Data backup and recovery is a critical asset for your business. Without adequate data backup strategies, and the ability to recover lost data at need, you may find yourself struggling to keep your business functioning in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, all too often, business owners fall prey to these common myths involving Salesforce data backups–and their lack of knowledge could result in business catastrophe.
Myth #1: Salesforce data backups are stored in the cloud, so they’re already protected.
While Salesforce data is stored in the cloud, that doesn’t mean it’s backed up effectively. Rather, it means that the data is accessible to your employees from any location, no matter where they might be working. While it’s protected, disasters can strike that will negatively impact your data and your business, including hackers, ransomware, and natural disasters. Furthermore, Salesforce relies on a shared responsibility model for data protection: that is, you are equally responsible for ensuring that you have put a data backup module in place that will ensure the protection of your data.
A data backup can restore lost data under a variety of circumstances. When you back up your data regularly, with a comprehensive backup program that keeps your business’s specific needs in mind, you can maintain business continuity even if something happens to impact your data–and that can prevent your business from facing the high cost of data loss and all the challenges that go along with it.
Myth #2: We don’t need to back up data because we do not live in a disaster zone.
When you think of disasters that have the potential to impact your data, you may think first of natural disasters, from hurricanes to earthquakes, that could take out your physical business environment and, as a result, make it impossible for you to access your data, either temporarily or on a long-term basis.
The reality, however, is that there are a lot of situations that could result in data loss–and not all of them involve natural disasters. Ransomware attacks can strike at any business at any time. The rate of cyberattacks against small and medium businesses grew 424% in 2020. If your business gets hit by a ransomware attack, a solid data backup program could be the only thing standing between you and the loss of full functionality for your business.
Employee error can also inadvertently cause immense data loss. In fact, human error is more likely to cause data loss than any type of disaster. An employee accidentally deletes a vital file, leaving your business struggling to repair the damage. Worse, an employee might delete an entire folder or program from your network. Now what?
Salesforce data backups are the solution to many of the potential losses and disasters your business could face. If you don’t have that solid plan in place, it’s time to start working with a company that can provide you with the support you really need.
Myth #3: As long as data is backed up somewhere, we can restore it.
Salesforce data isn’t always as easy to restore as you might hope. Salesforce has become a deeply-entrenched part of your business. You have detailed Salesforce data, complete with customizations and rules for that data that determine how it needs to be restored in the event of a disaster. Often, if you fail to restore that data in the right order, it will not restore correctly.
Suppose, for example, that you have recently instituted a new data validation rule. Data created after that point will restore normally, but data from previous customers, including those who may have made purchases with your business as little as a couple of months ago, may not restore correctly if you don’t use the right recovery processes. As a result, you may find that it takes much longer than anticipated to restore your data backups if you don’t work with the right provider–and in some cases, you may have trouble restoring your data at all.
Myth #4: Salesforce data isn’t critical to the functioning of the organization, so it’s not worth the cost of backup.
Salesforce helps you track valuable customer information at every stage of the buyer’s journey, from those vital leads who might be interested in th services your business can provide to customers who have already made a purchase with your business. Its data helps your sales team, your customer service team, and your marketing team. Not only that, Salesforce has grown immensely over the past several years, and its data is often integrated into the more detailed platforms that your business needs to function: your always-available call center, your digital management platforms, and more.
The loss of that data could result in days or even weeks of dissatisfied customers who are frustrated by the lack of that connection and high degree of customer support they have come to expect from your business. Customer support and lead nurturing are both vital aspects of your business–and if you fail to back up your Salesforce data, you may quickly discover just how costly it is for your business.
Myth #5: Salesforce backup is easy, so any solution will do.
Fully backing up your Salesforce data–and recovering it–is often more difficult than you think. It requires a careful attention to detail and orchestration of your programs and systems as you carefully navigate your backup. Each time you move data out of Salesforce in bulk, it requires an API–and Salesforce may limit how much data you can actually move each day, which may make your backups even more complex. You can’t just “select all” and back up your Salesforce data, either–which means you must have an effective system that is able to navigate those challenges.
Working with the right provider for your Salesforce backups is essential. Fortunately, we can help. Contact us today to learn more about our backup solutions and how they can help you protect your Salesforce data against potential disasters that could sap your profits or leave you scrambling to restore lost data.
