Overview
The Salesforce AppExchange is where companies list their Salesforce integration apps to extend the functionality of Salesforce. This article outlines what the AppExchange is, how to access it and some considerations before downloading a listing from the App Exchange. If you have any questions about an integration listing, please reach out to your CSM.
What Is the AppExchange?
The AppExchange is Salesforce's enterprise cloud marketplace that contains Apps, Lightning Components, Bolt Solutions, Lightning Data, Flow Solutions and Consultants. Apps listed on the Salesforce AppExchange help extend Salesforce's functionality, and some integrate with your Practifi instance to pull information in from other products, such as Addepar. These integrations are built and supported by the product's team and listed on the AppExchange for downloading into your Salesforce environment. For more information about the Salesforce AppExchange, please consult this Salesforce website.
Accessing the AppExchange
AppExchange access is available for System Administrators through your Practifi instance. To access the AppExchange:
- Select the Setup cog
located in the upper right-hand corner and select Setup from the drop-down menu.
- Use the Quick Find search bar on the left side to search for "AppExchange."
- Select AppExchange Marketplace from the search results under the Apps section.
Once in the AppExchange, you can use the side drop-down in the pop-up to select Apps to only view available apps. To view the full AppExchange website, select the AppExchange Website link in the pop-up's lower left-hand corner.
Integration Pricing
Apps listed on the AppExchange may be paid or free, with this information typically displayed on the AppExchange listing. Some integrations downloaded from the AppExchange may require a license purchased for every user within your organization, regardless of whether they may use the integration. Others will only require the licenses for the users who need access. Typically the licensing requirement information will also be reflected on the AppExchange listing.
Practifi does not have any control over the pricing for the integration as it comes from the connection between that product and Salesforce. We recommend reaching out to that product team through your Account Manager or another contact you may have to understand pricing better.
AppExchange Best Practices
This section will help outline some best practices when looking through AppExchange listings and call out some red flags that would prevent a successful integration. Before downloading an app from the AppExchange into your Practifi instance, we recommend testing the app within a sandbox environment. For assistance in getting a sandbox environment, please contact our Support team. To view our list of preferred integration partners, please consult our website.
Demos
An AppExchange listing may contain a video demo link, which can be extremely useful to gauge the functionality of the integration before testing in your sandbox environment. This usually shows the integration's main highlights and what the product may look like within the Salesforce environment. Depending on the integration, this visual display may differ when placed within your Practifi organization.
Release Note Information
The release note information on an AppExchange listing helps determine whether the integration is being worked on and improved or if it was created once and not touched again by its development team. Listings with recent release information displayed on them typically have had recent improvements or fixes. Their release notes can help give you an idea of what improvements or features are available for the integration.
If a listing does not have a recent release noted, it may still be active, but we recommend contacting their team to ensure it is still an active and supported integration with Salesforce.
Notes
Typically within an AppExchange listing, there is a Notes section. This section gives an overview of important features of the integration and any limitations the integration may have. We recommend checking this section on the listing to ensure the integration will be compatible with your license type and with Salesforce Lightning.
Data Sheets and Customization Guides
The Data Sheets and Customization Guides section on an AppExchange listing typically contains documents to help your team understand what the integration can do and how to enable the integration within your Salesforce instance. These are great to review before downloading the app into your sandbox environment.
Please note: If the integration is not a preferred partner integration of Practifi, a Knowledge Base article will likely not be available through Practifi Success. Your team will be responsible for enabling and working with that product and their team to enable and support the integration.
Reviews
The Reviews section on the AppExchange listing explains how others have used this tool and if the integration was effective. Occasionally, integrations on the AppExchange may have less functionality available than the full product, and reviews are a great place to gauge this before your firm commits to downloading it into your sandbox environment. These reviews may also reflect how their product team supports the integration and any pain points, or successes users have encountered when using the integration.
Object Limitations
When reading through an AppExchange listing, be cautious of apps that list using the Leads or Opportunities objects. If the integration ties to these specific objects, we will not bring that content into your Practifi instance due to Salesforce Partner restrictions.
Depending on the integration, we may have the ability to update the objects it's connected to, but this is not always the case. If you see a listing mentioning these objects, please reach out to your CSM for guidance on your options and whether or not this integration may be the best option for your firm.
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