Removal of legacy Salesforce integration managed package

Announced on	Development ends	Removal
July 22, 2019	September 16, 2019	October 15, 2020

This article covers the following topics:

• What does this mean?
• Why is Zendesk removing this?
• Am I affected?
• Will I have access to the new integration?
• What happens if I don’t migrate before the removal date?
• Frequently asked questions
• Who should I contact if I need help or have questions?
• Timeline

Important: We have commenced the end-of-life of the legacy Salesforce Integration managed package. We will be doing a gradual removal across 5 business days, between October 15th - 21st, 2020 [EST timezone]. From then onwards, the legacy Salesforce integration will no longer be accessible or functional. You can get started with the new Salesforce integration built on Zendesk which is generally available here.

What does this mean?

Starting January 30, 2020, the legacy Salesforce Integration managed package with Zendesk Support will no longer be available.

From the end of the development date, the legacy integration will no longer be in active development. We will no longer make feature enhancements or guarantee bug fixes, but consider them on a case by case basis. We will continue to support major security issues and upgrades until the legacy integration is no longer installed in any customer accounts.

Why is Zendesk removing this?

In November 2019, we will release a new Salesforce Integration built on Zendesk that does not use the Salesforce managed package and the Force.com platform. 

At Zendesk, we are committed to the openness of our platform and ability to integrate any business system through our open APIs. As part of our platform vision, we're exploring ways to make Zendesk built integrations more open, flexible and consistent. 

Our goal has always been to deliver a holistic view of your customers  or your Support and Sales teams by providing more open, flexible, and consistent integrations. Our connector with the Salesforce platform is a prime example. We partnered closely with Salesforce over several years to build a dynamic two-way integration between Zendesk Support and Salesforce Sales Cloud. 

At first, we leveraged the Salesforce managed package as our foundation. The next stage in our growth is to graduate into an integration that is built natively on Zendesk. Taking this necessary step empowers us to bring this platform vision for customer experience to life by making long-term, strategic investments into the Salesforce integration that is built on Zendesk.

We are dedicated to making the new Salesforce integration a superior experience. Our new offering will integrate Support and Salesforce by building on Zendesk's infrastructure using Salesforce's public APIs and therefore provide a number of benefits, including a redesigned Zendesk Support UI, new admin experience in Zendesk Admin Center, full support for Salesforce Lightning and seamless and automated upgrade process. 

The new integration is now generally available. You can get started here.

We have released migration guides to make your transition onto the new integration or another solution as seamless as possible. See the migration process explained below.

We acknowledge and empathize with how challenging it can be to manage change, especially when you feel like something isn’t broken and, therefore, shouldn’t be fixed. At the same time, we strongly believe that the new Salesforce integration that’s built on Zendesk is the best way forward  for our customers.

What benefits will I get?

We are committed to continued investment in the new Salesforce integration. By building on our own platform In the future, we plan to introduce continued enhancements to the integration. In the following 12-18 months, you can expect to see a Zendesk to Salesforce  bi-directional sync, enhancements to the Salesforce app in Zendesk, ability to customize and extend the integration and integration with other Zendesk products.

Am I affected?

Your Salesforce Admins can check whether you have the integration installed by going to your Salesforce Account: Setup () > enter Installed Packages in the Quick Find box, select Installed Packages. On this page, if you see Zendesk for Salesforce, it means you have the integration installed and you are affected.

Will I have access to the new integration?

The new integration is being built on Zendesk's infrastructure using Salesforce's public APIs, meaning it is only be available for customers using Salesforce editions with API rights. You must be on Salesforce Performance, Unlimited, Enterprise, Developer (or other edition with API rights such as Professional). We are currently working on ways to make the transition onto the new integration as seamless as possible. 

If you are on Salesforce Professional or below and do not have access to Salesforce APIs, you will not have access to the new integration. You can find alternative solutions here. 

You can find out which Salesforce Edition you’re on here.  

What happens if I don’t migrate before the removal date?

The legacy Salesforce Integration was set to be removed on January 30, 2020. We have now automatically extended access to the legacy integration for all customers until October 15, 2020 to allow you more time to transition to the new integration. Please click here to start setting up the new Salesforce integration.

We highly encourage you to evaluate the new integration and plan to transition to the new integration or an alternative solution as soon as possible.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How do I tell what Salesforce Edition I’m on?

Your System Admin can check this by going to your Salesforce Account > Setup ()> Company Information > look for Organization Edition.

Q. How do I tell if I have the Salesforce API rights required to access the new integration?

Your System Admin can check this by going to your Salesforce Account > Setup () > Users > Profile > System Administrator >  search for API Enabled. 

Q. Does this affect customers using the Salesforce for Zendesk app in Support available on the Zendesk Marketplace?

If you are on a Salesforce Edition with API rights, you will be able to continue using the Salesforce for Zendesk app in Support. This will require migration to the new integration.

If you are on a Salesforce Edition without API rights, you can continue using the app in Support until the removal date. After this date, you will no longer have access to the app. 

Q. When will the new integration be available?

The new integration will be available on 18 November 2019.

Q. What is the migration process?

Your options for migration are in the articles below, depending on whether or not you have Salesforce API rights. 

Salesforce API rights (edition Performance, Unlimited, Enterprise, Developer or Professional with API add-on):
Salesforce migration: Migrating the legacy Salesforce integration to the new Salesforce integration

No Salesforce API rights (edition Professional or below)
Salesforce migration: Migrating the legacy Salesforce integration to third party solutions

Q. What advantages does new Salesforce Integration offer over the existing legacy integration managed package?

Our new offering is a feature-rich integration built on Zendesk's infrastructure using Salesforce's public APIs. The new integration will provide a number of benefits, including:

• A beautifully simple Zendesk Support UI
• A new admin experience to configure and manage the integration in Zendesk Admin Center
• Full support for Salesforce Lightning
• Seamless and automated updates
• Customizable and extensible tooling

Who should I contact if I need help or have questions?

Please contact [e-mail] with any additional questions.

Timeline of events

16 July 2019 - Early Access Program (EAP) open for new Salesforce Integration built on Zendesk

The EAP is now closed. The integration is generally available.

22 July 2019 - Announce removal of legacy Salesforce integration managed package

Announcement sent about the removal of the legacy Salesforce Integration.

30 August 2019 - Legacy Salesforce Integration managed package will no longer be available to customers

The legacy Salesforce Integration will no longer be available to new customers. Customers currently using the legacy integration will be able to continue using this until the removal date. 

16 September 2019 - End development for legacy Salesforce Integration managed package

The legacy Salesforce Integration will no longer be in active development; bugs and issues fixes are not guaranteed and will be considered on a case by case basis. 

7 October 2019 - Announce migration options for existing customers

We will notify you with recommendations on the best path forward for your use case whether it’s on the new integration built on Zendesk or an alternative solution.

18 November 2019 - Announce General Availability of new Salesforce Integration built on Zendesk

Read the general availability announcement. Get started here. 

30 January 2020 - Legacy Salesforce integration managed package will be deprecated

The legacy Salesforce Integration will no longer be supported, but we anticipate associated data will continue to be available and accessible until the legacy integration is removed. 

30 January 2020 - extension request opens

Access to the legacy integration is extended. 

11 March 2020 - automatic extension

Access to the legacy integration automatically granted for all customers until May 15, 2020. 

4 May 2020 - automatic extension

In light of COVID-19, automatic extension is further prolonged to October 15, 2020 for all customers. 

15 October 2020 - Legacy Salesforce integration managed package will be deprecated

The final date of the legacy Salesforce Integration. There will be no further extensions offered.