What this post is
This post compares Share Connect and CloudFiles item by item on our published method: every score, where it came from, when we read it, and how much public evidence backs it. The verdict, with the composite scores, is on the comparison page; this is the working behind it.
| Published | Cycle | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2026 | Cycle 1 · sources read between 15 July and 28 September 2026 | Document management for Salesforce |
→ See the verdict: Share Connect vs CloudFiles
How we scored
Both products are scored on the same two-axis matrix, Enterprise Readiness (X) and Functionality (Y), with a Data Reliability check on the evidence itself. Items below carry a one-line summary; How We Compare Salesforce Document Apps sets out the method and defines each Enterprise Readiness item, and How We Score Salesforce Document Management Apps defines every feature. CloudFiles' own evidence for every item, on both axes, is compiled once in CloudFiles for Document Management: The Evidence; each CloudFiles box below gives the difference and cites its sources.
Enterprise Readiness Score (X)
How strongly each product is designed and sold for large organisations, and bought by them, scored 1–5 from four weighted signals. Unless an item names another source, the evidence comes from the vendors' own websites.
Observed buyers
Who actually buys each product, taken from evidence the vendors don't write themselves: the companies behind identified AppExchange reviewers, and the customers each vendor is willing to name.
AppExchange reviewer company sizes
The company size behind each identified AppExchange reviewer, as a read on who actually buys.
All 16 AppExchange reviews (all 5 stars, dated 2024-10-01 to 2026-07-07) were read from the listing's public reviews feed, and 9 reviewers were matched to a public profile by name, role and review wording. Six of the nine work at small Salesforce consultancies (delivery leads, a sales manager, a programme manager and a founder), so they count as channel rather than buyers. The three buyers are all in the 1-50 band: the owner of a small investment advisory practice, an investment research administrator at a family-run wealth management firm, and a business development manager at a Dutch construction firm of 11-50 staff. By band, buyers are 1-50: 3; 51-200: 0; 201-1,000: 0; 1,001-10,000: 0; 10,001+: 0; the six channel reviewers' firms are also small, and seven reviewers could not be matched with confidence.
Every identified buyer works at an organisation of under 50 people in an owner, sales or administrative role, and most identified reviewers are channel consultants rather than buyers.
Nine of 16 reviewers were matched, most on rare names backed by review wording, but only three are buyers, so the buyer sample is thin.
Last read on 2026-09-28Source – 1
Three points higher: four of the seven identified CloudFiles reviewers work at organisations of 1,000+ employees, two of them at 10,001+.
The majority of reviewers who could be identified work at large organisations.
Identification is by public profile match, cross-checked on name, role and review date.
Last read on 2026-09-22Source – 1
Named customers: modal profile
The typical size and sector of the customers each vendor names publicly.
The Share Connect page names two customers, both through testimonials from small Salesforce consultancies, one of which is also an Appiphony implementation partner. Appiphony's customer-stories library holds seven stories, and all of them cover its Drive Connect or eSign Connect products rather than Share Connect. The modal named Share Connect customer is therefore a small Salesforce consultancy, not an end customer.
Only two named Share Connect customers, both small consultancies, and no Share Connect case study.
The vendor pages are clear, but the absence of a Share Connect case study is a searched negative.
Three points higher: all twenty of CloudFiles' named customers have an independently confirmed size, and fourteen are enterprise or regulated organisations.
A clear enterprise-modal profile.
Twenty sized names is enough to read a modal profile.
Where this leaves Observed buyers: CloudFiles reads more enterprise-ready on both signals. Share Connect's identified buyers all work at organisations under 50 staff and its two named customers are small consultancies; four of seven identified CloudFiles reviewers work at organisations of 1,000+.
| Metric | Share Connect | CloudFiles |
|---|---|---|
| AppExchange reviewer company sizes | 1 · Not ready, Medium confidence | 4 · Leans high, Medium confidence |
| Named customers: modal profile | 2 · Leans low, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
Commercial & service design
How each product is sold and served once a deal is signed: the billing unit and what the top tier gates, the support on offer, how buyers can try it first, and how visibly the vendor shows up at Salesforce events.
Pricing unit and tiers
How each product is billed, and what its highest tier holds back.
Share Connect is priced per user in two self-serve tiers: Starter at $6 per user per month on a one-year commitment or $8 month to month, and Pro at $12 annual or $15 monthly. Starter covers manual file linking, upload, viewing, saving, renaming and unlinking; Pro adds folder linking, File Send and all Flow-driven folder and file automation. There is a one-licence minimum, a 14-day trial for 10 users, a 501(c)(3)/(c)(4) nonprofit discount, and purchase inside the app by card or US bank account through Stripe. Running automation from scheduled Flows needs a paid Mass Actions add-on with no published price, and Google Drive needs the separate Drive Connect product, priced the same.
The top tier gates all Flow automation and scheduled bulk automation is a quote-only add-on, which touches the level-5 anchor, but the plans are low self-serve per-user prices with no enterprise tier, so the lower rung is taken.
The vendor pricing page, the in-app purchase doc and the AppExchange listing agree on tiers, prices and minimums.
Tied at Leans high: CloudFiles prices by quote, per org or per user, the sales-led model common in enterprise software.
Sales-led, quote-based pricing is the standard enterprise-software model, which reads Leans high.
Licensing terms are stated on CloudFiles' pricing pages; prices are set by quote.
Customer support
The channels a customer can use to reach help, and what each vendor commits to.
