How to Deal with Salesforce Pardot Winter 2021 update

When we heard of winter release 21 or new addition first thing we thought about features or changing the level of access that any particular user has but no worries Pardot just added a security function for our safety.

Mostly we login in Pardot in two ways: 

1) via direct login using Pardot credentials

2) via single sign-on using Salesforce credentials.

February 15, 2021, Pardot will stop supporting direct login using Pardot credentials and require that all users accessing Pardot do so via single sign-on using Salesforce credentials. This means that all Pardot users will need to be connected to a Salesforce user.

Security is the primary driver of this change. Trust is Salesforce’s #1 value and user security is a key part of that. Pardot’s recent releases and future roadmap are also key drivers of this change. As Pardot deepens its integration with Salesforce, Pardot users lacking a Salesforce seat are missing out on an increasing number of features: Pardot Business Units, B2B Marketing Analytics, and the new Lightning Email Builder, just to name a few.

There are requirements and considerations for turning on SSO in Pardot, and you’ll want to make sure to review them with your Pardot Admin or Consultant before turning on SSO permanently. This change is being made to: 

• Provide users with the most up-to-date functionality in both Pardot and Salesforce. 
• To streamline user management and accessibility for organizations. 
• To maintain security best practices across the organization, including custom password policies, sharing settings, and auth/login settings. 

I think there’s a strong case to be made for migrating all Pardot users to Salesforce SSO users ASAP. Still, there may be some customers that want Pardot-only access — if only just because they’re used to it working that way.

Pardot’s not going to leave those customers high and dry, although they haven’t yet released the full details on what the transition options will be.So Salesforce will give you some courtesy / “freebie” licenses that allow you to use Salesforce SSO but only access Pardot. More details on this were shared in the Pardot User Migration Knowledge Article as well.

If you have zero Sales Cloud logins (i.e. you’re a very old legacy, non-Salesforce customer), the Salesforce team will be reaching out about a transition plan.

As I mentioned, the most significant parts of this change don’t hit Pardot accounts until Spring ’21. So there’s time. But here’s what I’d recommend doing to stay ahead of the game:

• Audit your current users. How many are Pardot only? Are there any that can be archived? Enable SSO for any Pardot users that also have a Salesforce login.
• If you’re not already using User Sync, give it another look in late July and consider enabling it.
• Review any integrations you have. Pardot is updating the WordPress plug-in. 3rd party tools will need to update their own integrations. If you have any custom integrations, start talking to a developer about the upgrade path.

If you still have doubts about the pardot update or need any help in migration please feel free to reach out. We would be happy to help you.