Allow other developers to access our Salesforce data via API

Question

We would like other developers in our company (non salesforce users) to be able to access our Salesforce data via an API. What is the best way to allow them to do this? Thank you

Answer 1

There's several ways to do this.

The easiest way to do this is to use a Salesforce-compatible ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) such as Neuron ESB (note: this is not a product recommendation, it just happens to be the only one I've seen that I know is compatible; do your own research).

Using the ESB, you can set up an endpoint the developers can use to request data, and the other end of the ESB connection would be connected to Salesforce. All of the requests would be routed through a user configured in the ESB to act on the developers' behalf, so you can configure the user profile to meet your security needs. Note that you still do need a license, but you wouldn't necessarily need one license per developer.

Alternatively, you can build a Salesforce Site, and write custom REST services. Note that if you do this, this would be unauthenticated access, so make sure you don't expose data not meant to be publicly viewable, as anyone with the URL to the Site can access the data.

You should research these options carefully and decide which method would be best suited to your needs and budget. Other alternatives may also be possible, including writing a custom Heroku app, etc, but this should get you started with some ideas.