Salesforce for Outlook is being retired: What now?

If you're a Salesforce for Outlook user, change is on its way. Though you might want to stay with what you know, the retirement of Salesforce for Outlook means you'll need to find a new solution. The good news is that many options on the market have the same functionality and build on what Salesforce for Outlook offers.

In this article, we'll explore why integrating Salesforce with Outlook is essential for so many sales teams. We'll also explore eight alternative integrations that can sync the two applications as well as introduce new features to your tech stack. 

What is Salesforce for Outlook?

Salesforce for Outlook is a Salesforce-native integration that connects your CRM with Microsoft Outlook to sync contacts, events, and tasks. Using Salesforce for Outlook, you can add Outlook emails, attachments, events, and tasks to Salesforce contacts and view Salesforce customer records directly in Outlook. 

The integration provides Salesforce data directly within Outlook, and the ability to log emails and events to Salesforce records. This can increase overall CRM adoption because there is more valuable data that sales teams can access, making the CRM more useful.

The benefits of connecting Outlook and Salesforce

Integrating the two platforms for B2B organizations using both Salesforce and Outlook bridges a data gap that could otherwise cause data to be lost, inaccurate, or outdated. When data is captured and synced between Salesforce and Outlook, it becomes visible in the Salesforce Activity Timeline so your sales reps have customer-specific information to help them make informed business decisions.

Some of the benefits of connecting Salesforce and Outlook include:

• Work with Salesforce data in your Outlook inbox instead of switching between platforms.
• Improve data accuracy by avoiding duplicate data entry and keeping data up-to-date.
• Increase your team's productivity by reducing time spent inputting data into Salesforce. 
• Enhance your forecasting capabilities with a comprehensive view of your sales pipeline.
• Provide customers with a personalized experience enriched by every customer touchpoint's historical data. 

Why is Salesforce retiring the Outlook integration?

When it was first developed, Salesforce for Outlook connected the two platforms through a pre-Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) version of Outlook. IE11 communicates through APEX calls, but the integration doesn't. So, Salesforce for Outlook had to rely on Lightning Experience to interpret IE11's APEX calls. 

Lightning Experience provided a workaround for the technical issue of the APEX calls, but it was a stopgap. As more and more users migrate to Lightning, Salesforce is phasing out support of Outlook for Salesforce. 

When is Salesforce for Outlook being retired?

As of publishing, Salesforce Release Notes confirm that Salesforce for Outlook and the mobile app will fully retire in December 2027. 

Salesforce is taking a phased approach to the product’s retirement. The process began in June 2019 when Salesforce transitioned the plugin to "maintenance only" status. Only existing users were able to use Salesforce for Outlook at that point. Next, in June 2020, Salesforce retired the Salesforce Outlook plugin Action Menu, which previously allowed users to create Salesforce records from the side panel in Outlook. 

Currently, users can no longer access the "New Records" button, meaning users cannot create Salesforce records from Outlook through the plugin. 

By the end of 2027, Salesforce for Outlook will be officially retired. If you're still using the plugin, Salesforce admins will lose access to all remaining features, but it will not impact saved contacts, events, tasks, or email data within Salesforce.

What does life after Salesforce for Outlook look like?

If you've been loyally using Salesforce for Outlook for years, facing its retirement may seem daunting. But not to worry: there is life after Salesforce for Outlook.

There are plenty of integrations that share data between Salesforce and Outlook. Third-party developers have created various alternatives with the same functionality as Salesforce for Outlook that, in some cases, have additional features. 

Each solution has its own set of features and pros and cons list, and finding the right integration for your business will depend on your unique needs. Approach the retirement of Salesforce for Outlook as an opportunity to dive deep into your organization's needs and find a solution best positioned to meet them. 

Here are a few things to consider when choosing an integration solution:

• Scale: How large is your organization, and what kind of data volume will your CRM need to handle?  

• Compliance: Is your organization in a regulated industry that requires you to meet compliance requirements? 

• Budget: How much is your organization willing to invest in a reliable customer data integration? If you have a set budget, keep it in mind when exploring your options. 

• Support: What kind of support needs does your organization have?

• Configurability: Does your organization have specific needs that would require advanced configurations, or would a plug-and-play option serve your needs? 

Looking for more tips to help you choose your next Salesforce to Outlook integration solution? Read Preparing for the End of Salesforce for Outlook. 

8 Salesforce to Outlook integration solutions

As we approach the retirement of Salesforce for Outlook, it's time to consider which alternative is best for your organization. These eight options offer different functionality and enhancements at various price points, so there is something for everyone. 

Let's look at the alternatives in more detail.

