A Guide to Sharing Architecture: Best Practices

Sharing architecture in Salesforce is crucial for secure data access. This article provides a comprehensive guide to sharing architecture, covering data accessibility, use cases, and customer solutions. Conduct.edu.vn is dedicated to offering expert insights into effective sharing strategies, ensuring data security and optimized accessibility. Dive into the essentials of data security structures, security configurations, and data access management.

1. Understanding Data Access Components

Record-level security is vital for managing data access in Salesforce, ensuring that users can access specific records relevant to their roles while protecting sensitive information. Proper configuration and management of data access are essential for maintaining data integrity and security within the Salesforce environment. Let’s delve into the different facets of data access components.

1.1 Users and Licenses

Salesforce offers various user licenses, each with distinct data access capabilities. Understanding these differences is critical for designing an effective sharing architecture.

High-Volume Users: These users (e.g., Customer Community, High Volume Customer Portal) do not utilize the standard sharing model. Their access is primarily based on foreign key matches between the user and data on Account and Contact lookups. Admins can use sharing sets or share groups to grant access.
Chatter Free and Chatter External Licenses: These licenses do not follow the standard sharing model and lack access to CRM records or content functionality. Therefore, sharing is not applicable.
Full Sharing Model Users: This category includes users with standard Salesforce licenses that fully leverage the sharing model, which this guide primarily addresses.

For detailed information on each license type, refer to the Salesforce documentation on User Licenses.

1.2 Profiles and Permission Sets

Profiles and permission sets control object-level security, dictating the types of data users can view, edit, create, or delete. Profiles define the baseline permissions for a user, while permission sets extend or modify these permissions.

Object-Level Permissions: Profiles and permission sets determine which objects a user can access and what actions they can perform on those objects.
Field-Level Security: These also control which fields within an object a user can access, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected.

Salesforce recommends using permission sets and permission set groups over profiles for managing object permissions, as they offer greater flexibility and reusability. This approach simplifies user management by allowing administrators to assign specific permissions based on job functions without creating numerous profiles.

1.3 Record Ownership and Queues

Every record in Salesforce must be owned by a single user or a queue. The owner has full access to the record, subject to the object settings defined in their profile.

Record Ownership: The owner of a record has the highest level of access, including the ability to view, edit, and delete the record, depending on their profile permissions.
Queues: Queues help prioritize, distribute, and assign records to teams sharing workloads. Queue members and users higher in the role hierarchy can access queues and take ownership of records.

Best practices for record ownership include:

Avoiding assigning roles in the role hierarchy to users who own more than 10,000 records.
If a user must hold a role, placing that role at the top of the hierarchy in its own branch.

For more information, refer to Salesforce Well-Architected – Reliable.

1.4 Organization-Wide Defaults (OWD)

Organization-wide defaults specify the default level of access users have to each other’s records. OWD settings are used to lock down data to the most restrictive level, with other sharing tools selectively granting access to additional users.

Setting OWD: Configure OWD settings to the most restrictive level appropriate for your organization, such as Private, Public Read Only, or Public Read/Write.
Grant Access Using Hierarchies: For custom objects, you can disable the “Grant Access Using Hierarchies” setting to prevent users higher in the role hierarchy from inheriting access.

Changes to OWD settings can trigger sharing recalculations, which may take significant processing time depending on data volume. Plan these changes carefully.

1.5 Role Hierarchy

A role hierarchy defines the level of data access users or groups need, ensuring that managers have access to the same data as their subordinates, regardless of OWD settings.

Hierarchy Structure: Model the role hierarchy to reflect data accessibility needs rather than HR reporting structures.
Role Limits: Salesforce orgs created in Spring ’21 or later can have up to 5,000 roles. Orgs created before Spring ’21 can request an increase to this limit.

Best practices for role hierarchies include:

Limiting the number of internal roles to 25,000 and external roles to 100,000.
Keeping the role hierarchy to no more than 10 levels of branches.

1.6 Public Groups

Public groups are collections of users, roles, territories, and other groups that share a common function.

Group Composition: Public groups can include users, roles, roles and subordinates, territories, and other public groups (nesting).
Nesting Limits: Avoid nesting groups more than five levels deep to minimize impact on group maintenance and performance.

Public groups do not automatically grant data access; they must be used with other sharing tools to provide the necessary access.

1.7 Owner-Based Sharing Rules

Owner-based sharing rules allow exceptions to OWD settings and the role hierarchy, granting additional users access to records they do not own. These rules are based solely on record ownership.

Rule Creation: Define sharing rules based on criteria such as record owner, role, or public group.
Sharing Limits: The limit for total sharing rules per object is 300.

