Back in 2020, Salesforce announced the termination of its data recovery services. This hit the Salesforce users with disappointment, so later in 2021; they restored the backup recovery services. In this article, we will check the rationale of Salesforce withdrawing the service and fixing it later. We will also explore some of the latest Salesforce data backup and recovery options.
Should you use the Salesforce backup data?
Salesforce does keep a mirror copy of all the data you put into the cloud-based system and use the same if any recovery request is raised. However, this was primarily supported in case of failure at their end. For the mistakes made by the users, like accidental deletion of data or overwriting, it may not always be possible for you to recover such data with the assistance of Salesforce backup. Salesforce also warns the users against solely relying on their services in data loss.
As we have seen above, Salesforce offers a few native methods for data backup and restoration at no additional cost. Let us first explore these options. Data Export – Using this service, you will be able to do scheduled manual data export monthly or weekly with the use of Salesforce UI. This method will help prepare your data for bulk export into CSV files.
Data Loader – The data loader application will let you perform data operations on a massive scale. You can do export/import etc., using this. The data loader also offers you better control over the data you export or meaning, but this process has to be done manually and is mainly time-consuming.
Recycle bin – The data the users delete goes to the recycle bin, kept there for 15 more days. If you identify any data loss during these 15 days, you can retrieve it from the recycle bin and restore it. However, after 15 days, the data will get deleted permanently, and you cannot fix it from the recycle bin.
Salesforce native data recovery service
Identify that your Salesforce data is permanently deleted or lost and you don’t have any other backup systems in place. Salesforce data recovery can be your last resort. Before the reversal of the Data Recovery service in 2020, it was called Data Restoration, which is now a paid service by Salesforce for the customers to recover the data if lost. You can raise a request to retrieve the lost or deleted data back to a specific point in time. But this native salesforce data recovery and backup process is expensive and may cost you $10000. It may also take a few weeks for you to get the recovered database files in CSV format, which you again need to export manually.
How does data recovery service work?
The data recovery service of Salesforce, as we discussed earlier, is the last resort for the users in case of data loss on Salesforce.com. Suppose you do not back up your data with any third-party data backup and recovery solutions. In that case, native Data Recovery is the last resort to retrieve your lost or corrupted file. You have to raise a support request to Salesforce for data recovery, receiving which they will respond with the recovered data within 6 to 8 weeks. The data recovery service will send the recovered data in multiple CSV files, which must be uploaded manually by the Salesforce admin into Salesforce.
Limitations of Salesforce data recovery
The data recovery service of Salesforce can indeed be a lifesaver for the users if they don’t have any other backup strategy. However, it comes with many shortfalls too.
- Salesforce native data recovery service costs you 10000 dollars per recovery irrespective of the volume of data to be recovered.
- The overall recovery process has to be done manually, which may take 6 to 8 weeks to complete.
- The data deleted more than three months ago may not be recovered through the data recovery service.
- The recovered data will be sent to you in CSV files, which may require users to manually re-upload.
- There is no guarantee that you will get 100% of your data recovered.
Usage of third-party data backup and recovery
As we have seen above, the Salesforce data recovery service is the option, but many other third-party data backup tools are also available at Salesforce App Exchange. When it comes to using third‑party backup solutions, they are much mightier than the Salesforce data recovery service. Third‑party recovery services offer regular data backups daily for multiple times in a day itself. This means that your data can be protected and available to be recovered from any point in time in case of a loss.
Third-party backup solutions also offer a cloud-to-cloud backup with limited or unlimited storage, resulting in more cost-effective data backup alternatives. The cost of Salesforce data backup service is about $10000 for each instance, compared to which the data recovery and backup solutions by third parties are much cheaper. As we have seen above, the recovery process of Salesforce data recovery may take 6 to 8 weeks. Still, for many third-party applications, the backup and recovery can be made in a matter of minutes over a few clicks.
Another drawback in Salesforce native data backup and recovery is that it may not cover the metadata. However, the third-party data backup applications can back up data automatically daily, including metadata to be restored in case of a loss. These applications will also allow you to back up the attachments, and the customizations are done daily. This will help minimize the amount of data a company may lose and save a lot on the recovery time in any event of a data loss recovery.
YouTube: Reality check – SFDC backup and Salesforce Recovery Service
Photo credit: All images used (1, 2) were done by Gorodenkoff.