1. Affinity for Salesforce

Affinity for Salesforce has all the features of Salesforce for Outlook with some exceptional additional functionality, making it an excellent choice for your next integration. 

Automate the creation, update, and enrichment of Salesforce records using inbox and calendar activity with Affinity for Salesforce, and save each of your team members more than 200 hours of manual CRM work per year. 

With Affinity for Salesforce, you get the most out of your data thanks to extensions, automation, data enrichment, and relationship intelligence, all in one application. Affinity for Salesforce is the right solution if your team wants to go beyond logging emails and events to get the most out of your inbox and calendar data.

Features

• Automated data entry makes sourcing deals more efficient. Automated Salesforce record creation through the Outlook integration saves sales reps 200+ hours yearly while keeping data up-to-date and accurate.

• Inbox extension improves CRM adoption. Get more sales reps effectively using Salesforce by streamlining the process of working in the CRM. Affinity for Salesforce allows your team to view prospects, deal insights, and create new Salesforce records where they're working, so they don't have to interrupt their workflow to switch applications.  

• Drive high-quality deals with relationship insights. With automatic relationship insights, sellers can see paths to opportunities alongside deal-relevant data and a full engagement history. These insights are available in Salesforce, but also the tools sellers use daily—their inbox, LinkedIn, and directly in their browser.

• Tap into the power of data enrichment. Affinity for Salesforce's automatic data enrichment process augments Salesforce records with relevant data from your email, contact, event, and calendar information. 

• Close deals faster with relationship intelligence. Access engagement history and relationship scores within Salesforce and Outlook to find warm introductions to leads, identify opportunities, and close deals 25% faster.

Pros

• Automatically update and create Salesforce records through the Outlook integration.
• View shared relationships across your organization and understand the strength of those relationships through measurable metrics.  
• Increase Salesforce adoption and get more out of your CRM investment. Thirty-five percent of sales teams aren't using their CRM because they lack time.* With Affinity for Salesforce, you can automate Salesforce workflows, saving each user up to 200 hours per year. 
• Captured data is stored indefinitely and can be used in Salesforce’s native reporting and dashboards.
• Salesforce and Affinity insights and automation are available directly in your inbox and browser through extensions, enabling teams to access and update records seamlessly without opening Salesforce or any additional tools.
• View shared relationships and understand the strength of those relationships. A timeline of activities associated with an entity gives you the context to close more deals.
• Identify warm introduction paths by finding the right person on your team to contact prospective company leaders and decision-makers.
• Teams can use Affinity data to drive automated workflows, create relationship-focused reports, or set up a trigger to send a notification when specific parameters are met (like when a relationship score drops below a threshold).

Cons

• Affinity for Salesforce is a paid service.
• Sales reps new to relationship-driven deal management will need to learn how to get the most out of the relationship insights generated by Affinity for Salesforce.
• Only integrates with Salesforce as the database of record. Non-Salesforce teams can enjoy the benefits of Affinity for Salesforce through Affinity CRM.

Pricing

• Starting at $100 USD per user/month.

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2. Einstein Activity Capture

As the world prepares for the Salesforce for Outlook retirement, Einstein Activity Capture is being promoted as the next-generation product for Salesforce. Einstein Activity Capture is a Salesforce-native tool that allows users to sync emails, events, and contacts between Salesforce and Microsoft Outlook automatically. It's also a Google Calendar and Gmail integration. 

Einstein Activity Capture reduces the need for manual data entry by syncing Outlook emails, calendar events, tasks, and contacts to corresponding Salesforce records. You can view all captured data in the Salesforce Activity Timeline.

Once data has entered Salesforce, Sales Cloud Einstein analyzes the datasets and, using machine learning and AI, provides opportunity and account insights to help sales reps prioritize accounts and decision-making.  

The Einstein Activity Capture free version maintains historical Outlook data for six months (24 months for paid accounts).

Pros

• Einstein Activity Capture is included in all Salesforce products. 
• Email Insights gives sales reps context alongside emails so they can craft the best possible response to customers.
• You can save time and money by reducing the need for manual data entry.
• Einstein Activity Capture provides comprehensive activity data so administrators understand how team members are working and give them appropriate feedback.

Cons

• Email activity is not reportable via standard Salesforce reports.
• Captured activity data is only stored for six or 24 months, depending on your subscription. 
• If you deactivate Einstein Activity Capture, the associated data will no longer be available in Salesforce record timelines.
• Your data is stored using the Salesforce AWS infrastructure, which means your data isn't stored on the Salesforce platform. 

Pricing

• Standard subscription: No fee for Salesforce users, but access to key features is limited or restricted.
• Paid subscription: $50 per user/month when bundled with Sales Cloud Einstein.

