salesforce.com organization. The article describes the benefits of integrating Salesforce and Outlook, explains what data synchronization can be performed, and includes a high-level overview for installing the plug-in.

As a consultant, I've worked with many companies on different systems (Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba), various Microsoft OS (XP, Vista, Windows 7) and different versions of Microsoft Outlook (2003, 2007, 2010). While some users have a trouble-free experience, most admin teams I've worked with get hammered with support calls related to the plug-in. Problems include:

1.) The Outlook plug-in is "mysteriously" disabled at start-up. Users can't see the Salesforce icons/menu options in Outlook, and need to either enable the plug-in (in the best of cases) or remove/re-install the plug-in (in the worst of cases).

2.) After intsalling the plug-in, Outlook has a propensity of crashing, prompting the user to disable the plug-in whenever it does so

3.) Outlook slows to a crawl (possibly during data sync operations, though users complain that this occurs more frequently than their data sync operations are set for)

4.) No plug-in support for Windows 7 (64 bit)


Even when the Salesforce Connect for Microsoft Outlook plug-in works flawlessly, it's far too cumbersome for end-users. There are too many mouse clicks required to associate an outlook email with its corresponding contact / lead / opportunity / case / custom-object record in Salesforce. When first installing the plug-in, users frequently stumble (despite training and coaching), and end up loading the CRM with duplicate contacts / accounts / events. This frustrating user experience leads to low user adoption / CRM abandonment.

For Salesforce Administrators, it's no picnic either. Setup and configuration for the Salesforce Connect for Outlook plug-in is decentralized: each user downloads, installs and configures their Outlook plug-ins individually. Whlie it's possible to push the plug-in to all users, it's no simple task for most SFDC Administrators. Consequently, Admins spend hours responding to user questions, helping non-technical, SFDC users install the plug-in, sync their data, and then dealing with setup / plug-in technical issues. These technical support woes take Salesforce Adminstrators away form their core mission, which is to extend the functionality of Salesforce within the company and help the business realize greater value from their Salesforce.com investment.


Salesforce.com Has a Fix Coming Soon! (Insert Safe Harbor Statement)

The current Salesforce / Outlook integration stinks. There, I said it. And lest you think it's just me, comb the Salesforce.com Community Answers site and you'll find plenty of frustrated users reporting the same thing.

Fortunately, Salesforce.com is working on a fix! At last year's Dreamforce event, Blake Markham, Sr. Product Manager / Email Clients for Salesforce.com, gave a terrific demo on the upcoming Salesforce CRM for Outlook app. The product is still in beta, and while it doesn't have all features of the current Connect plug-in, the sync and seamless integration features demo’d were a vast improvement over the current solution. Email and calendar sync are seamless and automatic, lead/contact records can be created with a single click, and the new tool gives SFDC admins centralized control of the deployment and configuration for their users.

In the November 2009 demo, Blake indicated that the new Salesforce CRM for Outlook tool was being piloted with a few select customers, and that he hoped to have it generally available this summer (Safe Harbor statement). Unfortunately, the Summer'10 release has come and gone, and the new app was not included. The tool will most likely be deferred until the Winter’11 release. In the meanwhile, if you’re willing to be a “beta tester”, contact your Salesforce.com Account Manager, and see if they can help get you into the pilot.

I suspect the Salesforce.com Email Clients Development Team is understaffed. It must be! What else would contribute to both the delayed launch of the Salesforce CRM Outlook tool, the lack of support for Outlook 2010 and Windows 7 (64-bit), and the many unresolved bugs in the current Connect for Outlook plug-in?

Unfortunately, the current trademark war between Microsoft and Salesforce.com isn't likely to change that staffing problem soon. Salesforce Customers and Users are caught in the crossfire, and the only winners will be the lawyers on both sides.


3rd Party Vendors Put a Silver Lining on this Grey Cloud Integration

There are a several 3rd Party Vendors who can provide some immediate relief to your Salesforce / Outlook integration problems. Here are a few worth taking a closer look at:

Image Credit: Screenshot from a LinkPoint Vue Demo

App:

LinkPoint Vue – Outlook Integration for Salesforce
Publisher: LinkPoint360
Price: $29.95 (1 time license fee; discounts for Non-Profits / NGOs available)
Posted Date: 12/4/2009
SFDC Editions: Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited
Reviews: 1 review, rated 5 of 5 stars
Demo: click here

Description:
LinkPoint Vue is a mash-up between Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce.com. The tool is built directly into Microsoft Outlook and supports Outlook 2003, 2007 and 2010. The mash-up creates a viewing window in Outlook. As you look at email from your leads or contacts, the mash-up searches for the matching email address in Salesforce.com, and pulls up the appropriate Lead or Contact record, as well as related Opportunities, Cases, Events, Tasks -- even custom objects -- related to that email originator's account. Bean-counters will like the one-time cost model (no monthly / annual subscription fees!)