1.8 Criteria-Based Sharing Rules

Criteria-based sharing rules grant access to records based on specific field values. Record ownership is not a factor in these rules.

Rule Configuration: Define rules that grant access when certain criteria are met, such as a specific value in a field on the record.
Sharing Limits: The limit for criteria-based and guest user sharing rules per object is 50.

1.9 Guest User Sharing Rules

Guest user sharing rules are a special type of criteria-based rule used to grant record access to unauthenticated guest users.

Security Considerations: Guest user sharing rules provide immediate and unlimited access to records matching the rule’s criteria. Exercise caution when creating these rules.
Sharing Limits: The limit for criteria-based and guest user sharing rules per object is 50.

1.10 Manual Sharing

Manual sharing allows record owners or users with adequate privileges to grant read and edit permissions to users who do not have access through other sharing mechanisms.

Share Records: Manual share records are defined as share records with the row cause set to manual share.
Access Control: Manual sharing is not automated and is removed when the record owner changes or when the sharing access granted does not exceed the object’s OWD settings.

1.11 Teams

A team is a group of users who work together on an account, sales opportunity, or case. Record owners can build a team for each record they own, specifying the access level each team member has.

Team Management: Only owners, users higher in the hierarchy, and administrators can add team members and provide more access.
Team Limits: There is only one team per record (Account, Opportunity, or Case).

1.12 Territory Hierarchy

When using Enterprise Territory Management, you set up a territory hierarchy to reflect your organization’s sales structure. This hierarchy serves as the main interaction point for managing territories.

Hierarchy Management: If Enterprise Territory Management is enabled, you must manage both the role hierarchy and territory hierarchy.
Territory Structure: The territory hierarchy shows a model’s territory structure and serves as its main interaction point.

1.13 Apex Managed Sharing

Apex managed sharing (programmatic sharing) allows you to use code to build sophisticated and dynamic sharing settings when declarative options are insufficient.

Sharing Reasons: Create custom Apex sharing reasons to track why a record is shared with a user or group, simplifying updates and deletions of sharing records.
Sharing Records: If you create a share record programmatically using the out-of-box row cause (manual share), you can maintain this share record using the Share button in the app.

1.14 Restriction Rules

Restriction rules prevent users from seeing records that contain sensitive data or are not essential to their work. These rules filter records based on specified criteria.

Rule Application: Restriction rules apply to list views, lookups, related lists, reports, search, SOQL, and SOSL.
Rule Limits: You can create up to two active restriction rules per object in Enterprise and Developer editions and up to five in Performance and Unlimited editions.

1.15 Implicit Sharing

Implicit sharing is automatic and cannot be turned off or on. It provides access to parent records (account only) when a user has access to child records (opportunities, cases, or contacts).

Parent Implicit Sharing: Provides access to parent records when a user has access to child records.
Child Implicit Sharing: Provides access to an account’s child records to the account owner, based on the owner’s role in the role hierarchy.

2. Customer Implementation Scenarios

Every Salesforce org has unique requirements and challenges when architecting a sharing model. Here are common scenarios and solutions.

2.1 Team Assignment Managed Externally via Customer Master System

Requirements or Challenges	Solution
Two in a box: a sales manager in one geographic area needs access to another geographic area to assist.	Owner-based sharing rule: Use an owner-based sharing rule for these edge cases, accepting the possibility of granting slightly more access than necessary for trusted individuals.
Country-based operations users need access to all country sales data.	Owner-based sharing rule: A common use case for sharing rules is granting access to sales data to other departments, such as operations.
At least 80% of the time, there is a “core 4” team on an account (Account Executive, Inside Sales Rep, Sales Consultant, Technical Sales Rep). The system of record for the account team assignment is external. There is only one team per account.	Teams: Leverage the account team functionality since there is only one team per account, even with various members and roles.
Managers of the team must have the same access as their subordinates.	Role hierarchy: Utilize the role hierarchy to ensure managers have access to the data of their subordinates.
The assigned account team must not be modifiable.	Teams: Remove the account team page layout to prevent modifications, although the account team functionality itself does not inherently prevent modifications.
There must be “buddy” functionality so that when someone is sick or on vacation, someone without standard access to an account or opportunity can access and cover during the time off.	Teams: Implement a “buddy” role on the team. If Teams must not be modifiable, have a set group of people who can modify teams to create the buddy role when necessary.
When a deal requires a custom solution, additional people (who are not necessarily in the sales organization) must have access to the deal.	Teams: Use Opportunity Teams to manually add new members to the team (via the related list). This can also be automated via a trigger if the required members are always known. In this case, the addition is opportunity-specific.

