Effective data storage management is the backbone of any Salesforce implementation. As your organization’s records, documents, and analytics grow, managing where and how that information lives becomes critical, not only for system performance and cost control, but also for compliance, security, and user productivity. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Salesforce data storage: the different types, limits, monitoring best practices, and how to extend your capacity with an external cloud archiving solution like DataArchiva.
This guide explores Salesforce Data Storage in-depth, including its structure, advantages, and constraints, while offering strategies for optimizing data management. With these insights, your organization can manage data growth efficiently and ensure optimal Salesforce functionality.
Salesforce Data Storage is crucial for managing customer data and files. Understanding how it organizes and allocates storage is key for peak performance and scalability as your business grows. Let’s explore the main components of Salesforce storage.
Excess data, especially large files and attachments, can slow page loads, lead to timeouts in reporting, and frustrate end users. Keeping data lean ensures reports, list views, and record pages load quickly.
Salesforce storage comes at a premium. Purchases beyond your included allocation can cost thousands per year. Prudent storage management lets you maximize your return on investment.
Salesforce distinguishes between three primary storage categories:
Every month, new Accounts, Opportunities, custom object records, attachments, Chatter files, and integrations (e.g. CPQ, Marketing Automation) generate terabytes of data. Without clear archiving policies, storage balloons.
Multiple imports, manual data entry, and disconnected systems create duplicate leads, contacts, and cases.
Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and FINRA mandate precise retention periods, audit logs, and secure access for regulated data.
As data volumes rise, full org backups take longer. Recovery drills balloon from hours to days.
Large data‑warehouse imports and historic datasets in Big Objects slow report run times and dashboard refreshes.
Unpredictable data growth makes it hard to forecast storage needs, leading to ad‑hoc license purchases.
Connecting external file systems (e.g., AWS S3, SharePoint, and Google Drive) to Salesforce without a robust sync solution leads to broken links, failed uploads, and versioning issues.
Without automation, admins must manually identify, export, and delete stale records or files—often using spreadsheets or scripts.
Almost every business experiences these challenges at one time or another. The solution is to move less‑frequently accessed data off-platform, which can cut costs and improve performance without sacrificing accessibility.
But how do you do that? External storage system using a reliable third-party application!
Managing data storage in Salesforce can feel overwhelming, especially when storage limits and costs start adding up. That’s where DataArchiva steps in. It helps you effortlessly archive older or less-used data, keeping your system running smoothly without sacrificing access or security. With its smart monitoring tools and automated workflows, you can cut down on storage costs, boost efficiency, and stay on top of compliance, all without the hassle.
Track all activities to meet compliance standards effortlessly. For instance, a healthcare provider can monitor who archived data and when, ensuring full HIPAA compliance and simplifying audit preparation.
Set up multiple archives tailored to your organization’s policies. A global company can manage archives regionally to meet local regulations while maintaining centralized control. In one case, DataArchiva resolved data residency issues for an Australian tech firm. Read the full story.
Combine archived and active data for insights using built-in reporting tools. Sales teams can analyze historical data to uncover trends, revisit old opportunities, and identify growth areas.
Monitor archiving jobs in real-time, enabling quick identification and resolution of issues. For example, an e-commerce company uses this feature to ensure monthly archiving of customer transactions.
Easily access and retrieve archived data within Salesforce without complex processes. A tech firm, for instance, restores historical support cases for an audit, ensuring compliance with SLAs while maintaining strict access controls.
DataArchiva’s latest AI search tool makes finding archived data faster and easier. With natural language queries, you get accurate results instantly for complex searches while extracting key insights efficiently.
| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Native Salesforce Storage Only | Built‑in, no additional setup | High per‑GB cost; hard limits; performance hits as usage grows |
| Manual Exports & Spreadsheets | Low tech; no extra licenses | Error‑prone, no audit logs, file links break, maintenance burden on admins |
| On‑Prem File Servers | Control over hardware; existing investment | Complex VPN/firewall setup; poor scale; latency issues; difficult to secure remotely |
| Third‑Party Document Repositories | Some offer Salesforce connectors | Often siloed UIs, limited search integration, extra user training, variable security |
| Cloud Object Storage Integration | Lowest storage cost, near‑infinite scale, global availability | Requires middleware or apps like DataArchiva for seamless UX inside Salesforce |
Understanding Salesforce data storage types and allocations is one of the most critical parts of using Salesforce for data management. If your business data is stagnant, which isn’t good news for a growing company, you don’t need to focus on such aspects. However, we know that it is not true. You need Salesforce for data management, but also require a system that protects and stores your data once the Salesforce org reaches its limit.
Here comes the solution: a hybrid approach that combines careful on‑platform management with an external archiving solution like DataArchiva. You can control costs, boost performance, and ensure compliance.
Start with a thorough audit, define your retention policies, and implement automated archiving to keep your org lean, fast, and future‑proof. Call for a demo for a quick consultation.
Salesforce stores structured data (records, objects, fields) in its multi-tenant relational database. Each record occupies a portion of your allocated “Data Storage” based on its field definitions and attachments.
Salesforce allocates Data Storage and File Storage based on edition and user licenses. For example:
Storage overages incur roughly $2,000–$4,000 per extra GB per year. You can view exact pricing on your Salesforce contract or in the Salesforce Store.
Navigate to Storage Usage. The dashboard shows total Data, File, and Big Object storage consumed by your org. Drill down by clicking on each category to view per‑object usage (e.g., Accounts, Opportunities, Attachments).
No additional middleware is needed. DataArchiva ships with built‑in connectors for major cloud object stores—AWS S3, Azure, Google Cloud Storage—and handles authentication, secure data transfers, and metadata synchronization out of the box. You simply configure your cloud credentials and storage regions within DataArchiva’s admin console, then define archiving policies.
Both strategies serve different purposes. Archiving moves cold or infrequently accessed data to an external repository, reducing your Salesforce footprint while keeping records searchable. Backup creates point‑in‑time copies of your org for disaster recovery and data corruption scenarios.
Data Storage holds structured record data—Accounts, Contacts, Leads, custom object records—measured in gigabytes per record count. File Storage accommodates unstructured binary files like attachments, documents, Chatter files, and Content Library assets.
With a solution like DataArchiva, archived records and files remain discoverable in Salesforce via indexed metadata and embedded links. On‑demand restores fetch selected data back into Salesforce with a single click. You can also search archived content globally through the Salesforce UI or via API calls for seamless access without switching to separate storage consoles.
