Salesforce Big Objects are the cornerstone for managing large-scale historical data. As organizations continue to digitize operations, compliance regulations and years of transactional data pose one major challenge: handling massive data volumes efficiently within Salesforce. Traditional Salesforce data storage quickly becomes expensive and performance-heavy. This is where Big Objects in Salesforce for archiving emerges as a native, scalable solution to store and manage billions of records without compromising on performance.
This guide takes a closer look at Salesforce Big Objects, their capabilities, real-world use cases, limitations, and how DataArchiva supports archiving data in Big Objects to achieve efficient and compliant data storage.
Salesforce Big Objects are a specialized data storage model designed to handle large volumes of data natively within the Salesforce platform. Unlike standard or custom objects, Big Objects are optimized for scale and performance, enabling enterprises to store and query millions or even billions of records without impacting the operational performance of their org.
According to Salesforce Big Objects overview documentation, they’re designed to handle large data volumes in Salesforce, making them essential for long-term data retention, compliance, and performance optimization.
Salesforce’s standard data storage comes with limitations on capacity and cost. As customer data, case records, and transactional logs multiply, organizations face:
With Salesforce Big Object storage, historical data can be archived natively within Salesforce, securely, cost-effectively, and with full compliance visibility.
While Big Objects are powerful, using them directly exposes several Salesforce Big Object limitations that can hinder real-world adoption.
These Salesforce Big Objects data archiving limitations make manual implementation resource-intensive and inefficient for most enterprises.
To truly harness Salesforce Big Object storage limits, organizations need a solution that bridges usability, automation, and governance. This is where DataArchiva comes in.
DataArchiva is a 100% native Salesforce application designed to simplify and automate data archiving into Salesforce Big Objects. It leverages the native architecture to make big object storage Salesforce-friendly, fully compliant, and cost-efficient.
By automating Salesforce Big Objects archiving, DataArchiva helps enterprises unlock the full potential of Big Objects without the complexity of manual setup.
In essence, DataArchiva helps organizations turn Big Objects Salesforce limitations into scalable opportunities.
Implementing DataArchiva for Big Objects is fast and straightforward:
By following these steps, organizations gain complete control over their Salesforce large data volumes while staying compliant and cost-optimized.
To better understand how DataArchiva transforms Big Object management in Salesforce, here’s a side-by-side comparison:
| Feature | Manual Big Object Setup | DataArchiva |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | Requires Apex, SOQL, and schema configuratione | No-code setup within Salesforce |
| Querying | Only index-based SOQL queries are supported | UI-driven search and filtering |
| Maintenance | High development and maintenance overhead | Automated and self-managed |
| Reporting & Analytics | Minimal | Native reporting and easy access |
| Compliance & Audit Trails | Manual tracking | Built-in audit logs and reports |
| Restoration | Manual export/import | One-click record restore |
| Cost Efficiency | High cost and time investment | Lower cost, zero external dependency |
| Scalability | Limited by manual configuration | Easy scaling across Salesforce Big Object storage limits |
DataArchiva effectively eliminates Salesforce Big Objects data archiving limitations while keeping everything native and compliant within Salesforce.
A government agency used DataArchiva’s Big Object storage Salesforce solution to retain over 10 years of citizen service data, achieving compliance and improved CRM performance.
A global fintech company archived millions of transaction records into Salesforce Big Objects, reducing costs and meeting audit requirements effortlessly.
Using Big Objects in Salesforce, a healthcare provider securely retained historical patient data in line with HIPAA regulations while improving overall system responsiveness.
A leading university archived student and academic records via DataArchiva’s Salesforce Big Object solution, enabling fast retrieval for alumni verification and compliance.
A SaaS company handling large volumes of case data leveraged Salesforce Big Objects archiving to optimize Service Cloud performance and maintain scalability.
As organizations continue to accumulate big data in Salesforce, finding a sustainable way to manage it is no longer optional; it’s essential. Salesforce Big Objects offer a robust foundation for long-term data retention, but the true value lies in how effectively they’re implemented and managed.
With DataArchiva, enterprises gain a unified, compliant, and cost-effective strategy to overcome Salesforce Big Object limitations while ensuring scalable big object storage across all departments.
If you’re ready to streamline your Salesforce big data archiving and unlock the full potential of Big Objects, DataArchiva is your path forward.
Yes, but manual setup of Salesforce Big Objects requires defining indexes, writing SOQL queries, and building a custom UI. Without automation, it becomes complex to maintain and query archived data efficiently.
DataArchiva uses Salesforce-native security, including Shield encryption, role-based access, and audit trails to keep Big Object storage safe and compliant.
You can archive structured data from both standard and custom objects, such as Cases, Tasks, Emails, and Logs, into Salesforce Big Objects for long-term retention.
Yes. Archived records in Big Objects can be restored back to live objects anytime using DataArchiva’s built-in restore feature.
Yes, you can automate Salesforce Big Object archiving using rules, schedules, and filters without manual intervention.
Define the Big Object schema and index, load data using batch jobs or APIs, and query using indexed fields via SOQL. Tools like DataArchiva simplify this with a UI-based setup and automated querying.
Big Objects are immutable, support only index-based queries, lack a native UI, and have limited reporting capabilities. Manual restoration also requires development effort, making management challenging without a tool.
Go to Setup → Big Objects → New, define fields, create an index, deploy, and load data using Bulk API. Each Big Object must include at least one index for querying archived records.
Big Object storage allows long-term retention of large datasets natively in Salesforce. It’s optimized for scalability and cost efficiency, helping organizations manage big data in Salesforce without external systems.