2.2 Out-of-Box Territory Management

Requirements or Challenges	Solution
Two different opportunity teams from two distinct business units (Retails Sales and Remarketing) need access to the same account record. They must share contacts and be aware of all activities.	Territory management: Organize the teams into separate branches with two levels (both with members) who need access to the account, justifying the use of territory management.
There is a separate group of business developers who need access to specific accounts for a specific opportunity team (a territory).	Territory management: Build sub-territories or separate branches to represent these business development teams, ensuring they can be assigned to one or more accounts for one or more opportunity teams.
There are non-commission-based sales supporting roles who need access to accounts on a one-off basis.	Teams: Use account teams to provide access on an account-by-account basis.
The credit department needs access to all accounts for a given business unit.	Owner-based sharing rule: Use a sharing rule for a role or public group, or model the credit department as a territory to provide access to all accounts for a given business unit.
Managers must have the same access as their subordinates.	Role hierarchy: Ensure managers have access to the data of their subordinates.

3. Implementation Considerations

3.1 Enterprise Territory Management Implementation

Role Hierarchy: The role hierarchy remains unchanged when using a territory hierarchy. However, if you are using both territory-based and role-based forecasting, manage two hierarchies. Use the role hierarchy to model the HR reporting structure and the territory hierarchy to model the sales hierarchy.
Teams: You can still use teams, but if you can satisfy your access requirements within the territory hierarchy (like overlays), do so rather than using teams to maintain simplicity.

3.2 Other Considerations

Realignment and Reassignment: Changes to role, team, or territory memberships can occur frequently, while structural changes to the hierarchy occur less often. Plan and coordinate all high-volume changes carefully.
Large Data Volumes: Pay close attention to data volume thresholds where performance can become a factor. Test changes in a sandbox environment before deploying to production.
Defer Sharing Calculations: Enable the deferral of automatic sharing calculations for bulk changes to avoid performance issues.
Data and Ownership Skews: Avoid data skews (a few parent records with many children) and ownership skews (a single user owning many records). Keep the ratio as close to 1:10,000 as possible.
Account Hierarchies: Do not assume that users with access to a parent account automatically have access to child accounts. Account hierarchies do not drive access in the same way as role and territory hierarchies.

4. Troubleshooting

When implementing a sharing model, you may encounter situations where users can or cannot see specific records. Here’s a troubleshooting flow to identify the root cause:

Verify Object Permissions: Ensure the user has the necessary permissions to access the object.
Identify Roles: Note the roles of the user who cannot see the record and the owner of the record.
Review Role Hierarchy: Verify that the two roles are in different branches of the role hierarchy.
Check Sharing Rules: Review sharing rules for the object to ensure no rule grants the user access. Check public groups as well.
Assess Team Membership: Determine if the user should be on the team for that record.
Examine Manual Sharing: Check if manual sharing was used and if access was lost due to a change in record ownership.
Territory Management: If using Enterprise Territory Management, ensure the user is a member of the correct territory.
Programmatic Shares: If creating programmatic shares, review the code to understand why the user was omitted.

5. Best Practices for Sharing Architecture

To create an effective and secure sharing architecture, consider the following best practices:

Start with the Most Restrictive OWD: Begin with the most restrictive OWD settings and selectively grant access using other sharing tools.
Use Permission Sets and Permission Set Groups: Leverage permission sets and permission set groups over profiles to manage object permissions.
Optimize Role Hierarchy: Model the role hierarchy to reflect data accessibility needs rather than HR reporting structures.
Limit Public Group Nesting: Avoid nesting public groups more than five levels deep to minimize impact on group maintenance and performance.
Monitor Data and Ownership Skews: Keep data and ownership skews to a minimum to avoid performance issues.
Regularly Review Sharing Settings: Conduct regular audits of sharing settings to ensure they align with business needs and security policies.

6. Compliance and Security

Adhering to compliance standards and ensuring data security are paramount when designing your sharing architecture. Here are key considerations:

Data Privacy Regulations: Understand and comply with data privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
Access Audits: Implement regular access audits to monitor and verify user access rights.
Data Encryption: Use data encryption to protect sensitive information both in transit and at rest.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enforce MFA to add an extra layer of security to user logins.

7. The Role of CONDUCT.EDU.VN

Navigating the complexities of Salesforce sharing architecture can be daunting. That’s where CONDUCT.EDU.VN comes in. We offer comprehensive guidance and resources to help you design and implement effective sharing strategies tailored to your organization’s needs.

