Bring External Data into the Contact Page Layout

Make Salesforce an All-Inclusive Resort, for Data

Becca is excited to get working on her first Data Cloud plus AI combo project. But before starting, she knows it’s important to take stock of the current systems and processes. Streamlining check-ins involves Coral Cloud’s current reservation system, a slightly antiquated solution called Reserv-o-matic. This external system allows guests to place many reservations under a single profile.

Each guest has several fields to hold information like their name, email addresses, and phone number. One such guest, Sofia Rodriguez, has created a few reservations, each with check-in and check-out dates, along with room type and reservation status.

At present, all of that information is completely separate from Coral Cloud’s Salesforce org. In that org is a Contact record for Sofia, with tons of existing related data. Data Cloud will make the connection between the Sofia in Salesforce with the Sofia in Reserv-o-matic. And once that relationship is established, Becca can do all sorts of interesting things with it. For example, she can start by putting a reservation related list right into the Contact page layout.

To accomplish this, Becca has to complete three steps.

1. Make Data Cloud aware of Reserv-o-matic data.
   
2. Find matches between external guests and internal contacts.
   
3. Update the Contact page to display external reservations.
   

With the plan in place, it’s almost time to begin setting things up. But a quick note first, intrepid Trailblazer. As you may have guessed, Reserv-o-matic doesn’t actually exist. So that means there’s no external data source for you to use in this project. For that reason, Team Trailhead has put the “external” guest and “external” reservation data into custom objects that reside in your special org. So throughout this project we’re going to pretend the data exists outside of your org, and you get to play along. Make sense? OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Enable Data Streams for Existing Coral Cloud Data

At this point in our story, Team Trailhead has saved a little time for you by already creating a connection between Data Cloud and Reserv-o-matic. However, Data Cloud is not yet aware of what data exists in the external system, let alone how it relates to internal objects. So the first step Becca must take is to identify the data that should be brought into Data Cloud. That means creating a data stream, a fundamental part of Data Cloud administration.

Data streams describe where to find data from within a given connection. Each data stream creates a related Data Lake Object (DLO), which is a storage container for the data coming from the data stream source. But how does that new DLO relate to all the other data that already exists in Data Cloud? The answer comes in the form of Data Model Objects (DMOs), which describe how data is structured, sort of like metadata. For example, the DMO named Contact Point Email has details about how to properly store an email address, regardless of where it comes from. So Becca can map the email column from the external guest data to the email address field in the DMO.

That mapping makes it possible for Data Cloud to use data in clever ways. In this project, Data Cloud uses the email address to know that Sofia from Reserv-o-matic is the same Sofia in Salesforce.

Creating data streams and mapping them is a whole topic on its own, which you can learn more about in the Create a Data Stream in Data Cloud project. In this project, we’ve simplified things by packaging all of the Coral Cloud data streams and mappings into a data kit, which has already been loaded into your special org. All you have to do is enable the data streams. You start by launching your Data Cloud and Einstein-enabled playground.

Enable Data Streams

1. If you haven’t already, launch your Data Cloud and Einstein 1 playground.
   

2. Click the App Launcher , type data, then click the Data Cloud app.
   
3. Click the Data Streams tab.
   
4. Click New.
   This is the point where you have to play pretend, and choose an internal source of data instead of an external one.
   
5. Click Salesforce CRM.
   

6. Click Next.
   
7. Click the AIPlusData Custom Data Bundle.
   

8. Click Next.
   
9. Notice that the default Data Space is pre-selected and all the fields included in the bundle are listed. Leave the selections as is, and click Next.
   
10. Click Deploy.
    

Well done, you’ve identified important sources of data by enabling data streams. Over the next few minutes the data is ingested into the Data Lake Objects. And since the Data Model Objects and mappings already exist, you can soon make use of the data.

Set Up Identity Resolution

Becca knows that many of the guests from Reserv-o-matic are the same people that have Contact records in Salesforce. Since both guest and contact are mapped to common Data Model Objects, she can use a powerful feature of Data Cloud to match the Sofia that’s in Salesforce with the Sofia from Reserv-o-matic for one unified Sofia. It’s called identity resolution, and it’s key to bridging the gap between Salesforce Contacts and the external reservation data. You start by navigating to the Identity Resolutions tab to create an Identity Resolution ruleset.

1. Click the Identity Resolutions tab.
   
2. Click New.
   
3. Click Create New Ruleset, then click Next.
   
4. Leave default selected in the Select Data Space menu.
   
5. For Primary DMO, choose Individual.
   
6. Type ccid for Ruleset ID.
   This stands for Coral Cloud Identification.
   
7. Click Next.
   
8. Type Guest Name and Email for Ruleset Name.
   
9. In the Description field, type Reconcile Reserve-o-matic contact data with Salesforce contact data.
   
10. Disable Run jobs automatically.
    

You will manually start a job later.

