Definition
A Salesforce feature that automatically syncs contacts and calendar events between Salesforce and Microsoft Exchange or Google. It keeps records updated across both systems without manual data entry.
Real-World Example
At their company, the IT director at Vertex Global leverages Lightning Sync to scale their operations using the Salesforce platform. Lightning Sync gives them the infrastructure and tools needed to support new business requirements, handle increased data volumes, and serve a growing user base without compromising performance.
Why Lightning Sync Matters
Lightning Sync was a Salesforce feature that automatically synced contacts and calendar events between Salesforce and Microsoft Exchange or Google Workspace. It kept records updated across both systems without requiring manual data entry, ensuring that contacts and meetings created in either system would appear in the other. The sync was bidirectional and configurable per user.
Lightning Sync is being phased out in favor of Einstein Activity Capture (EAC), which provides similar contact and calendar sync plus additional capabilities like email logging and engagement scoring. EAC is the modern recommendation for any new sync setup. Lightning Sync is still mentioned in older documentation, but new implementations should use EAC instead. The migration path involves disabling Lightning Sync and enabling EAC for the same users, with care taken to verify the new sync is working as expected before removing the old setup.
How Organizations Use Lightning Sync
- •Cobalt Ventures — Migrated from Lightning Sync to Einstein Activity Capture during their productivity tooling refresh, gaining email logging on top of contact and calendar sync.
- •Skyline Consulting — Helps clients still on Lightning Sync plan migration to EAC, the modern replacement.
- •NovaScale — Treats Lightning Sync references as a legacy signal that the integration should be modernized to EAC.