7 Ways to Upgrade Your Salesforce Backup and Restore Strategy
An optimized Salesforce backup and restore strategy provides the support organizations need to quickly return to operations in the event of an outage while also supporting compliance with data security regulations.
Why It Matters: Salesforce is the main container of data for many organizations. Losing access to this data cripples their ability to perform basic business functions.
- Outages cost organization about $9,000 every minute on average.
- Between 60%-80% of organizations have experienced a data outage in the last 3 years.
Here are 7 things your organization can do to ensure your Salesforce backup and restore strategy serves your needs:
- Automate Repeat Backups
- Encrypt Sensitive Information
- Scan for Proper Permissions
- Configure RPO and RTO Objectives
- Archive Unused Data
- Update Best Practices
- Monitor Backup Performance
1. Automate Repeat Backups
Data backups are only useful if they’re current. There needs to be a repeating cadence of backups that provide reliable support.
Leverage automation to back up your Salesforce data and eliminate the possibility that it might slip a team member’s mind, leaving you open to loss.
Reducing the risk of human error provides the coverage necessary to consistently maintain a recent backup of your critical system data.
2. Encrypt Sensitive Information
Your Salesforce backup and restore strategy should encompass all types of system data. This includes sensitive data that requires additional layers of protection.
Encrypting your backups ensures you remain in compliance with data security regulations while offering the maximum level of protection for your Salesforce data.
Regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA require encryption for any personal identifiable information (PII) contained within your system.
3. Scan for Proper Permissions
The infrastructure supporting your Salesforce backup and restore strategy has major impacts on the overall security of these repositories. Access to this data needs to be restricted to only those who need it to perform their duties.
Scan your system to ensure proper settings for profiles and role-based permissions are maintained across your environment.
Automated scans that enforce internal policies reduce the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
4. Configure RPO and RTO Objectives
Every organization has different needs and requirements from their Salesforce backup and restore strategy.
Analyze your needs and determine your recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) in the event of an outage.
Updating these standards will provide guidance on configuring the settings of your Salesforce data backup tool.
5. Archive Unused Data
Salesforce data storage costs are extremely expensive. And when it comes to backups, a large amount of unnecessary data will slow down your backup processes and increase storage costs.
Move unused but important data to off-platform storage to continue to protect it while reducing the burden on your backup tool.
Archiving data will expedite backup processes, reduce storage costs, and comply with data retention requirements for regulations.
6. Update Best Practices
The tools and tactics you employ in your Salesforce backup and restore strategy need to evolve over time. New capabilities, vulnerabilities, and processes continually emerge.
Regularly review and update your strategy to incorporate the latest advancements and ensure optimal protection for your Salesforce data.
Stay informed about new features, best practices, and security recommendations related to backup and restore.
7. Monitor Backup Performance
The best way to ensure your backup strategy is addressing your needs is to consistently gather and assess all the available metrics that point to the health of your platform.
Identify any issues or bottlenecks in your backup and restore strategy that can be addressed and improved to support a healthier approach.
Proactively addressing these issues helps ensure data availability and integrity. And should a data incident ever occur, you’re going to be thankful you took the time to stay on top of your recovery plan and gave yourself the tools you need to get back to work.
Next Step…
An optimized Salesforce backup and restore strategy is a critical aspect of a comprehensive approach to data security. Zero Trust is another approach that can save your organization from costly, accidental data exposures and corruptions.
Check out our infographic, 8 Tips for Implementing Zero Trust in Salesforce Release Management, for a crash course in getting started with this powerful approach to Salesforce data security.
FAQs
What are the risks of not having a robust Salesforce backup and restore strategy?
Data security threats are ever-present. Losing access to your Salesforce data could prove catastrophic. There are many potential sources of data loss, including accidental deletions, system failures, or malicious attacks. And without proper backups, companies may struggle to meet compliance requirements, risking legal and financial penalties. Users are likely to lose confidence in an organization that exposes or loses their information. Experiencing an outage without proper backups means lengthy recovery times, prolonging downtime and exacerbating the impact of disruptions on business continuity.
How do I assess the effectiveness of my Salesforce backup and restore procedures?
Simulating scenarios in which your organization would need to utilize data backups is a great way to ensure your backups are as robust as you need as well as verify their accessibility. Metrics such as success rates, data integrity checks, and backup completion times can be monitored to identify any potential issues or bottlenecks. There should also be periodic audits of backup configurations and storage locations to verify compliance with security and data governance policies. Conferring with key stakeholders and IT personnel involved in backup and restore operations can highlight any potential areas for improvement so they can be addressed and rectified.
How often should I back up my Salesforce data?
The answer to this question is different for every organization. The volume and sensitivity of the data, the frequency of updates or changes, and business requirements all factor into a more definite answer. Generally, we recommend backing up your data at least once a week. Organizations in regulated industries, however, may need to increase this to daily backups or even every few hours. Ultimately, the backup frequency should align with business needs, ensuring that data loss is minimized in the event of an outage while balancing resource utilization and operational efficiency.
