Data management and security go hand-in-hand to ensure data protection that empowers enterprises to maximize the potential to grow fast and expand. Data is the lifeblood of businesses, and its protection is critical to maintaining business continuity and better performance. Therefore, data backup Salesforce is an essential component of

Enterprise-class data management that ensures the recovery and reuse of your Salesforce application seamlessly, anytime and anywhere.

DevOps and Salesforce users need to develop a strategy for creating a routine for backing up data at regular intervals as part of data management, the driving force behind all sizes and types of businesses.

This article focuses on the best practices in backing up Salesforce, which begins by understanding the differences between the data types.

Types of data

Under the hood of data is the Metadata, and you must understand how these are different and what is included in each backup method.

Data - The most visible data refers to all business records generated during business operations. These include all data related to Contacts, Accounts, Opportunities, Leads, Contracts, Cases, and other documents. Data also includes your files, content, records, and Chatter.

Metadata - All configuration settings come under the umbrella of Metadata and include page layouts, custom fields, custom code like Visualforce and Apex, Dashboards, and reports.

Data vulnerability

Data deletion, accidentally or otherwise, is not the only type of data loss that you might encounter. Data alteration can be as harmful as data deletions that can cause an immense setback for businesses. Sometimes, situations compel users to commit mistakes unknowingly that they realize later. For example, there are numerous instances when, despite the best intentions, administrators and users inadvertently modify records when using Data Loader, a versatile Salesforce tool.

In the same way as accidentally deleting or modifying records, there are high chances that developers, administrators, and users with advanced permissions might alter your configuration settings, such as modifying page layouts, deleting or adding custom fields, or modifying a custom code, or changing Dashboards and Reports.

Best practices in data backup

To take care of any eventualities arising from the incidents described above, all users must comply with the data backup strategy of their organization and keep a regular backup of their data. In addition, it is essential to do appoint-in-time data backup manually before proceeding with any significant organizational project. A backup of all data and Meta data gives you complete peace of mind and rids you of the fear of losing data or data becoming inaccessible. Even if any unwanted changes happen to the configuration settings, having a copy of Metadata can help to restore the earlier settings.

Restoring data in Salesforce manually

The Data Loader and API are essential Salesforce tools allowing customers to restore their data manually. However, it is necessary to note the sequence of data stored during backup to preserve the connection and relationships to related records.

Besides several native options for backing up data in Salesforce, you can opt for several third-party options if you need a more comprehensive approach.