Customers raise tickets through a Contact Support button in the app's Setup tab or the web form at appiphony.com/contact-support; the docs say most tickets get a reply within 24 hours, while the support page promises assistance within 48 hours. The Product Services Agreement limits support to 8:30 to 17:30 Central time on weekdays, makes no service-level commitment, gives no support during the trial, and excludes help with the customer's own Flows or Apex and any training or implementation unless separately purchased. The AppExchange listing adds an email address and the company phone number, but no live chat, scheduled onboarding, named contact or support tier is published. Reviewers often praise hands-on setup help from Appiphony staff.
Help comes through a ticket form and email with documentation, real-time contact is not a published channel, and training, implementation and help with customer-built Flows or Apex sit outside the included support.
Confidence is not rated for this item; the score rests on the vendor's support page, docs FAQ and services agreement.
Three points higher: CloudFiles includes all its support free with every paid plan (live chat, email and scheduled onboarding calls, including help with Flow, Apex and the API), with nothing sold as an add-on.
Real-time and scheduled help, all included in every plan with nothing sold as an add-on, is the rubric's high case.
Support terms are stated on CloudFiles' own pages and confirmed in customer reviews, with no figure to check, so Confidence isn't scored.
Conference and webinar presence
Where each vendor appears in the Salesforce event calendar, and at what level.
Appiphony's events are webinars co-hosted with Salesforce consultancies. Arkus ran 'Build More, Click Less' for housing nonprofits on 4 September 2025 with Appiphony's CEO, featuring Share Connect, and 'Raise More, Click Less' on 5 March 2026 with Appiphony's alliance manager; Futureform ran a 2026 wealth-management webinar on SharePoint and document automation, and a second Futureform webinar for asset managers is indexed but its page returns 404. No self-hosted Appiphony webinar, Trailblazer Community event or Salesforce flagship presence was found, and Appiphony was absent from the Dreamforce 2026 sponsor directory.
Roughly quarterly partner co-hosted webinars meet 'regular webinars', but they run on partners' channels with no Salesforce-run or regional Salesforce event, so the borderline level 4 is not taken.
Confidence rests on how many events are found: three partner co-hosted webinars, in September 2025 and in 2026.
Two points higher: CloudFiles has exhibited at six Salesforce flagship events in two years, including Dreamforce 2024 to 2026 and three World Tours.
Repeated flagship sponsorships with booths and theatre sessions are the rule's high case.
Six flagship events found across two years, with booth and session detail for five and one confirmed by Salesforce's own Dreamforce account.
Hands-on evaluation
How a buyer can try each product before committing.
Share Connect offers a self-serve free trial: installing the managed package from AppExchange into the buyer's own org starts a 14-day trial for up to 10 users with no credit card, and the FAQ documents what happens when it lapses. Installing in a sandbox creates a sitewide licence with no trial limit, so sandbox evaluation is free and unlimited. The AppExchange Test Drive is disabled, demos are pre-recorded videos (YouTube and the AppExchange demo video) rather than a published booking link, and there is no guide to what to try. The services agreement states that no support is provided during the trial.
A self-serve, documented free trial exists, but it installs in the buyer's org and there is no no-install Test Drive or guided evaluation.
The trial is stated precisely in the vendor FAQ and corroborated by the pricing page, sign-up page and AppExchange listing data.
One point higher: a Try It button on every CloudFiles AppExchange listing opens a pre-configured test drive org with nothing to install, and CloudFiles documents a guided test drive for each product.
A documented, no-install test drive with a guide for each product is the rubric's high case.
The test drive opens from the AppExchange listing and is documented in CloudFiles' help centre.
Where this leaves Commercial & service design: The two tie on pricing, each reading Leans high. CloudFiles leads on support, hands-on evaluation and events: all its help is included in every paid plan, where Share Connect's support is a ticket form during US business hours that excludes training and help with customer-built Flows; its test drive needs no installation; and it exhibits at Salesforce's flagship events, where Share Connect appears in partner webinars.
| Metric | Share Connect | CloudFiles |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing unit and tiers | 4 · Leans high, High confidence | 4 · Leans high, Medium confidence |
| Customer support | 2 · Leans low, confidence not scored | 5 · Highly ready, confidence not scored |
| Conference and webinar presence | 3 · Mixed, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
| Hands-on evaluation | 4 · Leans high, High confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
Technical design
What each product is built to sell into, read from its compliance claims and what backs them, the depth of its public documentation, and its developer access.
Security & Compliances
The certifications each vendor claims, and whether anything outside its own word backs them.
Appiphony's homepage says it holds a SOC 2 Type 2 attestation, audited by Prescient Assurance under AICPA/SSAE 18 standards; this is a company-level claim with no report date, audit period, product scope or trust portal, and the DPA (effective 26 October 2025) provides attestation copies only on written request, at most once a year, under NDA. The DPA also includes Standard Contractual Clauses, incident notice without undue delay, limited on-site audit rights and a sub-processor list (updated 17 September 2026: Salesforce, Google, OpenAI, Stripe and DocuSign, all in the US). No ISO 27001, HIPAA or BAA, data-residency option or penetration-test statement was found. Share Connect passed the AppExchange security review in July 2024, and 2026 releases added PKCE, token rotation and isolation of the Microsoft refresh token inside the package.
One company-level SOC 2 Type 2 claim with a named auditor but no checkable report, and no ISO, HIPAA or residency claims.
The claim is stated clearly on the vendor site but cannot be checked against a public report, registry or trust portal.
Two points higher: CloudFiles is independently audited for SOC 2 Type II and holds ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certification and HIPAA compliance with BAAs, backed by a public GDPR DPA and a Trust Portal.
An audited SOC 2 Type II report, ISO and HIPAA certification, a public DPA and a Trust Portal together meet the rule's high bar.
