Data loss with Salesforce Connector

Gbur

I am experiencing data loss with the Salesforce Connector where the Workflow account is overwriting user submitted data with a null value. For the first incident, deleting the field from the workflow, deleting the column from the sheet, and re-adding the field to the workflow seemed to stop the erratic behavior.

However we have noticed it in another place which is no longer an isolated erratic incident and is calling into question integrity of the system.

Has anyone experienced or resolved similar behavior?

Ben Goldblatt

Hi @Gbur

I can see that our higher-tiered Escalations team in Support is currently investigating the data loss issues you're experiencing with the Salesforce Connector. They will be your best resource for troubleshooting and resolving the behavior.

Thanks,

Ben

Mike Wilday

You should definitely reach out to support.

Gbur

Thanks Mike, I have, no response yet.

Gbur

Issue is still open after 8 business days.

Ben Goldblatt

Hi @Gbur

I can see that our higher-tiered Escalations team in Support is currently investigating the data loss issues you're experiencing with the Salesforce Connector. They will be your best resource for troubleshooting and resolving the behavior.

Thanks,

Ben

Salesforce User

Was this resolved? We are encountering a similar intermittent issue with data loss when Tasks are created via Smartsheet.

Gbur

I am not confident that the issues have been resolved at this time. We have identified and escalated multiple instances of data loss over the past 7 months. The result has been three patches by the Salesforce Data Connector Team. However, after the first two patches, we continued to find data loss. The last patch was put in 6/16/2021 5:30 GMT. Until we have made it at least 90 days with out an incident, I would not consider the issue resolved given prior reoccurrences.

Amy.Mizzi.RP

@Gbur and @Salesforce User were your issues ultimately resolved? I'm considering implementing the Salesforce connector in my solution but am nervous about its reliability.

Gbur

@Amy.Mizzi.RP no, the issues were never resolved but I appreciate the collective diligence that went into the investigation. All signs point to something likely that was running locally in our SF environment that was inhibiting the experience. The Smartsheet team involved the Salesforce team, and neither escalation found explicit attribution. However Smartsheet SFDC team made several enhancements and patches to their API calls to improve the speed and efficiency of the connector through the process. We have since deprecated our use of Salesforce and recently transitioned to Microsoft Dynamics. I would be willing to try the Data Connector again in a different environment, given the huge ROI we were able to realize when configured.

Also, with the other recent modifications to the Smartsheet environment, more rows, sheets, rebuild, faster code, etc, I would anticipate normal behavior. We had quite a bit of success with the connector for well over a year before we had any issues. My only caution would be to follow best practices, ensure you're using a service account, check your logs, keep excellent backups for integrity, and make sure your end users are familiar with their data and investigate cell history if they notice anything anomalous to call it out and investigate if you choose to do a bi-directional data sync. Data Shuttle may be an alternative to explore if bi-directional data sync is not part of your needs requirements.

Best of luck to you!