Backing up Salesforce data is essential when it comes to the need for any failover restoration in case of data errors or deletion. There are many reasons like natural disasters, data breaches, attacks, or human errors that may result in data loss. The enterprises need to get back to normal operations as soon as possible. In the Salesforce world of data, it is more imperative than any other such system. When it comes to CRM management, data is the life-breath of it, with thousands of users adding relevant records to it each moment.
While it is possible that Salesforce itself may lose your data and take care of the restoration on its own, this is not the primary reason you need a backup solution. There are many instances where the users may initiate the data loss, and Salesforce will not stand responsible for such data loss. Here are some major scenarios where you may experience such data failures.
- Data Loader mass import of data – Data Loader is a Salesforce tool for mass data import with which the admins can modify a huge number of records at once. If there is any mistake in this data import, the many existing fields and records may be wiped off permanently.
- Rogue automation – In some cases, deploying an apex trigger or process builder that overwrites data may result in the corruption of mass data loss.
- User errors – It is always possible that ignorant users or administrators make a mistake that ends up in data loss.
By foreseeing the possibility of these cases, one should have a solid data backup and restoration strategy in place as a part of effective management of Salesforce CRM. Considering it, in this article, we will review some frequently asked questions by Salesforce users about data backup and the native recovery services offered by Salesforce.
Salesforce data backup and recovery FAQ
- Is Salesforce backing up the data?
Of course, Salesforce keeps the backup of user data to support in case of any disaster recovery. This data will be shared with the customers in CSV format by charging a fee on special requests. Even though it is possible, Salesforce warns the users against relying on this service fully but to implement any third-party data backup mechanism to tackle data loss risks.
- What do you get through the data recovery service by Salesforce?
Salesforce native data recovery service can be considered as the last resort for point-in-time recovery of data in case of any loss or damage. This recovery has to be performed manually and may take about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. It also costs $10,000 USD. Also, there are many other limitations to this native recovery service compared to various third-party tools and services available for Salesforce data backup. Salesforce shared only CSV files of data records, which needed to be manually restored by the users. Considering all these, you should not rely on the native salesforce data recovery and backup as the sole resort for your backup strategy.
- Is it possible to restore data from Salesforce recycle bin?
It is possible, but only for minor cases of deletions that are immediately identified. The deleted data may reside at Salesforce recycle bin for about 15 days. During this time, which is called as soft delete stage, data can be restored to the org. The data will get automatically emptied after 15 days from the recycle bin. In many cases of data failure, it is noted that the accidental deletion of data or it being overwritten is identified only after many weeks. In such cases, recycle bin recovery of data may not be possible. After 15 days, the recycle bin data becomes hard-deleted, and it cannot be recovered.
- How can you restore deleted records in Salesforce?
The records which are in the “soft-delete” phase inside the recycle bin can be restored quickly by using the undelete operation directly from the bin. But this operation cannot be used on the data or recorded, which are purged manually from recycle bin, or it has expired the 15-day period of retention. In such cases, data may not be recoverable to Salesforce.
- Are data and metadata the same in Salesforce?
Data and metadata are two different entities, and when you adopt a backup mechanism, along with Salesforce data, it should also backup the metadata. When data denote the files and records stored, metadata refers to the data about data. Metadata is data that describes the structure and configuration of a Salesforce org. Data usually consists of information related to contacts, accounts, leads, and opportunities, whereas metadata is like reports, dashboards, layouts, objects, permission sets, etc.
- Why should you back up Salesforce data?
In different organizations, there are countless CRM records and data stored within Salesforce, which is indispensable for the continuity of business operations. Salesforce offers full protection of data from any fault at their end and ensures various options for manual backup of data when it is necessary. However, they will not be offering assistance in case of data loss due to user errors where native backup comes only as a last resort. For such reason, Salesforce suggests the user’s avail featured third-party backup and recovery tools like Spanning, etc.
By knowing various options for Salesforce backup and recovery, you will be able to choose the best based on your specific use case. For example, you can use the Change Sets to copy the production org’s metadata to the sandbox. If the customers opt for local storage, then the copies of metadata can be instantly exported from production org using the ANT Migration Tool from Force.com.
In any case, you have to ensure that proper backup and data recovery plans are in place to enjoy full peace of mind while administering Salesforce CRM. Ongoing to App Exchange marketplace for Salesforce apps, you can find many customized solutions for data backup and recovery, which you can compare and get hold of the best.
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