The public DPA and Trust Portal let buyers check these claims, and the SOC 2 Type II report is shared under NDA, as is standard.
Help-doc architecture
How complete and searchable each vendor's public documentation is.
The Share Connect docs sit under appiphony.com/docs in four sections (Getting Started, Features, Integrations, Billing); the sitemap lists 12 section pages, and the site's own search index lists about 60 articles once sub-pages are included. Coverage includes installation and setup, sandbox use, updates, licences and billing, file and folder management, Flow automation (including metadata mapping, email-to-case uploads and platform events), integrations with sibling products, troubleshooting FAQs, and release notes listing 23 releases from 0.20 (21 November 2024) to 1.5 (15 September 2026). There is no security, SSO or developer-reference section, and administration is spread across setup pages and FAQs. The docs have a site search.
Documentation is broad across setup, features, billing and release notes, with security and developer reference the two missing areas.
Page counts come from the site's own index and sitemap, but the missing-area finding is an absence claim.
One point higher: CloudFiles' help centre spans 492 indexed pages across setup, administration, security, developer reference and release notes.
Every documentation area the rule looks for is covered, and the page count is the highest measured.
An exact page count, taken from the published sitemap and index.
API depth and gating
The REST API and Apex client each vendor offers developers, and any pricing gate on them.
Share Connect has no public REST API, SDK, webhook or developer reference. Its developer surface is the packaged Flow action Automate SharePoint (the Apex invocable action apex-shareconnect__AutomateSharePoint) plus optional result platform events that can be used with Apex triggers; no global Apex classes are documented. Automation is gated to the Pro tier, and scheduled-Flow runs also need the Mass Actions add-on.
The only developer surface is a Flow invocable action and result events, with neither a public API nor a documented Apex client.
The docs show the Flow action and events clearly, but the absence of an API or Apex reference is a searched negative.
Three points higher: CloudFiles publishes a REST API and an Apex client, ungated on every plan.
A REST API and an Apex client, open on every plan, is exactly what the rule scores highest.
The endpoint and method counts are CloudFiles' own published figures.
Where this leaves Technical design: CloudFiles leads on all three signals: an independently audited SOC 2 Type II report with ISO certification and a public DPA, a 492-page help centre, and a public REST API and Apex client. Share Connect's compliance rests on a company-level SOC 2 claim, its docs have no security or developer section, and its developer surface is one Flow action.
| Metric | Share Connect | CloudFiles |
|---|---|---|
| Security & Compliances | 3 · Mixed, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
| Help-doc architecture | 4 · Leans high, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
| API depth and gating | 2 · Leans low, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
Messaging & ecosystem
Who each vendor says it serves and how far that claim travels beyond its own site: messaging focus, named partners, the make-up of its team, and its footprint on review platforms.
Stated ICP and messaging focus
Who each vendor's marketing says the product is for, and how narrow that pitch is.
Share Connect's headline is horizontal ('Integrate SharePoint with Salesforce in minutes'), and appiphony.com has no industry or solution pages. Vertical content leans towards nonprofits and wealth management through partner webinars (housing nonprofits with Arkus, wealth and asset managers with Futureform) and blog posts, including one on Health Cloud. The AppExchange listing targets horizontal, financial services and high-tech industries, the Sales, Financial Services and Health clouds, and admin, marketing and sales personas.
Messaging is broad any-team copy with small-organisation verticals such as nonprofits and advisers, not an enterprise or IT-buyer focus.
The vendor page, AppExchange listing and partner event pages agree.
One point higher: CloudFiles' Salesforce pages are aimed at enterprise teams in regulated industries, such as financial services, healthcare and the public sector, and at their IT and security teams.
Messaging leans towards enterprise buyers in regulated industries and their IT and security teams, with broader industry pages alongside.
The buyer, industries and use cases are named precisely on CloudFiles' Salesforce pages.
Partner ecosystem
The integrators and consultancies each vendor names as partners, and whether they confirm it.
Appiphony has no public partner programme or directory. Four Salesforce consultancies show a relationship on their own or Appiphony's channels: Fíonta calls itself an authorised implementation partner, Arkus has co-hosted two webinars (2025 and 2026), Futureform co-hosted 2026 webinars, and Appiphony's NewSchools story names Agile Cloud Consulting as the implementer. Appiphony employs an alliance manager, but no partner tiers or Big Four or global integrator relationships are published.
Several boutique consultancies confirm the relationship, but there is no formal or tiered programme and no global integrator.
Partners confirm on their own sites, but the absence of a programme is a searched negative.
One point higher: CloudFiles' partner page names nine implementation partners and six global integrators it has delivered customer projects with, and an IT consultancy names CloudFiles as a partner on its own channels.
A formal programme with nine named implementation partners, plus delivery with global integrators, reads Leans high.
One partner confirms the relationship on its own channels, and CloudFiles' partner page names nine implementation partners and six global integrators.
Team mix
The spread of sales, success and support roles on each vendor's LinkedIn page, and the regions covered.
Appiphony's public LinkedIn page shows 11-50 employees, 40 associated members and 1,251 followers, with one location in Chicago; the AppExchange publisher record gives 40 employees. The logged-in People read of 2026-09-21 found Engineering 17, Quality Assurance 9, IT 6 and Business Development 4 as the top functions, with sales and marketing visible only through a VP of Sales and a product marketer and no customer success or support function in the top five. Appiphony also has an alliance manager, and reviewers name individual staff who helped with setup, but the team is almost entirely in the United States.
Business development is the only go-to-market function visible, thinly, and customer success and support do not surface, all within one region.