3. Salesforce Outlook integration

Another native Salesforce plugin is the Salesforce Outlook integration. It replaces many of the Salesforce for Outlook functions and has new productivity features that aren't available in Salesforce for Outlook. 

With the Salesforce Outlook integration, you can work with Salesforce records and features even while working in your Outlook email or calendar. You’ll no longer need to toggle between two platforms, and instead be able to do everything in Outlook. 

The integration allows you to create leads, contacts, accounts, and other records directly from Outlook. You can even use Salesforce email templates to draft Outlook emails without leaving your inbox. 

Pros

• Users have a clear view of their Salesforce data while working out of Outlook.
• The Salesforce Outlook integration is free for all Salesforce users. 
• Create leads, contacts, accounts, and other records directly from Outlook.
• Access and use Salesforce templates directly from Outlook.

Cons

• You need to log records manually.
• There is no organization-wide installation solution—each user will need to go to the Office store, find the add-on, and add it to Outlook to be able to use it. 

Pricing

• Free for any Salesforce user.

4. Salesforce Inbox

Salesforce Inbox is an add-on that lets sales reps manage their emails while seeing all relevant records alongside their emails. Salesforce Inbox requires that you use the Salesforce Outlook integration as well, so it offers many of the same features.

You can log Outlook emails and events to Salesforce records as emails and tasks, and draft emails using Salesforce templates. Additionally, you can build customized Outlook integration panes for each user. Using unique layouts and features, every user can have a solution that meets their needs. 

Salesforce Inbox allows you to add read receipts to emails so you can track when your customers have opened an email in Salesforce. 

Another feature is the ability to send available times for internal and external meetings. This makes the process of booking time with team members as well as customers seamless, improving the user experience.

Pros

• Salesforce Inbox integrates with Outlook and Gmail. 
• Salesforce Inbox gives users a customized view of Salesforce when working in Outlook.
• Track email opens by adding read receipts to all email communications.
• Send a calendar with your availability to make scheduling meetings easier.
• Create leads, contacts, accounts, and other records directly from Outlook.

Cons

• You need to log records manually.
• There is a fee associated with Salesforce Inbox.
• There is no organization-wide installation solution—users must install the integration themselves. 

Pricing

• The Inbox license costs $25 USD per user/month in addition to your Sales Cloud subscription.

5. Match My Email

Match My Email is an AppExchange app that automatically syncs your emails to Salesforce. The setup process is intuitive and only takes three clicks and a few minutes to complete. 

When you use Match My Email, all your email data is stored in Salesforce alongside the rest of your Salesforce record data. Your data also has no expiration date—Match My Email permanently stores email and calendar data in Salesforce. 

Match My Email gives you access to additional information relating to your contacts, accounts, and leads. You can see which accounts have been active in the last 24 hours and which accounts haven't made contact in the previous seven days. This information can help you understand which accounts may need more attention. 

Salesforce for Outlook couldn't download and log attachments that came with emails. Often, the most important information is hidden in an attachment. Match My Email gives you the ability to store attachments in Salesforce. 

Pros

• It eliminates manual data entry and helps ensure your data is accurate.
• An easy set-up process.
• Permanently stores emails in Salesforce.
• Matches emails to multiple email addresses within a single record.
• Uploads and stores attachments in Salesforce. 

Cons

• Match My Email is a paid service.
• There’s no read receipts feature for emails.
• Sometimes uploads and stores logos and other irrelevant attachments in Salesforce.

Pricing

• Business plan: $20.65 USD per user/month for up to 10 users, billed annually. The price per user decreases the more users you have.
• Enterprise plan: For businesses with over 100 users, contact Match My Email for pricing. 

6. Riva

Riva is an enterprise-level Salesforce Outlook integration solution that allows users to unify, manage, and share data securely. Using its AI-powered Revenue Data Ops Engine, your Outlook data will automatically sync to your Salesforce records. 

With Riva, users can access real-time customer histories so sales reps can streamline the sales process and optimize the customer experience. The seamless integration of Salesforce and Outlook aims to help your sales team get more from your CRM while your team members can work where they want—in their inboxes and on mobile devices.

As an enterprise-level solution, Riva supports 150,000 simultaneous users and more than 5 million monthly calendar appointments. The company also monitors regional, national, and global regulations that govern the use of customer data to ensure compliance. Riva maintains many third-party data security certifications, including SOC2 attestation. 

Pros

• Create records and log Outlook events and calls to Salesforce 
• Riva is a SOC2 connector so you can rest assured that your data is secure. 
• Access your Salesforce data from Outlook, eliminating the need for task switching and reducing the risk of duplicate data entry. 

Cons

• Riva is not suitable for organizations of 25 employees or less.
• Riva is a paid service. 

