Background information
Alibaba Cloud has introduced Customer 360 to China in partnership with Salesforce. Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud consists of two components:
Salesforce Connected Experiences Gateway (CXG): a localized extension component designed specifically for China
Salesforce's global core products: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Salesforce Platform
This datasheet covers the following areas to help you build Salesforce Customer 360 for China on Alibaba Cloud:
Product strategy and capabilities at general availability (GA)
Integration architecture and patterns
Operation models — including the governance model for local regulations and Cross Border Data Transfer (CBDT), the deployment model for release management, and platform capabilities for your Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud instance
China practices — covering Salesforce org strategy, Center of Excellence (CoE) setup, the China ecosystem, and local user experience optimizations
To access the full 30-page China Architecture Guide, contact your sales representative.
Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud overview
Alibaba Cloud and Salesforce take a two-pronged approach to China based on customer demand and market trends. The China product strategy combines:
CXG: a localized extension component designed specifically for China
Salesforce global core products: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Salesforce Platform
Core CRM on Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud
Sales Cloud
Service Cloud
Platform Cloud
Salesforce Connected Experiences Gateway (CXG)
Localized extension component designed specifically for China
Architecture
Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud brings Customer 360 to China using a localized approach. The goal is to deliver the same unified customer experience as the global Customer 360 while meeting the requirements of businesses operating in the Chinese mainland.
Integration patterns
Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud supports three integration patterns — UI level, data level, and process level — consistent with the Salesforce platform globally. The diagram below shows how these integration capabilities work.
Notes
Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud should support API version V31 and later.
Verify updated API compatibility information with the Alibaba Cloud and Salesforce teams.
Operation architecture
Governance models
China legal compliance and Cross Border Data Transfer (CBDT)
Managing legal compliance in the Chinese mainland requires attention to three key laws. Each has direct implications for how you design your data architecture:
Cybersecurity Law (enacted 2017): Restricts transfer of personal and "important" data outside the People's Republic of China. Assess which data categories are in scope before defining your CBDT strategy.
Data Security Law (enacted 2021): Governs processing of data collected or generated in the People's Republic of China, with extraterritorial reach. Classify your data and determine applicable processing rules early in the design phase.
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) (enacted 2021): Requires data localisation for personal information processed in or outside of cyberspace, with extraterritorial effect. Engage your compliance team to determine which data flows require localisation and which cross-border transfer mechanisms apply.
Community and site management
If your Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud org has an enabled community, you are responsible for all content published on the site — including content posted by external customers or visitors. Deploy the appropriate moderation and governance controls to reduce the risk of site blocking.
Salesforce Platform integration architecture (continued)
Deployment architecture
After migrating your Salesforce org to Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud, define your org deployment strategy. The diagram below shows how the federated management model works.
China practices
This section covers best practices for building your Salesforce org strategy, setting up your CoE, understanding the China ecosystem, and using local tools and business processes to drive Salesforce adoption.
Salesforce org architecture strategy
Enterprise architecture patterns
To access the full 30-page China Architecture Guide, contact your sales representative.
CoE
China's compliance requirements, fast go-to-market capabilities, and need for localized expertise make a dedicated regional CoE essential. Establish a regional CoE within China and delegate responsibilities from the global headquarters CoE to the regional team. The regional CoE also serves as the primary communication bridge between the global and China teams.
Before setting up your CoE, answer two key questions:
Does your global organization already have a Salesforce CoE?
Do you plan to set up a Salesforce CoE team for China?
China practices (continued)
Ecosystem
Alibaba Cloud and Salesforce are training and onboarding partners through the Alibaba Cloud Partner Program. When selecting a Salesforce partner in China, verify that the partner:
Is certified in Salesforce's China practices (including development orgs and packaging tools)
Is contracted with Alibaba Cloud and listed on the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace
Contact your Alibaba Cloud sales representative for the current list of certified partners.
User experience (with local apps)
The user experience in Lightning is identical to the global Salesforce instance, with optimizations for the local market.
Limitations at GA
The Salesforce mobile app is not available at initial general availability (GA) of Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud. It is on the product roadmap.
Salesforce Authenticator is not available. Use your own single sign-on (SSO) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution instead.
Local social platform integrations
Salesforce is building an integrated user experience with local social platforms. These integrations are exclusively available for Salesforce organizations hosted on Alibaba Cloud:
Official account and mini program messaging for Service Cloud
Integration with local social platforms for Service Cloud and Sales Cloud
