Lobo's comment on my post yesterday prompted me to complete this blog entry that I've been ruminating on for a while. I wrote a blog entry a while back on the state of Drupal/Salesforce integration. What I didn't say is that a number of shops that have done Drupal/SF integration for production sites chose not to use the contributed modules - they built (or are building) their own custom Salesforce/Drupal integration modules. A few months ago, in preparation for a couple of projects, and a big push into this area for our company, I was faced with a strategic choice - go it alone, and build our own integration module for client projects,  or plunge into using and working with the contributed salesforce modules. Truth is, it wasn't really a choice for me - I've got using and contributing back to open source projects in my DNA somehow. Although we certainly could have chosen, like others, to go our own way, we have committed ourselves to using, and contributing to the modules on drupal.org. What we lose:

• Complete control over development process and direction
• Not having to fix other people's bugs in order for stuff to work

What we gain:

• Not having to reinvent a number of wheels
• An easier upgrade path
• Build on the work of others
• Collaborate and learn

The work done so far on the modules is really solid - and it's getting better. There is a great new maintainer, and increasing activity and contributions. There are also a number of other module integrations (like Ubercart, Webform, and FeedAPI) that are moving forward. Integrations with Views and Actions are also moving being considered (it's instructive to look at the issues queue). This is stuff that would be hard to match, and makes building integrations for different kinds of sites easier. So beyond just my own personal preference, I think that there is much benefit, both for our clients, and for us as a company, in hitching our wagon to theses contributed modules instead of going it alone.