Understanding How Salesforce Data Archiving Optimizes Storage: Some Advantages

‘DATA_STORAGE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED’

This is one dreaded message that no Salesforce admin wants to encounter but sadly, Nathan and Peter were not so lucky. After experiencing problems in creating new records for the past few days, one day this appalling message started flashing on their screens.

Nathan, a Salesforce admin in a healthcare enterprise, was left perplexed as he had extremely sensitive data pertaining to patients’ personal information and medical history which could not be deleted due to various data retention and compliance reasons. Knowing very well that deleting data was out of question, he immediately decided to upgrade the existing storage space by purchasing additional Salesforce data storage. Though this served the purpose for a while but it wasn’t a sustainable solution in the long-run as additional storage was very costly.

On the other hand, Peter, the Salesforce admin in the same healthcare enterprise as Nathan, realized the unsustainability of purchasing additional data storage very early on. Instead he looked for other means of resolving the data storage crisis the enterprise was facing. After extensive research, he suggested resorting to archiving the old and rarely-used data in the system to an external storage. As it was easier, more secure and had several other advantages, data archiving was finally implemented as the sole means for optimizing the Salesforce data storage.

Salesforce Data Archiving: What is it

This is just one example from a company that faced the issue of going over its allotted data storage limit in Salesforce and rightly resolved it by opting for Salesforce data archiving. Data archiving really comes handy when there is a multitude of unused data in the storage space which though cannot be deleted still has to be managed in order to remain within the data storage limit for the Salesforce Org.

In simple terms, Salesforce data archiving is the practice of identifying existing data that is historical & inactive and moving it out of the internal data storage into a cost-effective long-term storage system. This is especially critical for businesses and organizations that are constantly acquiring new information yet must retain existing data and also be able to quickly retrieve & bring back the archived data into production, whenever need arises.

 

How is Salesforce Data Archiving Advantageous?

In this article, we will shed light on some of the ways in which Salesforce data archiving can be advantageous for organizations. Secure data archiving not only enables the long-term retention & storage of Salesforce data but it also ensures that the archived information stays accessible & its integrity is maintained. The benefits of data archiving also includes ensuring that the Salesforce system uses fewer resources, runs more efficiently, and that overall data storage costs are reduced.

Improving Salesforce System Performance

The first and foremost benefit of a well thought out Salesforce data archiving process is the massive improvement in the application’s performance, something which can be observed almost immediately in most cases. As old, legacy Salesforce data is removed from the data storage, the advantage processes run much faster as there are fewer records to process. In addition to freeing up space, the right data archiving solution also speeds up the rate at which the archived records are scanned and restored.

Improved Ability to Meet Salesforce Compliance Requirements

Regulatory compliance is probably the #1 requirement in a number of Salesforce industries, ranging from finance to healthcare and more. As it continues to drive changes in Salesforce data retention policies, having a simplified strategy to archive unused Salesforce data can considerably ease meeting compliance directives. Because archived data is still typically important for future uses like complying with state and federal regulations, the data archiving process ensures that the data remains safe and retrievable years from now. This is another important reason that most organizations opt for Salesforce data archiving.

Improved Ability to Manage Salesforce Data 

An effective Salesforce data archiving process allows the admin to easily identify the redundant Salesforce data (due to duplication of the data sets) and securely migrate it out of the production system. Once a data archiving solution is implemented, the users can also easily locate data which is necessary on a daily basis. In addition to smoothly discovering data, the archiving process also facilitates seamless analysis, classification and indexing of the data stored in the Org, providing valuable insights regarding the business operations.

Enhanced Security for Salesforce Data

A well thought of Salesforce data archiving process encompasses simple policies and guidelines that dictate & govern the manner in which archived data is held, particularly deleted, in the off-site storage system. This comes in handy in preventing accidental deletion of the archived data, greatly improving the data security. Moreover data archiving removes documents and data sets from circulation, thereby limiting the threats of cyberattack or malware infections. Also since only a handful of trusted employees are allowed access to the archived data, it again diminishes the chances of accidental data modification.

Reduced Salesforce Data Storage Costs 

Having a long-term Salesforce data archiving strategy helps bring down the data storage and backup costs in the organization. A scalable, cost-effective data archiving strategy, that offers a pay-as-you-go price model, is definitely ideal for organizations that generate high amounts of data as it allows them to upgrade their archiving strategy whenever needed. Also because data is moved out of the internal data storage, there is hardly any need for purchasing additional Salesforce data storage space which again puts an end to hefty storage costs.

Leverage Salesforce Data for Business Growth 

As archived Salesforce data still holds immense value for future products and services offerings, a robust data archiving solution allows businesses to retain all data, without the need to consider what should stay and what to delete, offering future access to all data. With proper archiving, businesses can unlock more value from their data through intelligent data mining and running proper data analytics on the centralized archival repositories. Not only this, archiving Salesforce data also ensures that backup & recovery processes run much faster as the inactive data is not backed up.

Now DataArchiva Enters The Picture 

Now when you are aware of what Salesforce data archiving is and what are its various advantages, you should know of an application that can easily bring those benefits to your organization. And one such application is DataArchiva that essentially moves the legacy Salesforce data from the operational level to your preferred cold storage system. That is where it can be stored without hampering the daily business processes or the system performance.

So by moving unused Salesforce data out of the way, this 5-star rated data archival application helps Salesforce admins reduce over 85% of their Salesforce data storage costs, improve the Salesforce CRM’s performance by 2X times, and promptly adhere to their data retention & data compliance directives. DataArchiva is also a better option considering all the important factors like solution cost, time, effort, alignment with the Salesforce roadmap, accessibility, security, and customizability.