Should You Do Salesforce Backup — All You Need To Know

If you ever lost your data, you know how devastating it is. But what if this data affects the entire enterprise's functioning? Dealing with sensitive information, we need not only to store it in a secure place but also to do data backup. Continue reading to learn why you need to do this and the primary backup practices.

Why Do Backups?

When working with diverse data, you should regularly do Salesforce data backup of the most sensitive data, original documents, and critical files. Data loss happens due to many reasons. Statistically, the most common ones include hardware failures (43%), human error (30%), and software corruption (12%).

Data corruption

Sometimes errors emerge during processing, writing, transmission, or even storage of your data. And all these actions may cause a mess and lead to unwanted changes in the original files. A common virus may also corrupt data, for example. Your backup copies will come in handy as you would be able to restore everything if you notice that something went wrong with specific files.

Don't forget to check out: Data Quality Control Using Validation Rules | Salesforce Guide

Human error of deleting by accident

One of the top reasons to do backup is the occurrence of the human error factor. People make mistakes, so you should consider that aspect when storing some crucial performance management system files, KPI data, etc. So, employees will make mistakes, and your task is to find ways to either prevent or mitigate such. Backing up is an effective measure in this case. 

Malicious intent to delete data

Continuing the human error factor, you should also remember that malicious intent often results from employees' negligence. According to the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, above 53% of businesses suffer from it. For example, people can unintentionally cause damage to the system files when uploading suspicious programs. Thus, you should have backup data if you lose some vital files.

Best Practices For Data Backup

Luckily there are several effective ways for data backup. Whether you need to protect crucial files for your project plan or multiple personal media files, you may use some of the widespread practices below:

Find the right backup tool

First off, you should find the right tool that meets your expectations and falls in line with opportunities. While searching for a program, consider the available budget, the backup sessions' frequency, and whether you need to backup specific data. It is possible to copy and store data in a safe space manually; however, applying a technological solution to save money and boost the backups' accuracy and consistency is more effective.

Plan the restoration process in case of data loss

It would be best if you prepared yourself for any possible outcomes of the data loss, and a restoration plan is one of your options as well. According to statistics, the average cost of downtime accounts for $5,600 per minute, while only 6% of the companies without the restoration plan managed to stay afloat after the data loss.

It is critical to have a step-by-step procedure to restore the database when so many factors can undermine your sensitive data's security.

Check out an amazing Salesforce video tutorial here: Data Import: Clean and Prepare Your Data Using Excel | Salesforce

Schedule backups

Backup tools allow you to schedule daily/weekly/monthly operations depending on your needs and data specifics. So, the enterprises with a decent backup policy have a more organized data restoration procedure. It is better to set automated and regular backups, especially when you need to refresh and add something new to your database weekly. Besides, such factors as data corruption or human error can happen practically every day, so why not be cautious?

Backup of both data and metadata

Finally, data backup is most potent when you backup both data and metadata. While data is anything from descriptions, explanations, and measurements related to data assents, metadata is deeper information that provides you with a context on said data. Therefore, both are vital if you need to make a copy of important information and keep it in a safe place.

Wrapping Up

Users have many options to store data today, yet sometimes people underestimate the importance of Salesforce data backup. There are too many factors that put sensitive information at threat. Therefore, remember several practices that can make your life and the restoration data process easier: find the right tool, develop a restoration strategy, plan backups, and make copies of both data and metadata.