11. Click Save.
    The framework of the ruleset is saved, now it’s time to set up how matching is done.
    
12. Click Configure.
    

13. Click Next.
    
14. Click Configure.
    
15. Choose Fuzzy Name and Normalized Email.
    This determines the primary pieces of data that are used for matching.
    
16. Click Next.
    There are quite a few sophisticated ways to fine-tune how matches are made, but for now you’ll just use the defaults.
    
17. Click Next.
    
18. Click Save.
    

Excellent, now Data Cloud knows how to detect when two individuals are actually the same person, using a ruleset. Your org has a few dozen guests and contacts that will match when using this ruleset. To learn more about identity resolution rulesets, check out the Quick Start: Create an Identity Resolution Ruleset project.

Verify Data Is Ingested, and Run an Identity Resolution Ruleset

Rulesets are all about matching data, but you need that data to be present in your Data Lake Objects before any matching can be done. Let’s verify that the data streams have finished ingesting all the sample records before running the ruleset.

1. Click the Data Streams tab.
   
2. Refresh the page in your browser.
   All streams need to state Success for Last Run Status. If they don’t, wait a minute or two and refresh again.
   

The data streams usually ingest the sample records quickly, so you shouldn’t have to wait long. However, occasionally it may take up to 15 minutes for the Last Run Status to show “Success.”

3. Click the Identity Resolutions tab.
   
4. Click Guest Name and Email.
   
5. Click Run Ruleset in the upper right corner.
   

Sometimes it takes a little while for a ruleset to run. It should be pretty quick for you because the org only has a few dozen records, but even so you can do other things while it processes. Like creating a Data Cloud Related List! Let’s do that next.

Connect Data Cloud and CRM with Enrichment

One awesome benefit of having all of your data accessible in one place is that you can create experiences that seamlessly blend data from all sources. In the case of Coral Cloud, Becca wants to present external reservation data in the same place that hotel staff finds other relevant information about their guests: the Contacts page.

Without knowing better, it would be easy to think this screenshot shows a normal related list–it fits right in! But it’s actually a special kind of related list called a Data Cloud Related List. Creating one is done under Setup. (A lot of popup windows appear as you complete the remaining steps. Feel free to dismiss them.)

1. Click the Setup icon , then click Setup.
   
2. Click Object Manager.
   
3. Click Contact, (not Contract).
   
4. Click Data Cloud Related List.
   
5. Click New.
   

6. For Data Cloud Object, choose ExternalReservation.
   
7. Click Next.
   
8. Check Enable Controlled by Parent Permissions. (Depending on your org configuration, you may not need to complete steps 8 and 9.)
   
9. Click Next.
   
10. Update Child Relationship Name to Reservations.
    
11. Click Next.
    
12. Update Related list label to Reservations.
    
13. Click Next.
    

OK, the Data Cloud Related List exists, but it’s not yet on any page layouts. So Becca updates the Lightning record page for Contact, and configures how it appears.

1. In the left menu, click Lightning Record Pages.
   
2. Click Contact Record Page.
   
3. Click Edit.
   
4. Drag a Dynamic Related List - Single into the Related tab above Opportunities.
   

5. In the right menu, under Related List, choose Reservations.
   

6. Under Related List Fields, click Add Field.
   
7. Find and select Check-in Date.
   
8. Click Done.
   
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for Check-out Date, Room Type, and Reservation Status.
   
10. Delete the Record ID field at the top of the list by clicking the X.
    
11. Under Related List filters, click Add Filter.
    
12. For Field, choose Check-in Date.
    
13. For Operator, choose not equal to.
    In other words, if the check-in date isn’t empty, show the reservation. If a filter isn’t added, only the past 7 days of data appear. In your org the data is probably older than that.
    

14. Click Done.
    
15. Click Save.
    
16. Close the Lightning App Builder tab to return to the Data Cloud app.
    

Excellent, the Data Cloud Related List is ready to go! Let’s check out Sofia’s Contact record to verify that her reservations are listed.

1. Click the Identity Resolutions tab, then click the Guest Name and Email ruleset. Refresh your browser and verify that the Last Job Status field states Succeeded. If not, wait a minute and refresh again.
   

2. Click the App Launcher, type sales, then click the Sales app.
   
3. Click the Contacts tab.
   
4. Click List View (on the far right), then select All Contacts.
   
5. In the Search this list… box, type Sofia Rodriguez and click enter.
   
6. Click Sofia Rodriguez.
   

Sofia should have three reservations, now appearing right inside of the contact page layout.

There’s nothing quite like a plan coming together. Data Streams created, identities resolved, page layouts enhanced: It’s a great start. Next, Becca uses reservation data to teach Einstein Copilot a brand-new skill.