LinkedIn function counts are floors shared across all Appiphony products and were last read with a logged-in session on 2026-09-21.
Three points higher: CloudFiles' team combines an even mix of business and technical roles with coverage across time zones.
A strong, even mix of business and technical roles, spread across time zones for round-the-clock coverage.
The function mix and regions are read from CloudFiles' LinkedIn page.
Review-site profile richness
How complete each vendor's G2, Capterra and TrustRadius profiles are.
G2 has a claimed Share Connect profile with an overview by Appiphony's CEO but 0 reviews, no media, one category and no pricing; Appiphony's G2 seller page shows 25 reviews across its products, none for Share Connect. Capterra has no Share Connect listing (only sibling Drive Connect), and TrustRadius indexes a Drive Connect page but no Share Connect profile. Share Connect's 16 reviews sit on AppExchange only.
One thin profile (G2, claimed but with no reviews) and none on Capterra or TrustRadius.
Confidence is not rated for this item; the score rests on the G2 profile read and dated negative searches on Capterra and TrustRadius.
Two points higher: CloudFiles has profiles on G2, Capterra and TrustRadius, led by a claimed G2 profile with 227 reviews and a product video.
Profiles on all three sites, led by a rich, actively maintained G2 profile.
This item counts where CloudFiles has a profile rather than grading a claim, so neither Precision nor Corroboration applies.
Where this leaves Messaging & ecosystem: CloudFiles leads on all four: messaging aimed at enterprise buyers in regulated industries, partners, team mix and review-site presence.
| Metric | Share Connect | CloudFiles |
|---|---|---|
| Stated ICP and messaging focus | 3 · Mixed, High confidence | 4 · Leans high, High confidence |
| Partner ecosystem | 3 · Mixed, Medium confidence | 4 · Leans high, Medium confidence |
| Team mix | 2 · Leans low, Medium confidence | 5 · Highly ready, High confidence |
| Review-site profile richness | 2 · Leans low, confidence not scored | 4 · Leans high, confidence not scored |
Features Score (Y)
How complete each product is across the feature map's four scored categories, each feature rated on a five-rung ladder from Absent to Extended, with Dealbreaker features able to gate the whole score: each must reach L4. The score itself is the average rung across the eighteen features, weighted by Kano class (Dial 3, Delighter 2, Dealbreaker 1, Distractor 0), on a 1–5 scale. Each card gives the rung and why the evidence lands there, the feature's Kano class and, where it applies, an automation rating.
Storage Support
The storage behind each product: how far it reaches into the storage's own features, and how easily a user can browse and search what's stored there.
Storage Depth Kano · Dial
Control over storage-specific features, beyond what every storage shares.
Since release 0.97 (20 August 2026), Share Connect writes Salesforce field values into SharePoint document library columns, both in the manual File Upload modal, where mapped values can be set as editable or required, and through Flow. Eight column types are supported (single and multiple lines of text, number, yes/no, date and time, choice, hyperlink and currency), picklists can be mapped to choice values, and scheduled upload flows can also create SharePoint shortcuts. The docs do not cover SharePoint content types, managed metadata (term store), document sets, or person and lookup columns.
Writing SharePoint library columns from Salesforce is in-app control of a SharePoint-specific feature, which meets Limited; with content types, term store and document sets absent, most SharePoint-specific features are not covered, so Complete is not met.
The Automate SharePoint Flow action has an Update SharePoint Metadata operation and applies mappings on folder creation and upload, but no Apex or API route is documented, so only Flow is covered.
One rung higher: CloudFiles controls most SharePoint-specific features from Salesforce (sites, drives and Microsoft Teams from templates, six column types and their defaults, property search and SharePoint events), plus Google Drive shared drives and S3 bucket prefixes with automatic sync.
Most of SharePoint's storage-specific features are controlled from Salesforce, with specific controls on Google Drive and S3 too, which is Complete.
SharePoint sites and drives can be created from templates, with design, language, admins and column defaults, from Flow or Apex, well beyond editing what already exists.
Browse Library Kano · Delighter
Browsing the whole storage library from Salesforce, not just one record's files.
Share Connect embeds the native Microsoft file picker in Salesforce, which lets users move through SharePoint and OneDrive to link a file or folder, choose an upload destination, or create a new folder while linking (folder linking needs the Pro tier). Outside the picker, the SharePoint Links component lists only the files and folders linked to the current record, and the documented way to see a linked folder's contents is View in SharePoint, which opens a new browser tab; a 2025 release note mentions viewing unlinked files in a linked folder, but the docs do not describe it. View, rename, download and unlink are documented only for linked items, and saved views and bulk selection are not documented.
The whole library can be navigated inside Salesforce, but browsing serves selection (link, pick a destination, create a folder) rather than basic file and folder actions, which is Limited in features; the case is borderline with Complete and the lower rung is taken.
Browsing the library is something a person does on screen, so there is no automated version of it to rate.
Two rungs higher: a standalone Content Library tab browses six storage providers with nested folders, and List Actions add checkbox-based bulk selection on top of the same file operations.
Browsing with file and folder operations covers Complete, and checkbox bulk selection is the extra that takes it to Extended.
Browsing happens on screen, so there's nothing here for a flow or code to do.
Search Kano · Dial
Finding external files from Salesforce, and how far the results can be filtered.
The Share Connect docs describe no search box or filter in the SharePoint Links component. Searching happens inside the embedded Microsoft picker, which the AppExchange listing says finds files and folders and the branded Salesforce Ben review says can search and navigate SharePoint; results can only be selected for linking or as a destination. No filtering by column, tag or folder, no sorting controls and no actions on search results are documented.
