Definition
Sharing is an administrative capability in Salesforce that gives admins control over a specific aspect of org configuration. It is part of the toolkit administrators use to keep Salesforce aligned with organizational policies and processes.
Real-World Example
the system admin at BrightEdge Solutions recently implemented Sharing to control how users interact with Salesforce data and features. After configuring Sharing in the sandbox and validating it with key stakeholders, they roll it out to production. User adoption improves because the interface now matches how teams actually work.
Why Sharing Matters
Sharing in Salesforce is the comprehensive framework that controls record-level access across the entire platform. It operates through multiple layers: Organization-Wide Defaults (OWD) set the baseline visibility for each object, the Role Hierarchy grants upward access so managers can see their teams' records, Sharing Rules extend access to specific groups based on criteria or ownership, and Manual Sharing allows individual users to grant access on a per-record basis. Together, these mechanisms create a flexible yet governable system where data access can be as broad or as restrictive as the organization requires.
As organizations mature and handle increasingly sensitive data — financial records, patient information, competitive intelligence — the sharing architecture becomes one of the most consequential design decisions an admin makes. A sharing model that is too open exposes sensitive data to unauthorized users, while one that is too restrictive creates friction that drives users to work around the system. The sharing calculation process in Salesforce can also have performance implications: complex sharing rules on objects with millions of records can slow down record access and group membership recalculation. Admins must design sharing architectures that balance security, usability, and performance, and review them regularly as the organization's structure and compliance requirements evolve.
How Organizations Use Sharing
- Redwood Capital Partners — Redwood sets OWDs to Private for all financial objects and uses the Role Hierarchy to give portfolio managers visibility into their analysts' records. Criteria-based sharing rules then extend read access on investment research to the compliance team, creating a three-layer access model that satisfies SEC examination requirements while keeping day-to-day operations efficient.
- BlueSky Retail Group — BlueSky's 2,000-person sales force spans 50 regions with significant cross-selling activity. Their admin designed a sharing architecture using territory-based sharing rules that allow reps to see accounts in adjacent territories while protecting compensation-sensitive opportunity data with a Private OWD. This balanced approach increased cross-sell revenue by 15% without exposing commission details.
- NovaCare Medical — NovaCare handles patient data subject to HIPAA and sets the Contact OWD to Private with no role hierarchy grant. Access is controlled exclusively through criteria-based sharing rules tied to the patient's assigned care team, ensuring that only the specific doctors and nurses involved in a patient's care can view their record. Any change to the sharing model requires compliance committee approval.