How To Integrate iOS Apps with Salesforce

I’ll always remember when one of my clients saw how simple integrating their iOS app with Salesforce was. After months of intimidation about the perceived complexity of app integration, they were shocked when our team delivered a seamless sync between their iPhone app and Salesforce database in just a few weeks.

Like this client, you may be wary of integrating your iOS app and Salesforce. But as a leading provider of iOS app development services, I’m here to tell you – it’s much easier than you think! Integrating your custom iOS apps with Salesforce greatly benefits your business, especially if you follow the straightforward steps below.

The Benefits of Connecting Your iOS Apps to Salesforce

Before we dig into the how-to, let’s look at why iOS/Salesforce integration is so valuable:

• Real-time data sync – Updates in your iOS app can instantly sync to Salesforce, ensuring your teams can access the latest data and make decisions accordingly—no more clunky manual data transfers.
• Enhanced mobile capabilities – You can leverage the full power of Salesforce’s CRM from your elegant native iOS apps. Empower your mobile workforce!
• Increased productivity – Sales reps and field teams don’t need to juggle multiple apps or waste time entering data multiple times. Everything flows seamlessly between iOS and Salesforce.

Many leading companies use integrated iOS/Salesforce solutions to gain these benefits. The steps below will show you just how painless it is to implement.

Step-By-Step: How to Integrate Custom iOS Apps with Salesforce

Configuring the Salesforce API

The first step is ensuring your Salesforce account is ready for API-based integrations.

You’ll need to enable API access in your Salesforce setup, which is simply a matter of checking a box. Then, you can generate secure API tokens, which your iOS app will use to connect to Salesforce.

If you need to become more familiar with the Salesforce API, their detailed documentation guides you through every step of the process.

Choosing the Right Integration Approach

Next, you’ll need to decide how your app will integrate with Salesforce technically.

The main options are:

• Native Salesforce mobile SDK – This open-source library handles all the complex authentication, data access, and management behind the scenes. It’s the easiest way to build iOS apps on the Salesforce platform.
• Third-party integration platforms – Built.io and Tray.io offer turnkey integration using visual workflow builders. They abstract away much of the coding complexity.

We recommend the Salesforce mobile SDK for most projects, as it provides the most flexibility. The integration platforms can also be great tools, especially for non-developers.

Building the Integration

Now for the fun part – actually connecting the two systems!

Here are the key steps our dev team follows:

• Import the Salesforce SDK libraries into your Xcode project.
• Write code to initialize the SDK and handle OAuth user authentication.
• Define data models representing Salesforce objects you want to sync, like Contacts or Accounts.
• Set up mappings to translate data between your iOS app’s and Salesforce’s formats.
• Add sync logic to push and pull updates between the app and Salesforce databases.

The Salesforce SDK documentation provides iOS sample code for each phase of the integration process.

Testing the Integration

With the integration developed, it’s time to test it before release rigorously.

Our test plan always involves:

• Simulating workflows – Testing common user workflows like creating accounts and sharing contacts.
• Confirming data sync – Verifying updates propagate correctly between systems.
• Addressing bugs – Fixing any issues revealed during testing.

We also stress test with large data loads to catch edge cases and optimize performance.

Thorough testing is crucial to prevent sync issues or loss of data down the road.

Keys to Success with iOS + Salesforce Integrations

Following the steps above will get you up and running, but here are a few pro tips to ensure your integration goes smoothly:

• Leverage experienced developers – Our team specializes in providing Salesforce integration services. An expert agency knows how to avoid common pitfalls and build a robust, scalable integration.
• Follow security best practices – Use token-based authentication, SSL encryption, and authorization rules to lock down your connected systems.
• Maintain comprehensive docs – Technical documentation ensures smooth app maintenance and helps onboard new developers.
• Build in monitoring – Track integration logs and metrics to catch issues early. Use analytics to identify usage patterns.
• Plan for extensibility – Structure your integration in a modular way so it’s easy to expand with new capabilities down the road.

See Integration Success Stories from Our Clients

We’ve used our battle-tested integration process to deliver robust Salesforce and HubSpot integrations for clients like a leading New York luxury real estate brokerage.

This client required synchronization between their Salesforce CRM and HubSpot marketing platform to optimize operations and enhance their CRM capabilities.

Our team leveraged deep expertise in both platforms to develop custom triggers, business methods, and schedulers to identify and resolve any integration errors like duplicate records automatically.

The result was a seamless integration, allowing the client to manage an extensive global CRM database of contacts and client lists with a comprehensive record of all their real estate exchanges.

Projects like this demonstrate our ability to deliver complex, custom Salesforce integrations to improve clients’ CRM systems. Let’s discuss how we can optimize your Salesforce platform through strategic integrations.

The benefits are clear. If you’re ready to join the future of mobile CRM, our expert team is here to make integrating your iOS apps and Salesforce a breeze. Let’s chat about driving your business growth through the power of app integration.

Author Bio

Jeff Parcheta is a Sales Director at Chetu Inc., a global, custom software development company, overseeing the Facilities Management, Residential Services, Insurance, Construction, Modeling, Drafting, and AI & Machine Learning accounts. A graduate of both the University of Texas at Arlington and Nova Southeastern University, where he received his MBA, Jeff joined Chetu in 2020, where he has built a reputation as a thought leader and industry expert within the IT community. Jeff has risen through the sales department ranks, helping the company grow into an award-winning organization.