Search works inside Salesforce through the Microsoft picker, but results can only be selected and cannot be filtered or acted on, which matches Limited rather than Complete.
The Automate SharePoint Flow action has no search or query operation; the nearest behaviour is resolving a destination by an exact folder name, which is a lookup rather than a search (automation docs searched 2026-09-28).
Two rungs higher: beyond a sub-folder-aware search bar, a documented Flow action searches by resource metadata, filtering results by tag rather than filename alone.
Tag and metadata filters go beyond keyword matching, which is what earns the top rung.
Keyword and metadata search both run from Flow and Apex, and the REST API searches across twelve storages.
Where this leaves Storage Support: CloudFiles reaches Extended on browsing and search and Complete on storage depth. Share Connect reads Limited on all three: browsing and search run through Microsoft's file picker for linking, and storage-specific control covers SharePoint columns. On automation, CloudFiles reaches Extended on storage depth and search, where Share Connect has no search automation.
| Feature | Kano | Share Connect rung | CloudFiles rung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage Depth | Dial | L3 · Limited | L4 · Complete |
| Browse Library | Delighter | L3 · Limited | L5 · Extended |
| Search | Dial | L3 · Limited | L5 · Extended |
Basic Ops
The everyday operations a user expects to run on stored files without leaving Salesforce: uploading and downloading, previewing, opening the original, and renaming, deleting, moving and copying.
Ingestion Kano · Dealbreaker
Getting files and folders from Salesforce into storage, and any limits on the way.
Users upload one or more files from their device or from the record's Salesforce Files through a File Upload modal, can rename each file and set mapped SharePoint column values before upload, and choose the default object or record folder, an existing folder or OneDrive as the destination. The vendor states a limit of about 500 MB per manual upload and about 11 MB per file for Flow uploads (a Salesforce heap limit), and creating folders from the picker needs the Pro tier. Flow automation, also Pro tier only, creates folders up to five levels deep and uploads files on record triggers; creating folders or uploading files with Schedule-Triggered Flows requires the paid Mass Actions add-on.
Uploads and folder creation work inside Salesforce, but the vendor-stated caps of about 500 MB per manual upload and about 11 MB per automated file are limits on size, so the no-restrictions bar for Complete is not met.
Upload and folder creation are well covered in Flow (record-triggered and scheduled, nested folders, dynamic destinations, fallbacks, column values on upload, result platform events), but no Apex or API method is documented, so only one channel is covered.
Last read on 2026-09-28Sources – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Two rungs higher: whole-folder drag-and-drop upload is backed by dedicated batch and async Flow automation, beyond a single manual upload.
Folder uploads and batch automation are exactly the extras the top rung asks for.
Beyond plain upload and folder creation from Flow and Apex, it adds asynchronous folder creation, batch copies of Salesforce Files and choices for duplicate names.
Last read on 2026-09-24Sources – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Preview Kano · Delighter
Viewing a file inside Salesforce without downloading it.
Clicking a linked file opens a full-screen viewer inside Salesforce that embeds the file's SharePoint URL in an iframe, so rendering comes from SharePoint's own viewer. The branded Salesforce Ben review shows page navigation plus download, rename and email controls within the viewer. Thumbnails, inline previews on the record page and preloading are not documented, and in Safari preview fails unless Prevent Cross-site Tracking is turned off.
Preview inside Salesforce with page navigation for common Office and image files meets Complete; the viewer has extra controls but none of the thumbnails, inline or preloaded previews named for Extended, so the borderline case takes the lower rung.
Previewing is a person looking at a file, which a flow or code has no part in.
One rung higher: inline preview inside Salesforce is the default, with thumbnails and an allowDownload control on the preview API.
An inline viewer inside Salesforce clears Complete; thumbnails and the download control are what push it to Extended.
Looking at a file is a person's job, not something to automate.
Last read on 2026-09-24Sources – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Original Access Kano · Dial
Getting from a Salesforce record to the source file in storage.
From a linked file's menu, View in SharePoint opens the file in a new browser tab in SharePoint, where edits are made, and Copy SharePoint URL copies its link. The same View in SharePoint option on a linked folder opens that folder in SharePoint in a new tab; a bug that sent folder links to a 404 page was fixed in April 2025. No choice between desktop and web Office apps is documented.
Both the file and its folder open in SharePoint in two clicks from the record, which meets Complete; no choice of desktop or online editor is documented for Extended.
Opening the original in its storage is a click from the interface, with no automated equivalent.
Tied at Complete: a one-click Open in External Storage action covers files and folders, and a separate Open in Folder jump reaches storage directly.
Files and folders both open in storage in one click, which is Complete.
Jumping to the source file is an interface action with nothing to automate.
Last read on 2026-09-08Source – 1
Download Kano · Dealbreaker
Retrieving files from storage without leaving Salesforce.
Download File in a linked file's menu saves the file to the user's device, with a choice of the original Microsoft Office format or PDF, and the file viewer offers download as well. No file-type or size limit is stated for downloads; the 10 MB cap applies only to Save File to Salesforce, which copies a file into Salesforce Files. Bulk, multi-select and folder downloads are not documented.
Single-file download from inside Salesforce with no stated type or size restriction meets Complete; no bulk, multi-select or folder download exists for Extended.
Download is scored as a user getting a file back out of storage, so it isn't rated for automation.
One rung higher: a multi-select bulk action downloads several files or whole folders at once.
Single-file download with no limits is Complete; downloading whole folders or many files at once earns Extended.
Scored as a person retrieving a file, so automation isn't rated.
