Common Salesforce Integration Patterns & When to Use Them

Salesforce Integration Patterns are standardized methods for integrating Salesforce with external systems. Each pattern is designed to handle specific integration scenarios, depending on data flow, process synchronization, system dependencies, and real-time vs batch processing requirements. This post will explain all Salesforce Integration Patterns & when to use them. You can check out and use it in you Salesforce Integration projects.

1. Remote Process Invocation – Request & Reply

In this pattern, Salesforce makes a synchronous call to an external system, waits for it to process the request, and receives an immediate response from the external system.

✅ When to Use:

• When immediate data from an external system is required to continue a process.

• For real-time decision-making in the user interface.

🛠 Tools: Apex HTTP callouts, Named Credentials, External Services.

📦 Real-World Example:
A loan officer inputs a customer's details into Salesforce and clicks the "Check Credit Score" button. Salesforce sends the data to a third-party credit agency and waits for the score to return before proceeding with the application.

2. Remote Process Invocation – Fire & Forget

In this pattern, Salesforce sends a message to another system but doesn’t wait for a response—it assumes the process will be handled eventually.

✅ When to Use:

• When the outcome of the external action is not immediately needed.

• For logging, notifications, or background processes.

🛠 Tools: @future methods, Queueable Apex, Platform Events (Outbound).

📦 Real-World Example:
When a new lead is created, Salesforce fires an event to notify the marketing automation platform. Marketing actions (like sending welcome emails) are triggered externally while the user continues working in Salesforce.

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3. Batch Data Synchronization

In this pattern, Large datasets are transferred between systems at scheduled intervals—daily, hourly, or weekly.

✅ When to Use:

• When systems need to be in sync periodically.

• To handle large data volumes without impacting performance.

🛠 Tools: Bulk API, Data Loader, ETL tools (MuleSoft, Jitterbit, Informatica).

📦 Real-World Example:
An eCommerce platform syncs all customer orders from the past 24 hours into Salesforce every night. This allows sales reps to see order history without real-time integration.

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4. UI Update Based on Data Changes

In this pattern, Salesforce UI is updated when data changes occur in external systems, usually through event notifications.

✅ When to Use:

• When Salesforce users need to see real-time or near-real-time updates.

• For dashboards or case statuses that reflect external activity.

🛠 Tools: Streaming API, Platform Events (Inbound), CometD, Lightning Web Components (LWC).

📦 Real-World Example:
A delivery tracking system updates order statuses in real-time. When a package is delivered, Salesforce updates the related record automatically and displays the delivery status to the customer service agent.

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5. Data Virtualization (UI-Level Integration)

In this pattern, external data is not stored in Salesforce. Instead of storing data in Salesforce, it retrieves and displays it in real-time from external systems using a live connection.

✅ When to Use:

• When storing data in Salesforce isn’t cost-effective or necessary.

• When data changes frequently and must be up-to-date at all times.

🛠 Tools: Salesforce Connect, External Objects, Canvas Apps, LWC with API calls.

📦 Real-World Example:
A support agent opens a Salesforce case record and sees a live feed of the customer's recent transactions from an external banking system, without saving that data into Salesforce.

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6. Event-Driven Architecture (EDA)

In this pattern, the event mechanism is used for integrations. Salesforce and other systems communicate by publishing and subscribing to events instead of making direct requests.

✅ When to Use:

• To decouple systems for scalability and resilience.

• When many systems need to react to the same event.

🛠 Tools: Platform Events, Change Data Capture (CDC), Pub/Sub API, Event Bus.

📦 Real-World Example:
When a high-value customer submits a complaint, a platform event is published. This triggers:

• A support case in Salesforce.

• An alert in Slack.

• A ticket in the IT helpdesk system.
  All systems subscribe and react to the same event independently

📌 Summary Table

📌 When to use what pattern

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References

Integration Patterns and Practices

Integration Pattern Overview