Requirements elicitation

This page contains the results of the requirements elicitation process.

IdeaExchange

The original discussion exists on IdeaExchange. I'll summarize the ideas posted in the Thunderbird discussion here in the near future, though please feel free to add content now if you want to. Thanks!

• hager
  • A Linux version would be very helpful to me!
• jsheehy
  • Salesforce needs better support for linux and open standards in general
• Macmaster
  • Would love to see this happen!
• Jubub
  • Yes, that would be great! I'd even like to go further: taling about SaaS - when is the time to get rid of ANY E-Mail software?
• macpickle
  • Thunderbird...you bet. I'm a developer for a company that uses Salesforce as our support system. My computer doesn't have enough RAM to spare for Outlook. Would love a salesforce plugin to Thunderbird.
• sonnycloward
  • We're in on this. Are there any developers out there interested in coding this? Quote us a price. Additionally, if the demand is there and the development price is reasonable, who is in? How much would you be willing to chip in?
  • Contact me: sonny.cloward@gmail.com.
• realtime
  • Yes, this would be huge. Not everybody uses outlook. Thunderbird has a much faster search and efficient interface, and unlike outlook, does not freeze up every now and then for no apparent reason.
• Aliza
  • Yes, this would be wonderful -- the built-in email abilities of the web client are pretty limited. Most of my co-workers use Thunderbird to read and reply to case email, and then separately use the web client to manage the case itself, dismiss email-related tasks, etc.
• MagicFab
  • +1 for this.
  • Here's the main features of the Outlook plugin as described at http://www.salesforce.com/products/office.jsp :
    1. Allow users to communicate via the familiar Outlook interface
    2. Embed Salesforce right into Outlook
    3. Capture critical customer email in Salesforce with a single click in Outlook
    4. Ensure no customer service issue falls through the cracks
    5. Reduce email clutter by allowing users to log only necessary emails\
  • I'm mostly interested in #2 and #3 to link webleads information to the appropriate objects in SF.
• EtienneG
  • Thunderbird being cross-platform, that would nicely solve the issue of Mac and Linux users being left out of the Outlook plug-in. Personally, that would make a huge difference in the Salesforce's user experience for me.
• Tannic
  • Or just support Apple's Mail.app.
• harden
  • Provide Thunderbird plug-in extension. Our organization will be migrating all mail users to Thunderbird over the next year to support one mail client for all platforms (Mac, Win, Linux, etc.). We would be very appreciative if you could provide Thunderbird & Sundbird integration support similar to the existing Outlook Edition.
• MagicFab
  • Anyone promoting this should be promoting this other idea: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/23535
• sprotsman
  • Having Thunderbird as an option would be great! I like the Salesforce with Outlook functionality but I use Linux as my desktop system at the office.
• RNewsom
  • Outlook is a terrible program to have to rely on. I've never had it operate for longer than a day without having it come up with two to three issues for me to deal with. A Thunderbird plugin would be ideal.
• demnos
  • I too would like to add my voice to this cause. Our business is migrating to Macs to avoid the security and stability problems of Microsoft and its products. A plugin for Salesforce would make things much easier and nicer for us.
• AndyM
  • I just started using Salesforce.com and agree that a Thunderbird plug-in would be great. Does anyone know if this wil actually happen?
• Gistorama
  • I have been using Thunderbird for over two years now and just started using Salesforce.com about a month ago. Last week, I switched to Outlook, for the first time ever, to take advantage of the ability to enter e-mail correspondence directly into contact records. I have to say that switching from Thunderbird to Outlook has been like switching from a sports car to a school bus. Way too bulky and not at all intuitive. This plugin would make my work with Salesforce.com a much more satisfying experience.
• grafixel
  • I too would like to avoid outlook for several reasons - better thunderbird support would be highly appreciated
• ffierling
  • Oh, yes, give us a Thunderbird plug-in please. I won't give up Thunderbird for Outlook. Not for Salesforce. Not for any application.
  • Feature Wish List:
    1. Syncing of email in T-bird's Sent folder, but only if recipient's email address is in Salesforce's contact database.
    2. Synchronization of all Sent email in Salesforce to T-bird's Sent folder (no more bcc:)
    3. Must work with POP and IMAP servers
    4. Syncing a subset of T-bird's address book with Salesforce (don't want all of T-bird's address book in Salesforce)
• davidgbeck
  • It seems like Salesforce and Thunderbird would go naturally together. The thought of switching to outlook is a huge downer. Please add Thunderbird support!
• MatthewLoew
  • I recently switched to Outlook from Thunderbird *JUST* to get integration with Salesforce. Please offer integration to Thunderbird so I can switch back!
• SteveLawrance
  • Hi all. I'm planning to work on this now and am wondering if a read-only address book data source is sufficient for the initial release. Alternatively, read-write might be possible without too much work, though it depends on how it's architected. Outlook Edition has a lot of internal complexity due to two-way synchronization, and I'm wondering if direct editing of Salesforce.com data within Thunderbird is okay so that this plug-in doesn't have to synchronize and reconcile changes from Salesforce.com with Thunderbird's built-in address book. I'm thinking of how LDAP works in Thunderbird, but with write capabilities. Of course, that would prevent modifications while offline, though contact data can be locally cached for performance and offline use.
  • I'm wondering what features are desired in a Thunderbird plug-in for Salesforce.com. I'm thinking initially that contacts and leads in Salesforce can appear in as cards in their respective address books and that accounts can appear as lists in the "accounts" address book. Or, should Salesforce be one address book with leads and contacts mixed in, perhaps with a "Leads" list to help differentiate leads from contacts?
  • Please let me know what to modify, add, or delete. Thanks :-). I plan to begin architecture and experiment work tomorrow while I gather requirements through this IdeaExchange page.
• davidgbeck
  • I think the most important features and the best place to start is the functionality to upload sent / received / outgoing emails to salesforce and to create cases directly from TB. I would be very happy with just those features and consider any address book syncing a bonus. I don't know much about development of either TB extensions or about how salesforce integrates with Outlook Edition but I have a development background and would be happy to help.
  • It looks like sonny.cloward@gmail.com would also like to be in on this (see above post).
  • Thank you so much for lending your talents to this cause!!
• khadijah
  • yes, yes, yes -- Outlook has our staff near complete revolt -- I use Thunderbird (plan to just email out of Salesforce) but I manage a bunch of Outlook users and can't take it anymore!!! Thunderbird is lovely! Make it so, please, Sonny et al!
• COD
  • What davidgbeck said. Anything involving address book syncs is a bonus for me. The main thing I miss from the Outlook edition is the ability to add emails to SFC directly from the mail app. If the extension did just that I'd be thrilled.
  • You can reach me at chrisod@gmail.com if you need beta testing help, etc. I have no coding skills bu I am a very advanced user and know how to back up my system before I start beta testing software :)
• eclectrica
  • Having to install Outlook on my laptop made for a slow laptop, and made me a sad panda. I refuse to put Outlook on my home machine. Please support Thunderbird. I especially want calendar sync.