Last read on 2026-09-08Source – 1
Rename Kano · Delighter
Renaming files and folders from Salesforce.
Rename File (all tiers) and Rename Folder (Pro tier, since folder linking is Pro only) in the SharePoint Links component change the name in SharePoint, and names changed in SharePoint are synced back when the component loads. Renaming requires edit access to the item in SharePoint and works only on items linked to the record. Renaming is one item at a time; there is no bulk or inline grid renaming.
Files and folders can be renamed from inside Salesforce with an edit-access check, which meets Complete; there is no bulk or inline renaming for Extended.
Flow's Update Share File operation renames (or moves) files and the Pro tier's Automated Folder Renaming renames folders, with merge fields, but no Apex or API route is documented.
Tied at Complete: rename is a native action for both files and folders, and a List Action can add bulk rename.
Files and folders both rename natively, which is Complete.
Flow, Apex and the REST API all rename files and folders.
Delete Kano · Delighter
Deleting stored files and folders from inside Salesforce.
Unlink File From Record and Unlink Folder from Record remove the link and, through an optional checkbox, also move the file or folder to the Trash in SharePoint; the checkbox appears only if the user has permission in SharePoint. Folder deletion needs the Pro tier because folder linking is Pro only. Deletion is one item at a time and only for items linked to the record, and no Flow operation deletes SharePoint content.
Files and folders can be deleted (moved to SharePoint's trash) from inside Salesforce, with the option shown only to users who have SharePoint permission, which meets Complete; there is no bulk or multi-select deletion for Extended.
The Automate SharePoint Flow action has no delete operation; its Delete Salesforce File option removes only the Salesforce copy after upload, and release 0.88 only removes links to items already deleted in SharePoint (automation docs searched 2026-09-28).
Tied at Complete: files and folders can both be deleted from the record widget, and a List Action can add bulk delete.
Files and folders can both be deleted, which is Complete.
Deletes run from Flow and Apex, including whole SharePoint drives and many items in a single Apex call.
Move / Copy Kano · Delighter
Relocating or duplicating files and folders without leaving Salesforce.
Share Connect can move linked SharePoint files and folders to a new parent folder, but only through Salesforce Flow: the Automate Share action's Update Share File operation offers Rename or Move with a chosen destination, and Flow automation needs the Pro tier. The SharePoint Links component has no manual move action, and no copy action for files or folders is documented; the only copy feature copies a file's SharePoint URL to the clipboard.
File and folder moves with a chosen destination exist but copies do not, which is the Limited anchor's 'only some combinations'; Complete needs every move and copy combination.
Moves run only from Record-Triggered Flows through the Automate Share action, no Apex method or API for moves is documented, and there is no copy operation to automate.
One rung higher: move works on single items and in bulk, with a destination picker and conflict handling, and copy runs through Flow.
Single and bulk moves, with a choice of destination and conflict handling, meet Complete.
Move and copy run in Flow and Apex on files and folders, and Apex can also move items between drives, which goes beyond a plain move.
Where this leaves Basic Ops: Both open the original, rename and delete at Complete. CloudFiles goes further on ingestion, preview and download, with folder uploads and bulk and folder downloads, and it moves files and folders from the record, where Share Connect moves them only through Flow. On automation, CloudFiles reaches Extended on ingestion, delete and move, where Share Connect has no Flow operation for deleting.
| Feature | Kano | Share Connect rung | CloudFiles rung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingestion | Dealbreaker | L3 · Limited | L5 · Extended |
| Preview | Delighter | L4 · Complete | L5 · Extended |
| Original Access | Dial | L4 · Complete | L4 · Complete |
| Download | Dealbreaker | L4 · Complete | L5 · Extended |
| Rename | Delighter | L4 · Complete | L4 · Complete |
| Delete | Delighter | L4 · Complete | L4 · Complete |
| Move / Copy | Delighter | L3 · Limited | L4 · Complete |
Advanced Ops
Capabilities past basic file handling that separate a connector from a document system: editing files, version history, per-user permissions, metadata, and keeping Salesforce and storage in sync.
File Edit Kano · Delighter
Changing a document from Salesforce, and whose editor does the work.
Appiphony's docs and AppExchange listing say users can view, edit and collaborate on linked Microsoft 365 files without leaving Salesforce, and the file viewer embeds the file's SharePoint URL in an iframe inside Salesforce. A consultant's AppExchange review (June 2025) reports clients editing and saving documents without leaving the CRM. A 2024 Appiphony-branded Salesforce Ben article said edits needed the file to be opened in SharePoint, and the pricing page calls the viewer a 'fullscreen previewer', so in-window editing has not been seen working.
Current vendor docs, the listing and an independent review all describe editing inside Salesforce through the embedded viewer, which meets Complete; there is no purpose-built editor or choice of editor for Extended.
Editing a document's contents is done by a person in an editor, not by a flow or code.
One rung lower: the Edit button opens the file in the storage's own editor in one click.
One-click editing in the storage's own editor.
Changing a document's contents happens in an editor, by a person.
Versioning Kano · Distractor
Seeing and acting on a file's version history from Salesforce.
Share Connect's docs and published feature list include no version history view, restore action or version log. The nearest route is View in SharePoint, which opens the file in a new browser tab in SharePoint, where SharePoint's own version history is available.
Version history is reachable only by opening the original file in SharePoint, which is the Workaround anchor; there is no version button of any kind for Limited.
Rated on viewing version history in the interface, which isn't an operation to automate.
Tied at Workaround: version history is kept in the storage, which is where it opens.
Version history lives in the storage, managed by the storage's own tools.
The feature is viewing history on screen, so automation doesn't come into it.
