What is the difference between Data Cloud and Data 360?

Data 360 is the new product name for what used to be marketed as Customer Data Platform / Data Cloud. The runtime + features are continuous; the rebrand reflects the closer integration with Agentforce 360.

Do I need Data 360 if I already have a data warehouse?

Often yes - Data 360 federates against your warehouse via zero-copy, then layers identity resolution, segmentation, and Salesforce-native activation on top. The warehouse is still the system of record.

Data 360: the unified data layer powering Salesforce AI

Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) is Salesforce's zero-copy data platform. It ingests, harmonises, and exposes customer data across every cloud + Agentforce. This pillar covers what Data 360 is, when to use it over a traditional CDP, and the harmonisation rules that decide whether your project succeeds.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated May 4, 2026

What Data 360 replaces

Data 360 sits between Salesforce CRM data and external sources (data warehouses, transactional systems, marketing platforms). It replaces the patchwork of CDPs, point-to-point integrations, and one-off Lightning Connect external objects that used to glue customer data together.

Zero-copy in practice

Most CDPs ingest copies of data, then expose that copy. Data 360 uses zero-copy federation against Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, and Redshift - meaning agents and Marketing Cloud Engagement query the source warehouse directly without a stale snapshot in between.

Identity resolution is the project

Every Data 360 implementation lives or dies by its identity ruleset. Match keys (email, phone, hashed identifiers), tie-breaker rules, and the order of precedence between sources determine whether your unified profile is one customer or three.

Data 360: the unified data layer powering Salesforce AI

What Data 360 replaces

Zero-copy in practice

Identity resolution is the project

Related dictionary terms

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