Features:
- Ability to create Salesforce.com Contact and/or Lead records via drag-and-drop.
- Users can view Salesforce data inside Outlook without having to alt-tab / search in Salesforce
- Click on an email record in Outlook, and view all all contact history / activity related to that Lead/Contact in SFDC.
- Create / Update / View a Salesforce Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, or Case record from within Outlook with a single mouse-click (much easier than the Connect plug-in!)
- Get maps / directions to a contacts address with a single mouse-click (nice Google/MapQuest mash-up integration here!)

What’s Missing:
- Outlook / Salesforce Calendar integration. Users want the ability to create their appointments in Outlook, and have them seamlessly updated as calendar events in Salesforce (or vice versa). Add this feature, and the tool gets 5 Force Monkey stars!
- Centralized Administration Tools to setup, configure, and/or maintain the tool.



App: SalesDesktop 3.0
Publisher: InvisibleCRM
Price: $18/user/month (discounts available for Non-Profits / NGOs)
Posted Date: 9/30/2006
SFDC Editions: Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Developer
Reviews: 5 reviews, rated 4.6 of 5 stars
Demo: click here

Description:
SalesDesktop 3.0 has been around for long while, steadily adding functionality and enhancements to the application for the past 3+ years. This application is an Outlook plug-in, allowing Sales Reps to seamlessly synchronize their Outlook and Salesforce data, including calendar and task synchronization.

Features:
- From within Outlook, create / update / view Salesforce.com Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Opportunties) once, and the tool will automatically synchronize future inbound/outbound email activities.
- Synchronize Outlook / Salesforce.com data to your mobile device.
- One-click capture of lead / contact info
- Data synchronization occurs automatically, seamlessly, in the background
- All Salesforce CRM objects are viewable as folders in Outlook

What’s Missing:
- No support for Outlook 2007, 2010.
- Client-side App means you will inherit some of the same issues you have today with the Salesforce Connect plug-in: decentralized environment, users specify their own filtering rules, etc.


App: CureCRM Email
Publisher: CureCRM
Price: $4.95 / user / month (Limited Free version available, syncs outbound emails only)
Posted Date: 8/13/2009
SFDC Editions: Group, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Force.com, Developer
Reviews: 24 reviews, rated 4.9 of 5 stars
Demo: click here

Description:
What most impressed me about the CureCRM reviews were the many comments CureCRM customers gave regarding CureCRM technical support. These guys really stand behind their customers, going above and beyond to deliver outstanding product support!

As with other email integration tools, the application allows users to create Salesforce.com Contact and Lead records from within Outlook. Whenever those records are updated in Outlook they will be automatically updated in Salesforce. It also includes some nice social networking integration.

Features:
- From within Outlook, create / update / view Salesforce.com Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Opportunties) once, and the tool will automatically synchronize future inbound/outbound email activities.
- Automatically synchronize Outlook / Salesforce.com email activity
- In Outlook, CRM email activity history are displayed in a Facebook-like “Conversation” window

What’s Missing:
- Messages are sync’d “on-demand”, rather than scheduled.
- Centralized Administration Tools to setup, configure, and/or maintain the tool.
- Outlook / Salesforce Calendar synchronization



App: Riva Integration Server
Publisher: Omni Technology Solutions
Price: $16.25 / user / month (Volume discounts available)
Posted Date: 2/23/2010
Outlook Editions: Windows 7, XP, Server 2003 or 2008 (on-premise)
Reviews: None
Demo: click here

Description:
Omni’s approach is unique from the other applications in that it is a Server-side integration, rather than a client-side Outlook plug-in. This implementation offers a much improved integration, and allows for seamless synchronization of all outlook records: contacts (flagged either as Salesforce Leads or Contacts), email activity, calendar events, tasks, notes, and more. The tool is delivered with Riva Single Sign-On, which means users don’t need to remember a separate Salesforce.com password. Instead, their ActiveDirectory/Exchange or eDirectory password will manage their Salesforce login – users simply need to login to their email. Because it’s a Server-side integration, it provides a centralized tool for administration: users don’t have to install any software or plug-ins, and there is nothing for them to configure.

Features:
- Server-side, transparent integration and data synchronization between Salesforce.com and Microsoft Exchange
- Install once at the server level; let administrators control and manage the app from the server for all users.
- Create / update Salesforce Contact and Lead records from within Outlook. Sales Reps flag which Outlook contacts should be synchronized, and if they are Leads or Contacts.
- Synchronize calendar events (appointments, phone calls, tasks,notes) and Address Books (Contacts, Leads, Accounts) transparently, at scheduled intervals.

What’s Missing:
- Nothing, although a server-side integration may put this product outside the expertise level of some Salesforce.com Administrators. Adding to this challenge, many IT / Email Server Administrators are reluctant to install software on the email server itself, so you may have to win over key stakeholders / decision makers.