Permissions Kano · Dealbreaker
Whether each user sees only what their storage access allows, and how much Salesforce can control.
Each user signs in to Share Connect with their own Microsoft account, so SharePoint's permissions decide what that user can open or change, while Salesforce permissions control who sees the link on the record. Users can share by hand from Salesforce: linking a file that has no sharing options prompts the user to share it or keep it private, and a 2024 Appiphony-branded walkthrough shows a Share button for granting folder access. Salesforce record access and SharePoint permissions are not kept in sync automatically, and files and folders created by automation are owned by one automated process user.
Per-user SharePoint permissions apply to every file and folder, with manual sharing from Salesforce, which meets Complete; nothing keeps Salesforce and SharePoint permissions in sync, so not Extended.
No Flow operation, Apex method or API for granting or revoking SharePoint permissions appears in the docs (searched 2026-09-28); the Experience Cloud share checkbox controls portal visibility, not SharePoint permissions.
Tied at Complete: more than ten assignable Salesforce custom permissions sit on top of each user's own storage permissions, and Flow and Apex grant or revoke access at site, drive, folder or file level.
Granular permission control from the Salesforce side, which is Complete.
Owner, read or write access can be granted or revoked in Flow and Apex across nine storages, at site, drive, folder or file level, for users or groups.
Metadata Kano · Delighter
Reading and writing file properties and columns from Salesforce.
Since version 0.97 (20 August 2026), admins can map Salesforce fields and static values to SharePoint document library columns of eight types, including text, number, yes/no, date, choice, hyperlink and currency. Mapped values are written when a file is uploaded, where users can review and change editable values in the upload window, when automation creates a folder, and through an Update SharePoint Metadata Flow operation; version 1.5 (15 September 2026) added per-record-type mappings. The docs describe writing to SharePoint only; reading or showing existing SharePoint column values in Salesforce is not documented.
Write-only metadata meets Limited; Complete needs most metadata to be readable in Salesforce, which is not documented, so the mapping and set-on-upload extras cannot lift the rung.
The Update SharePoint Metadata operation in the Automate SharePoint Flow action writes mapped values for the eight column types, and mappings also apply when Flow creates folders or uploads files, but no Apex method or API is documented.
Two rungs higher: a View Metadata dialog and Get and Set Resource Property actions read and write metadata, including six SharePoint column types, and a documented workaround covers column types the storage API can't set.
Reading and writing metadata is the Complete bar; a documented route around the storage API's limits is what lifts it to Extended.
Flow and Apex read, write and search metadata, setting six SharePoint column types (single and multiple lines of text, number, yes/no, date and time, and choice), with a batch action for many files at once.
2-way sync Kano · Delighter
Keeping Salesforce and storage in step in both directions.
Share Connect has no sync of its own: it stores links to SharePoint files and folders, not copies, so Salesforce shows the file SharePoint holds. What Appiphony calls 'basic' syncing is a refresh: each time the SharePoint Links component loads, it updates renamed items and unlinks items trashed or deleted in SharePoint. Files uploaded through the component go straight to SharePoint (up to about 500 MB), but files added natively to Salesforce reach SharePoint only through a Pro-tier Flow capped at about 11 MB, and scheduled batch uploads need the paid Mass Actions add-on.
Links are stored instead of files being synced, and renames and deletions in SharePoint show in Salesforce only when the component reloads: a refresh to see changes, which is Workaround.
Sync already runs without anyone starting it, so there is no separate automation layer to rate.
Three rungs higher: three of CloudFiles' own pages describe instant two-way sync for files and folders.
Sync in both directions for files and folders is Complete; happening instantly is what makes it Extended.
Sync runs on its own already, leaving no separate automation to rate.
Where this leaves Advanced Ops: Both control permissions at Complete and leave version history to the storage. CloudFiles leads on metadata and 2-way sync, reading and writing properties with instant two-way sync, where Share Connect writes columns only and stores links rather than syncing, refreshing them when the component loads; Share Connect rates a rung higher on editing, where its viewer opens Microsoft 365 files for editing inside Salesforce. On automation, CloudFiles reaches Extended on permissions and metadata.
| Feature | Kano | Share Connect rung | CloudFiles rung |
|---|---|---|---|
| File Edit | Delighter | L4 · Complete | L3 · Limited |
| Versioning | Distractor | L2 · Workaround | L2 · Workaround |
| Permissions | Dealbreaker | L4 · Complete | L4 · Complete |
| Metadata | Delighter | L3 · Limited | L5 · Extended |
| 2-way sync | Delighter | L2 · Workaround | L5 · Extended |
Salesforce Support
How each product holds up across Salesforce surfaces beyond the Lightning desktop: external users in Experience Cloud portals, orgs still running Classic, and the Salesforce mobile app.
Experience Cloud Support Kano · Delighter
Letting external portal users work with files, and on what licence terms.
Experience Cloud support comes from Experience Connect, a separate paid Appiphony product listed on AppExchange on 3 June 2026, licensed per community user, which requires Share Connect or Drive Connect. Internal users mark individual SharePoint files or folders 'Share with Experience Cloud' or 'Hide from Experience Cloud', and external users can then upload, download, preview and open them in the Files component without a SharePoint account; admins can also allow a delete action and set upload type, count and size limits. Sharing is an on or off switch per file or folder, and no editing, per-user sharing, branding or analytics for external users is documented.
External users can upload, download and preview without a storage licence, meeting Complete; the delete action and per-item share switch are basic admin controls rather than the editing, granular sharing, branding or analytics Extended needs, so this borderline case takes the lower rung.
