Get to Know Data Cloud
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Navigate the Data Cloud interface.
- Describe user roles and permissions.
Welcome to Salesforce Data Cloud
Take advantage of all your customer data and create viable insights at scale with Salesforce Data Cloud. In this module, we help you navigate Data Cloud and Data Cloud Setup, understand key tasks as an admin, and get you ready to support your company as an admin for Data Cloud.
Before You Begin
We assume you are a system admin and have access to Data Cloud Setup. We also assume you're familiar with Salesforce Lightning and general admin responsibilities. If not, that’s okay. Consider reviewing the Lightning Experience for Salesforce Classic Users module and the Admin Beginner trail.
Plan Your Implementation
If you have multiple Salesforce orgs, consider which org to connect Data Cloud to as a home org. Where to set up Data Cloud and how many instances of Data Cloud you should set up, depends on your data architecture and data residency requirements.
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Data Residency: To satisfy data residency requirements, consider creating one Data Cloud per region. Use the region’s Data Cloud to unify and enrich data from multiple orgs in that region without moving it outside the region.
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Control vs. Centralization Needs: Assess whether all orgs require complete control over their data and Data Cloud configurations. If so, creating multiple Data Clouds is advisable; otherwise, connecting multiple orgs to a single Data Cloud allows you to centralize controls across those orgs.
Download the Worksheet: Data Cloud Checklist and Considerations to help you plan your Data Cloud implementation.
Data Cloud Navigation
Now that you know where you are going to provision Data Cloud, grab your compass—it’s time to do some navigation. The first time you log in to a brand-new account, it can take a moment to get your bearings. Data Cloud should look familiar to users of Salesforce Clouds like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, but it might look less familiar to Marketing Cloud Engagement users. So let’s take a look around together.
Data Cloud Setup
Let’s start with Data Cloud Setup, as this is where system admins should go first! While only system admins have access, you don't need a Data Cloud standard permission set to access Data Cloud Setup. Data Cloud Setup is accessed from the Setup gear icon. 
Guidance Content:
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Data Cloud Guidance (1): Select this button to view side-panel information about Data Cloud, including videos and links to help content.
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Set Up Data Cloud (2): Find step-by-step information about steps you need to take in Data Cloud, including setting up users and connecting data.
Navigation:
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User Management (3): Create users and assign permission sets without leaving Data Cloud Setup.
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Feature Management (4): Set up data spaces and manage time zones and other general admin tasks.
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Salesforce Integrations (5): Create companion orgs and connect with other Salesforce accounts, including Marketing Cloud Engagement and Commerce Cloud.
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External Integrations (6): Create connections between Data Cloud and external data sources and targets.
If Data Cloud hasn’t been provisioned on your account or you don’t have proper permissions, you may not see it in the App Launcher.
Once users have Data Cloud permission sets, they can access Data Cloud home. Let’s review some of the available tabs and features in the Data Cloud app.
The tabs Data Streams, Data Lake Objects, and Data Model (1) focus on data. Data streams are the connected data sources added to your Data Cloud instance. The Data Explorer and Profile Explorer (2) tabs are data-viewing tools, allowing a view into ingested data, insights, and unified profiles. The Identity Resolutions (3) tab is where your team creates match and reconciliation rules to unify individual or account records. The Calculated Insights (4) tab is where you can create batch or streaming insights based on your data. Finally, the Setup gear (5) is where you, the admin, do all the behind-the-scenes work.
Next Up: Account Setup
Now that you are familiar with the navigation, in the next unit we cover account setup including user management.
Resources
- Salesforce Help: About Salesforce Data Cloud
- Salesforce Help: Data Cloud Glossary of Terms
- Salesforce Help: Set Up and Maintain
- Trailhead: Data Cloud Basics for Marketers
- Trailhead: Lightning Experience for Salesforce Classic Users