CloudFiles vs
Salesforce Files Connect
A comprehensive technical and feature breakdown of two approaches to connecting Salesforce with SharePoint: native simplicity vs. deep integration platform.
At a glance
CloudFiles
CloudFiles offers advanced Salesforce-SharePoint integration built for structured document management, automation, and engagement analytics - native to Salesforce.
- AppExchange rating: 4.99/5 (142 reviews)
- Customers: 1,200+ Salesforce teams
- Compliance: independently audited for SOC 2 Type II, certified to ISO 27001, and compliant with HIPAA and GDPR
- Storage: deep SharePoint integration, with support for other platforms
- Automation: native actions plus Flow support
- Bulk file migration: supported
- Extended capabilities: document generation, AI data extraction, engagement analytics
Salesforce Files Connect
Salesforce Files Connect is Salesforce's built-in mechanism for surfacing files stored in external systems, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box, inside Salesforce. It is a reference layer: files stay in SharePoint and Salesforce displays a link to them.
- Pricing: available with Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions.
- Customers: widely used by Salesforce customers globally
- Compliance: inherits security and compliance from connected storage, such as SharePoint or Google Drive
- Automation: limited, with no native workflow automation or actions
- Access type: primarily read-only, with limited write support depending on setup
- Authentication: per-user authentication via OAuth or Azure AD
- Capabilities: file access, preview, and basic linking within Salesforce
CloudFiles vs Salesforce Files Connect comparison
Evaluate which Salesforce to SharePoint integration and document management solution best fits your enterprise requirements.
CloudFiles Document ManagementConnect Salesforce to SharePoint
Links each SharePoint file to a Salesforce record as a read-only reference through Salesforce Connect.
Integration architecture
Stores an ExternalDocumentLink (a URL reference); files stay in SharePoint with one-way visibility only.
Supported Salesforce objects
References can be added to any Salesforce record via the Files component, covering standard and custom objects.
Multiple SharePoint sites & libraries
Limited - multiple locations require separately configured external data sources
Connects multiple SharePoint sites and libraries, configurable per record type or org-wide.
Preview files inside Salesforce
Not supported - SharePoint Files Connect files cannot use Salesforce's file preview player
Global search across Salesforce + SharePoint
Appears in Salesforce Global Search when the search schema is configured, though images, video, and PDF are not indexed by default.
Unified search across Salesforce and SharePoint, surfacing results directly in the Salesforce search bar.
Automatic SharePoint folder creation
Limited - no out-of-the-box record-driven SharePoint folder automation
Upload files to SharePoint
Limited - SharePoint write operations require API-based implementation rather than native file-management workflows
Rename, move, delete SharePoint files
Limited - full SharePoint file-management operations are not provided as a native Files Connect workflow
Salesforce Flow actions for file operations
Limited - no out-of-the-box Flow actions for SharePoint file-management workflows
Bulk migration of existing Salesforce files
Does not move or offload existing Salesforce files or attachments to SharePoint; Salesforce storage usage is unaffected.
Document generation from Salesforce data
A file-visibility layer only; no document generation capability exists in the native feature.
AI-powered OCR data extraction
Stores only URL references, with no ability to read, parse, or process file content.
Tracked secure sharing links
Limited - supports external-file sharing, but not governed tracked links with recipient-level engagement analytics
Tracking & analytics
No native engagement tracking is available in Salesforce.
Experience Cloud / external portal users
External recipients must authenticate with Microsoft credentials to access a shared reference; a "share as copy" workaround duplicates the file into Salesforce storage.
Independent security certifications
Covered under Salesforce's own platform certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP where applicable); the connector itself is not separately audited.
Access & permissions model
Salesforce controls only the visibility of the link reference; actual file access is governed by SharePoint and Active Directory permissions.
Setup complexity
Requires an Azure AD App Registration, OAuth 2.0 redirect URIs, and Microsoft Graph API permissions, per Salesforce's own setup guide.
Install from AppExchange and connect your SharePoint site and library; most teams go live within their first week.
Which one is right for you?
CloudFiles streamlines and automates document workflows, boosting efficiency while saving time and money.