Four Flow operations (New SharePoint Folder, New File from Template, New Folder Link, New File Link) have a 'Share in Experience Cloud' checkbox, but withdrawing access by Flow and any Apex method or API are not documented.
One rung higher: portal users can edit and replace files as well as upload, download and preview them, with no storage licence needed, and admins control seven actions per user.
Upload, download and preview would be Complete; editing by portal users, per-user action controls and view tracking each go beyond it.
Share, unshare and list actions for portal users exist in both Flow and Apex.
Classic Support Kano · Distractor
Support for orgs still running Salesforce Classic.
Share Connect's setup guide adds the SharePoint Links component only to Lightning record pages through the Lightning App Builder, and the package is built with Lightning Web Components. A search of the Share Connect docs on 28 September 2026 found no mention of Salesforce Classic, and the AppExchange listing declares only Lightning readiness. Appiphony does not state that Classic is unsupported, so this rating rests on silence rather than a confirmed gap.
No source shows any component or view in Classic, so only Absent is met.
This is about which Salesforce interface the product renders in, not an operation that can be automated.
Three rungs higher: a first-party help article documents a Visualforce wrapper that renders the same widget in Classic as in Lightning.
The documentation says Classic gets the same widget as Lightning, with documented setup, which is Complete.
A question of which interface renders, not of automation.
Mobile Compatibility Kano · Distractor
How each product behaves in the Salesforce mobile app.
Share Connect's AppExchange listing does not declare Salesforce mobile app support (its mobile flag is false, while Appiphony's Experience Connect listing sets it to true), and no Share Connect doc mentions mobile as of 28 September 2026. Appiphony's sibling product Drive Connect documents a read-only mobile mode for its Drive Links component, but Share Connect has no equivalent guidance. Appiphony does not state that mobile is unsupported, so this rating rests on silence.
No source shows the component appearing in the Salesforce mobile app, so only Absent is met.
Whether the product renders in the mobile app is a question of interface, not of automation.
Three rungs higher: CloudFiles' help centre describes the core file operations in the Salesforce mobile app and Field Service Mobile, including browsing, previewing, uploading and sharing.
The core file operations are documented for the Salesforce mobile app, which is Complete.
About rendering in the mobile app rather than running anything automatically.
Where this leaves Salesforce Support: CloudFiles leads on all three: Experience Cloud support comes with CloudFiles itself, with editing and per-user controls for portal users, where Share Connect needs Experience Connect, a separate paid product; and CloudFiles documents Classic and mobile support, where Share Connect documents neither.
| Feature | Kano | Share Connect rung | CloudFiles rung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experience Cloud Support | Delighter | L4 · Complete | L5 · Extended |
| Classic Support | Distractor | L1 · Absent | L4 · Complete |
| Mobile Compatibility | Distractor | L1 · Absent | L4 · Complete |
Data Reliability Score
The same three questions are asked of every item that feeds either score: is it public, who publishes it, and is it a checkable fact. Each component is averaged over the 31 items, and the Data Reliability Score is the average of the three.
| Share Connect | CloudFiles | |
|---|---|---|
| Score · band | 77% · Well documented | 91% · Well documented |
| Coverage: is it public at all? | 100% | 97% |
| Independence: who publishes it? | 71% | 87% |
| Precision: is it a checkable fact? | 61% | 89% |
| What is public · what is not | Six of the eighteen feature ratings also cite customer reviews or independent write-ups. The rest cite Appiphony's own pages, its AppExchange listing or its branded Salesforce Ben article. | All thirteen Enterprise Readiness items cite customer reviews, review sites or independent company profiles, and fourteen of the eighteen feature ratings cite customer reviews on AppExchange or independent consultancy write-ups, alongside CloudFiles' public security page, DPA and Trust Portal. |
Item by item: Coverage · Independence · Precision
Coverage: Found 1 · Partly 0.5 · Not public 0. Independence: third party, registry or marketplace data 1 · vendor copy on a platform, including sponsored reviews and branded articles, 0.5 · the vendor's own site or its maker's other products 0, taking the most independent source cited for the item. Precision: High 1 · Medium 0.5 · Low 0.25, and “n/a” where no precise figure is expected.
| Item | Share Connect | CloudFiles |
|---|---|---|
| AppExchange reviewer company sizes | 1 · 1 · 0.5 | 0.5 · 1 · 0.5 |
| Named customers: modal profile | 1 · 1 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Pricing unit and tiers | 1 · 1 · 1 | 0.5 · 1 · 0.5 |
| Customer support | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Conference and webinar presence | 1 · 1 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Hands-on evaluation | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Security & Compliances | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Help-doc architecture | 1 · 0.5 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| API depth and gating | 1 · 0.5 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Stated ICP and messaging focus | 1 · 1 · 1 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Partner ecosystem | 1 · 1 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Team mix | 1 · 1 · 0.5 | 1 · 1 · 1 |
| Review-site profile richness | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Storage Depth | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Browse Library | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Search | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Ingestion | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Preview | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Original Access | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 0 · n/a |
| Download | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 0 · n/a |
| Rename | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Delete | 1 · 0 · n/a | 1 · 0 · n/a |
| Move / Copy | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| File Edit | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Versioning | 1 · 0 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Permissions | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Metadata | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| 2-way sync | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Experience Cloud Support | 1 · 1 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
| Classic Support | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 0 · n/a |
| Mobile Compatibility | 1 · 0.5 · n/a | 1 · 1 · n/a |
The score reflects how much each vendor publishes, not how good the vendor is.
What changed
- 2026-09-28 · Baseline: this is the first cycle, so there is no earlier score to compare against.