Almost everyone knows about Microsoft Excel because students, professional accountants, office managers, small businesses, and practically all people have at least once used this tool for some reason. Such popularity owes to the multifaceted landscape with numerous functions available in this application. One can create and fill in tables, filter and analyze data, apply various formulae to columns, etc.
Another great thing about Excel is that it’s free of charge as it’s included in the Microsoft package either offline, together with other desktop apps, or online on OneDrive. However, each medal has two different sides, and the same goes for Excel.
Some companies still rely on Excel to keep track of all the customer data. With the growing number of client records, though, it becomes more time-consuming to update and manage the data. That’s why such CRM systems as Salesforce would be much more appropriate for storing the customer’s details.
If you’re among those who want to switch from Excel to Salesforce, extra tools might be necessary. Among them is the Data Loader developed by Salesforce, Skyvia, and some other alternatives. In this article, we particularly review how to use Salesforce Data Loader and Skyvia for Salesforce data transfer.
Limitations of Excel in Data Management
One of the core reasons to switch from Excel to Salesforce is the need to operate large datasets. Moreover, this tool has some limitations and drawbacks, especially when it comes to advanced data management needs. The most common of them are:
- Data integrity issues: Excel doesn’t implement mechanisms to establish relationships between various tables. This obviously can result in data duplicates and inconsistency.
- Version control absence: This tool doesn’t have any feature for tracking changes and comparing various document versions.
- Limited automation: Even if it has macros and VBA for automation, it doesn’t support scripting languages for creating complex tasks.
- Cross-platform migration: Files generated on the Windows version of Excel usually open wrong on the macOS platform. This creates many inconveniences for users and deprives them of fruitful collaboration.
Why Salesforce Data Loader
Switching to Salesforce is easy, so preliminary transitional steps might take some time and effort. However, everything becomes easier with Salesforce Data Loader. It’s a great helper for managing the big data of Salesforce in bulk without complications.
The following features of Data Loader make it an excellent choice for businesses:
- Automation. This application schedules data tasks for automatic execution and thus reduces the manual effort and error probability.
- API integration. It easily integrates with Salesforce’s REST API and SOAP API, revealing advanced integration scenarios.
- Mapping settings. Data Loader makes the field mapping between Salesforce and CSV files, eliminating the risk of data misalignment.
- Security. The tool adheres to Salesforce’s security standards for data transfer.
- Error handling. Upon competition of data integration, Data Loader generates a file with successfully performed operations and a file with logging and error details.
Key Considerations before Transitioning
Making a transition from one tool to another includes a set of preparatory actions and procedures. The main thing is to define whether acquiring the new tool meets your budget. In the case of Excel and Data Loader, both applications are free.
Another aspect to consider is preparing your computer for working with the app. Before working with Data Loader, it’s necessary to install Java Runtime Environment and check Windows or macOS system requirements.
Working with Salesforce Data Loader also needs some basic understanding of SQL query language, databases, CSV file structure, and DML operations. Otherwise, you might ask for help from in-house IT teams or trusted experts.
Transition Guide
Each company decides how to transfer data from legacy files to modern systems. We have prepared a short transition guide that can serve as a tip for organizing transition.
Step 1. Data Audit: Review existing Excel data and identify what needs to be moved.
Step 2. Planning: Define the scope and schedule of the transition.
Step 3. Installation and Setup: Walkthrough of installing Salesforce Data Loader.
Step 4, Data Mapping: Design the mapping strategy for Excel columns to Salesforce fields.
Step 5. Data Import: Review the interface of the Data Loader; explore INSERT and UPSERT import operations.
Step 6. Validation and Quality Checks: Control whether data was transferred to Salesforce correctly.
Skyvia
Skyvia is an ETL tool suitable for various data integration operations. It could be a perfect alternative to Salesforce Data Loader, offering smoother transitioning due to:
- Support of CSV files as well as more than 160+ data sources (cloud apps, databases, file storage solutions, etc.). See details at https://skyvia.com/data-integration/salesforce-data-loader. Data Loader supports only CSV files and Salesforce.
- A broad set of operations with data – replication, synchronization, querying, and backup are available along with traditional import and export utilities. Meanwhile, the Salesforce Data Loader focuses on the latter two options.
- Convenient GUI for designing data integration pipelines – simple and difficult ones. Data Loader needs CLI for bulk import or export, which is available only on Windows.
- Robust data mapping and transformation.
- Available from anywhere because Skyvia is a cloud-based solution. Meanwhile, Salesforce Data Loader is OS-restricted and implies that an operating system meets certain technical requirements.
Apart from a range of multiple advantages Skyvia has over Data Loader, this tool can be seen as a universal data integration solution for a company. As it supports multiple data sources, it’s possible not only to manage Salesforce data but also to transfer data between other popular applications.
Conclusion
Excel is one of the best friends of conventional users as well as professional accountants. Due to the variety of functions, data analysis, data visualization, and other cons of this application, most users really like it. However, it doesn’t seem that powerful when it comes to working with large data sets and complex operations.
As many companies decide to switch from Excel to Salesforce for storing and working with customer data, a good transition tool is needed. Data Loader and Skyvia are the best solutions for that. Moreover, the latter is accessed on the web from anywhere and works in the context of big data.
