Heroku - 14 Intro Salesforce

Welcome to this introduction to integrating Salesforce and Heroku. The goal of this whole section is to present the various ways to combine these two platforms. By the end of the chapter you will be able to set up an integration between Salesforce and Heroku yourself. First, what do we actually mean by integration? Essentially, it means that the data stored on the Heroku side is connected to the data stored on the Salesforce side: a change on one platform is reflected on the other. The data still lives in two different, independent databases, but they stay in sync.

Why combine Salesforce and Heroku?

Combining the two gives you the best of each world. Heroku provides everything you need to build and manage modern web applications quickly: dynos, pipelines, add-ons, deployment, scaling. Salesforce CRM excels at managing customers and business logic. Many businesses rely entirely on the Salesforce + Heroku combo to get their products to their customers.

A concrete example: imagine you are building a banking application. Salesforce would power all the business logic: automated processes around inter-bank transfers (the daily flow of payments the bank must handle for its clients), security workflows such as suspicious-activity alerts that must be reviewed and validated by a human operator to flag potential fraud, and reporting on the bank's financial state — is the bank profitable, by how much, etc. However, an equally important piece is the customer-facing side: how a customer checks their IBAN, initiates a bank transfer, or performs all the everyday actions expected from an online bank. Salesforce is not really meant for that kind of high-traffic public web frontend. That is where Heroku enters the picture: with its pipelines and add-ons, you can build a customer-facing online banking application quickly and make it scalable. Customers see their statements, transfer history, general information and interact with the bank.

Three integration solutions ahead

Because part of the bank's operations runs on Salesforce and another part runs on Heroku, you need a way to share information between the two platforms. In the next videos we will cover three solutions to link these two separate databases and keep their data available on both sides: Heroku Connect, Salesforce Canvas and the REST API approach. A single solution is often enough, but we will present several of them, with their pros and cons, so you can pick the one that fits your use case. Each upcoming lesson will combine theory and hands-on examples. See you in the next video.

Summary

This introductory lesson explains how to integrate Heroku and Salesforce, two powerful platforms that serve different purposes: Heroku excels at building and deploying web applications rapidly, while Salesforce manages customer relationships and business logic. Integration enables data synchronization between the two separate databases, allowing changes on one platform to be reflected on the other. The lesson uses a banking application as a practical example, where Salesforce handles business operations and compliance, while Heroku powers the customer-facing web application, with multiple integration solutions available to connect these platforms effectively.

Key points

  • Heroku and Salesforce integration means connecting data stored in Heroku with data in Salesforce, allowing changes on one side to affect the other while maintaining separate databases
  • Salesforce excels at managing customer relationships and business logic, while Heroku enables rapid creation and deployment of scalable web applications
  • A real-world banking example demonstrates how Salesforce handles financial operations, security, fraud detection, and compliance, while Heroku provides the online banking interface for customers
  • Multiple integration solutions exist, each with different advantages and disadvantages, allowing you to choose the best fit for your specific use case
  • Data sharing between the two platforms is essential when both Salesforce and Heroku handle critical parts of the same business process

FAQ

What does integration between Heroku and Salesforce mean?

Integration means connecting the data stored in Heroku applications with the data stored in Salesforce. Changes made on one side are reflected on the other, though both maintain their independent databases. This creates a unified data flow between the two platforms.

Why would I want to integrate Heroku and Salesforce?

Integration combines Heroku's strengths in rapid web application development with Salesforce's customer relationship and business logic management. In a banking example, Salesforce can manage financial operations and compliance while Heroku provides the customer-facing online banking interface. This approach lets you leverage each platform's best capabilities.

Are there different ways to integrate these two platforms?

Yes, the lesson covers multiple integration solutions (such as Heroku Connect), each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right solution depends on your specific business requirements and architecture preferences.