Expert Insights: Benefit from our expert insights into best practices for sharing architecture, ensuring data security and optimized accessibility.
Detailed Guides: Access detailed guides that walk you through the essentials of data security structures, security configurations, and data access management.
Practical Examples: Learn from practical examples and customer implementation scenarios to understand how to address common challenges.
Troubleshooting Support: Get troubleshooting support to resolve issues related to sharing settings and user access.
Compliance and Security: Stay informed about compliance standards and security measures to protect sensitive data.

8. Real-World Examples and Case Studies

8.1 Case Study: Global Sales Organization

A global sales organization with multiple business units faced challenges in managing data access across different regions and teams.

Challenge: Different business units required access to the same account record for specific opportunities, but they needed to maintain separate hierarchies and rollups.
Solution: Implemented Enterprise Territory Management to organize teams into separate branches, with two levels of members needing access to the account.
Result: Enhanced collaboration and streamlined data access while maintaining separate hierarchies for reporting purposes.

8.2 Example: Restricted Data Access

A financial services company needed to restrict access to sensitive customer data based on user roles.

Challenge: Ensuring that only authorized personnel could view and modify confidential customer information.
Solution: Utilized restriction rules to filter records based on user roles and data sensitivity levels.
Result: Improved data security and compliance with regulatory requirements.

9. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is the difference between profiles and permission sets?

Profiles define the baseline permissions for a user, while permission sets extend or modify these permissions. Salesforce recommends using permission sets and permission set groups over profiles for managing object permissions.

Q2: How do organization-wide defaults (OWD) affect data access?

OWD settings specify the default level of access users have to each other’s records. OWD is used to lock down data to the most restrictive level, with other sharing tools selectively granting access to additional users.

Q3: What are the benefits of using Enterprise Territory Management?

Enterprise Territory Management allows you to organize your sales teams into territories, define territory hierarchies, and manage access to accounts and opportunities based on territory assignments.

Q4: How can I prevent users from seeing sensitive data?

Use restriction rules to prevent users from seeing records that contain sensitive data or are not essential to their work.

Q5: What is Apex managed sharing, and when should I use it?

Apex managed sharing allows you to use code to build sophisticated and dynamic sharing settings when declarative options are insufficient.

Q6: How do I troubleshoot user access issues?

Follow a systematic troubleshooting flow, starting with verifying object permissions and reviewing the role hierarchy, sharing rules, team membership, and territory assignments.

Q7: What are the key considerations for compliance and security?

Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, implement regular access audits, use data encryption, and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Q8: How do data and ownership skews affect performance?

Data skews (a few parent records with many children) and ownership skews (a single user owning many records) can cause performance issues. Keep the ratio as close to 1:10,000 as possible.

Q9: What is implicit sharing, and how does it work?

Implicit sharing is automatic and provides access to parent records (account only) when a user has access to child records (opportunities, cases, or contacts).

Q10: How often should I review my sharing settings?

Conduct regular audits of sharing settings to ensure they align with business needs and security policies.

10. Key Takeaways

Understanding Data Access: Effective sharing architecture requires a thorough understanding of data access components, including users and licenses, profiles and permission sets, record ownership, and organization-wide defaults.
Implementation Scenarios: Tailor your sharing model to your organization’s specific needs, considering various implementation scenarios and challenges.
Best Practices: Follow best practices for sharing architecture to create an effective and secure environment.
Troubleshooting: Be prepared to troubleshoot user access issues by following a systematic approach.
Compliance and Security: Prioritize compliance and security to protect sensitive data and adhere to regulatory requirements.

11. Further Resources

For more in-depth information and guidance on sharing architecture, refer to the following resources:

Salesforce Help Documentation: Comprehensive documentation on Salesforce features and functionalities.
Salesforce Trailhead: Interactive learning platform with modules on security and sharing.
Salesforce Architect Resources: Articles and guides for architects on designing and implementing effective solutions.
CONDUCT.EDU.VN: Expert insights and resources for designing and implementing effective sharing strategies.

12. Conclusion

A well-designed sharing architecture is essential for ensuring secure and efficient data access in Salesforce. By understanding the various components, following best practices, and addressing potential challenges, you can create a sharing model that meets your organization’s unique needs. Explore the wealth of resources available at CONDUCT.EDU.VN to further enhance your knowledge and skills in building a robust and compliant Salesforce environment.

Ready to optimize your Salesforce sharing architecture? Visit CONDUCT.EDU.VN today to access expert guidance and resources that will help you design and implement effective sharing strategies tailored to your organization’s needs. Our comprehensive guides, practical examples, and troubleshooting support will empower you to build a robust and compliant Salesforce environment. Contact us at 100 Ethics Plaza, Guideline City, CA 90210, United States, or reach out via Whatsapp at +1 (707) 555-1234 for personalized assistance. Let conduct.edu.vn be your trusted partner in navigating the complexities of data access and security.