Pricing

Riva offers four different pricing options:

• Riva for Revenue Operations: $40 USD per user/month. 
• Riva for Data Compliance: $60 USD per user/month. 
• Riva for Activity Analytics: $25 USD per user/month.
• Riva for Enterprise: contact Riva for pricing.

7. LinkPoint360 

LinkPoint360 aims to reduce friction when integrating your CRM with your inbox. It connects your Outlook with Salesforce and automatically syncs email, calendar, task, and contact data with your Salesforce records. 

Like other solutions, LinkPoint 360 eliminates the need for manual and duplicate data entry by allowing users to view, create, and update Salesforce records all within their Outlook inbox.

Its one-click email recording allows for easy email integration whether you're the Salesforce administrator or an end-user. 

Pros

• A dedicated customer support team to help ensure a smooth onboarding experience. 
• Email tracking that records when your email is opened.
• Automatically syncs email, calendar, task, and contact data with your Salesforce records.
• Users can update Salesforce records from their Outlook inbox.
• Optimal email sync gives you control of which emails are shared with Salesforce.

Cons

• LinkPoint 360 is a paid service.
• Some organizations may require IT support to get the most out of LinkPoint 360.
• Depending on your organization's needs, LinkPoint360's native features may miss the mark for some users. 

Pricing

• Outlook to Salesforce integration: $16 USD per user/month

8. Cirrus Insight

Cirrus Insight is a Salesforce Outlook integration that shares data between the two platforms by syncing Outlook email, calendar, tasks, and contacts to your Salesforce records. Cirrus Insight automates many repetitive tasks that can bog down a sales team. It tracks email and attachment opens, creates personalized email templates, schedules follow-up reminders and meetings with customers, and sends drip email campaigns. 

The Cirrus Insights Salesforce.api gives users access to other integrations that use the link between Salesforce and Outlook to eliminate the need for manual data entry between the applications. This provides users with a clear picture of the historical context behind each customer account, saving you time and improving customer satisfaction.

With Cirrus Insights, you can automatically sync Outlook emails and calendar data to Salesforce and create and update Salesforce records such as leads, contacts, and opportunities.

Pros

• Automatically syncs email, calendar, task, and contact data with your Salesforce records.
• Supports automated email sequences and follow-ups to stay on top of customer communications.
• Schedule sales calls.
• Reduce the need for manual data entry. 

Cons

• Cirrus Insight is a paid service.
• Cirrus Insight is a highly customizable solution; getting the most out of the integration requires time and fine-tuning. 
• Users can't create custom data flows.

Pricing

• Salesforce Sync: starting at $10 USD per user/month
• Pro: starting at $21 USD per user/month
• Expert: starting at $29 USD per user/month
• Advanced features are available at an additional cost

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Salesforce for Outlook FAQs 

When is Salesforce for Outlook being retired?

Salesforce for Outlook is scheduled to be retired in December 2027. The original retirement date was June 2024, but Salesforce pushed it out to give users more time to find a suitable alternative. If you haven't found a new Salesforce to Outlook integration, Affinity for Salesforce has all the features of Salesforce for Outlook and also uses Affinity's relationship intelligence to help you uncover warm introductions and close deals faster.

Why is it important to use automation to integrate Salesforce with your inbox?

It's important to use automation to integrate Salesforce with your email inbox because having your email and calendar data automatically sync with your CRM improves data accuracy by avoiding duplicate data entry and keeping data up-to-date. It'll also help increase sales productivity by reducing the time spent inputting data into Salesforce. Finally, you'll be able to provide your customers with a better customer experience enriched by the historical data you've gathered from every email, meeting, and task. 

Can third-party Salesforce integrations help you get the most out of your CRM?

Thanks to AppExchange, there are more than 7,000 apps to help you get the most out of Salesforce. From proven apps to experts, third-party Salesforce apps can help you solve your unique business needs. In fact, 91% of Salesforce customers use AppExchange apps to help them drive results and solve their business challenges.

What is the best solution to connect Salesforce with your Microsoft Outlook email?

The best solution to connect Salesforce with Microsoft Outlook email is Affinity for Salesforce. You can automatically capture contact, account, and activity data from your inbox and turn it into Salesforce records. Affinity for Salesforce also automatically generates relationship insights and scores your relationships so you can better understand which leads or opportunities to target. Thanks to additional features like data enrichment, automation, and relationship intelligence, Affinity for Salesforce is more than a simple Salesforce to Outlook integration—it helps you use your data to close deals 25% faster.

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* Data from Affinity’s 2024 survey of 250+ business leaders across investment banking, media and communications, real estate, professional services, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and enterprise technology.