Choose CloudFiles when you need:
- Auto-created SharePoint folder structures tied to Salesforce records
- Full file management, including upload, move, rename, and delete, from inside Salesforce
- Automation without building Salesforce Flows from scratch
- Bulk migration of existing Salesforce files to SharePoint
- Document generation and AI-powered OCR data extraction (available as add-ons)
- External portal users (Experience Cloud) accessing SharePoint without a Microsoft account
- Tracked sharing links with engagement analytics
- Independently verified enterprise compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR
Choose Salesforce Files Connect when you need:
- Existing SharePoint files surfaced inside Salesforce Global Search
- Preview of Office documents without leaving a Salesforce record
- Zero additional cost, already included in Salesforce Enterprise and above
- No folder management, migration, automation, or generation requirements
- Every user already has a valid Microsoft 365 or SharePoint licence
- Simple read-and-reference access that is genuinely sufficient for your workflow
- An IT team comfortable configuring Azure App Registration and OAuth 2.0
Go beyond storage: act on your documents
Connecting Salesforce to SharePoint should do more than make files accessible. CloudFiles lets teams generate, process, share, and automate documents as part of their Salesforce workflows.
Document AI
Turn your SharePoint files into structured Salesforce data. Extract key information from documents like invoices, KYC forms, contracts, and IDs using OCR and AI, and automatically populate Salesforce fields. Your SharePoint integration becomes bi-directional: not just storing files, but reading and using them inside your CRM.
Document Generation
Create documents from Salesforce data, and store them back in SharePoint. Generate contracts, quotes, proposals, and invoices using reusable templates, all the way to e-signature. Every document is automatically saved to the right SharePoint folder and linked to the Salesforce record. No manual uploads. No broken workflows. Just a seamless loop between Salesforce and SharePoint.
Entire CloudFiles Suite
Explore the entire document stack, from management to generation to AI.
Why Salesforce teams choose CloudFiles
Real folder automation, not just links
Automatically creates SharePoint folder structures tied to Salesforce records, a capability Files Connect's own documentation confirms it does not have.
Automation without heavy Flow work
Ships prebuilt Salesforce Flow actions for folders, files, and generated documents. Files Connect supports no custom automations or workflows at all.
SharePoint becomes a data source, not just a link
AI-powered OCR reads contracts and invoices sitting in SharePoint and writes the data back into Salesforce fields. Files Connect only stores a URL pointer.
One platform for the whole document lifecycle
Manage, generate, process, share, and track SharePoint documents in one place, instead of a passive reference layer with no automation, generation, or migration.
Enterprise-grade security and compliance
CloudFiles is independently audited for SOC 2 Type II, certified to ISO 27001, and compliant with HIPAA and GDPR. Data residency is available in the US, EU, UK, and AU. Your files stay in your own storage - we never re-host them or use them to train our AI models.
Frequently asked questions
CloudFiles provides the most advanced Salesforce SharePoint integration on AppExchange: automatic folder creation tied to Salesforce record structure, bulk migration, document generation saved to SharePoint, AI data extraction from SharePoint files back into Salesforce, and engagement tracking. It is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, with a 4.9-star rating and 1,200+ customers.
CloudFiles connects Salesforce to SharePoint by automatically creating SharePoint folder structures when Salesforce records are created, linking files and folders to those records, supporting bulk migration of existing files, enabling document generation from Salesforce data saved to SharePoint, and extracting data from SharePoint files back into Salesforce fields, all without switching between tabs or apps.
Files Connect uses Salesforce Connect to establish a live connection with SharePoint. Files remain stored in SharePoint, and Salesforce displays them as external references, allowing users to search, preview, and access them.
Yes. CloudFiles supports bulk migration of your entire existing Salesforce file library to SharePoint in a single operation, freeing Salesforce storage immediately without losing access to any file. Bulk migration is not listed among Files Connect's documented features.
Yes. CloudFiles generates contracts, quotes, proposals, and other documents from Salesforce field data and saves them automatically to the linked SharePoint folder, with the document linked back to the originating Salesforce record. Files Connect has no document generation capability.
Files Connect supports basic file access and preview. Limited upload or edit capability may be possible depending on configuration, but full file management, including move, rename, and delete, is not natively supported within Salesforce.
CloudFiles uses per-user pricing with volume discounts for large teams; org-based pricing is also available for large teams. A 14-day free trial is available. Document Generation and Document AI are priced separately.
This comparison was prepared by the CloudFiles team, based on publicly available information at the time of writing. Product features, pricing, and capabilities may change. If you notice anything out of date, let us know at marketing@cloudfiles.io and we'll review it.
Is CloudFiles the right fit for your team?
Don't spend weeks evaluating document tools on your own. In a 30-minute consultation, the CloudFiles team will review your workflow, flag automation gaps, and map out your Salesforce-to-SharePoint roadmap. No credit card required.