Introduction
Salesforce Backup plays a crucial role in Salesforce’s suite of data management and security solutions, offering essential safeguards for data integrity and regulatory compliance within Salesforce environments. By swiftly integrating this managed package into your Salesforce org and establishing a Salesforce backup policy in just minutes, organizations can fortify their defenses against potential risks such as user errors, malicious threats, and data loss. This tool not only ensures the protection of critical company data but also enhances overall security protocols effectively.
Choosing the Right Salesforce Backup Solution
Though Salesforce offers a native Backup app designed to provide basic data protection with minimal setup and seamless integration without requiring additional installations or configurations. There are also other successful 3rd party apps for Backup Salesforce and Restore like below,
- OwnBackup: Ideal for larger organizations needing comprehensive features and robust compliance and security measures.
- Spanning Backup: Suitable for organizations looking for a balance between cost and functionality, with a focus on ease of use.
- Cloud Ally: Great for those prioritizing security and affordability with a need for reliable backup Salesforce services.
Each solution offers unique strengths tailored to different organizational needs. Choose based on your specific requirements for data protection, compliance, ease of use, and budget considerations. We will look more in detail about the Salesforce BackUp and Restore Apps, its setup and Usage
Key Features of Salesforce Backup
- Salesforce Backup Policy Configuration: Create and manage backup policies and Select custom and standard objects for backup
- Automatic Daily Backups: Initial full backup followed by daily incremental backups
- Activity Logs:View status, failures, successes, and error messages for Salesforce backup and restore jobs
- Record Restoration: Filter records by date range and Preview and restore data within the Salesforce org
- CSV Export: Export selected backup data
- Data Security: Backup Salesforce data is encrypted in transit and at rest
Salesforce Backup Process
1. Installing and Configuring Salesforce Backup
Download and Install Package
- Purchase Salesforce Backup and Install the Salesforce Backup Managed Package from the Installation URL in the Order form received.
- On the Managed Package page, select “Install for Admins Only.”
- Approve third-party access by selecting “Yes, grant access to these third-party web sites,” then click “Continue.”
- Wait for the email notification confirming the package installation.
Access Salesforce Backup Settings & Provision a Region
- Open the Salesforce Backup app and click the “Settings” tab.
- In the “Provision a Region” section, select the desired AWS region from the drop down menu, considering any data residency requirements.
- If no IP restrictions exist, click “Start.”
- If IP restrictions exist, add the Backup and Restore provisioning API IP address (3.219.91.219) to your profile’s Login IP Ranges, then click “Start.”
- Once provisioning is complete, add the listed region-specific IP addresses to your profile’s Login IP Ranges.
Set Up Connection
- In the “Set Up Your Connection” section, click “Connect” to create a secure connection using OAuth 2.0 Web Server Flow between Salesforce and data storage location.
- Click “Test Connection” to ensure it is successful.
2. Assign the Salesforce Backup License and Permission Set
Provide users access to the Salesforce Backup app. Then assign them permission to back up and restore data on specific objects.To do so, follow these steps:
Assign License: Navigate to Setup, search for “Users,” select the desired users, and assign the “Backup and Restore User Permission Set License” in Permission Set License Assignments.
Assign Permission Set: In the Users section of Setup, click on Permission Set Assignments, Add “Backup Restore” from Available Permission Sets, and save to assign permissions.
Set Object Permissions: Ensure users have the necessary permissions for objects they plan for backup /Restore.
3. Plan Strategy
4. Set Up and Schedule Backup Policy
- To set up a Salesforce Backup policy, start by selecting objects and their related records by Clicking “Create Policy” in the Backup tab. Ensure the policy creator meets all special access rules and permissions for each object.
- Enable formula field data backup if needed (note: formula values can’t be restored).
- Once objects are selected, activate the policy to run backups daily.
- For file and attachment backups, ensure the Salesforce integration user has QueryAllFiles permission and consider storage limits.
- Configure file backup settings in the Backup tab under “Configure Policy Defaults,” setting backup parameters like start date and frequency to manage storage efficiently.
5. Restore Backup Data
For restoration, navigate to the Restore tab, set filters for object, backup date, and change type, then select and compare records as needed. Proceed to choose related objects and backup versions, apply default actions for bulk updates, confirm selections, and initiate the restore process, typically completing within 10 minutes with email notification. For data export, select objects, set restore filters, view backups, and export selected records. Monitor the export status via Logs, receiving an email upon completion, with CSV files saved to Salesforce Files for import using Data Loader. For files and attachments, ensure sufficient storage, select options, confirm, review logs, download the ZIP file from email, and access exported files in Salesforce Files.
View Logs in Logs Tabs
To view and interpret Salesforce Backup logs, access the Logs tab to review job statuses, click log entries for detailed job information, and address any NOT_VISIBLE status by ensuring proper permissions, licenses, and access rules before rerunning the backup.
Key Considerations for Salesforce Backup
The below considerations are essential for effectively managing and implementing Salesforce Backup in your organization.
Objects Not Supported:
- Objects not compatible with the Bulk API
- Records stored in Big Objects
- Light Application objects and Feed objects
- Standard objects lacking system fields: CreatedDate, LastModifiedDate, SystemModstamp, and LoginDate
- History objects are not backed up as they cannot be restored.
- History tables are read-only and cannot be updated by the restore job.
Visibility Issues: If an object shows a warning icon on the Backup Policy page or is marked as NOT_VISIBLE in the backup log, it likely lacks one or more required fields, despite having all necessary permissions and access levels.
Record Updates: When a record is updated, its original record ID is maintained, and only the changed fields are restored.
Record Deletions: When a record is deleted, a new record ID is created for restoring that record.
Custom Objects in Managed Packages: If a custom object is part of a managed package not available site-wide, integration users must have a license for the object.
Backup Duration: The initial Day 0 backup of all objects will take longer than subsequent incremental backups.
Conclusion
Implementing Salesforce Backup is a smart way to protect your organization’s important data. This backup solution helps guard against risks like user mistakes, malicious actions, and data loss, while also meeting regulatory requirements. Setting it up is quick and easy, allowing you to create a strong backup policy fast. Regularly check and update your backup strategy, assign the right permissions, and monitor backup logs to keep your data secure. Use Salesforce Backup to improve your data protection and keep your business running smoothly, even if unexpected data issues arise.
