Managing Backup Storage Costs Effectively

Your data has a temperature, and you are wasting money if you don't know it. Hot, Warm, and Cold data. Storing data is not just about saving it and forgetting about it. You need to understand how often you will access the data and how long you should keep it. You can group data into three categories based on how often it's accessed: 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 • What It Is: Data that you need often and fast. • Where It's Stored: On fast storage like SSDs or even in memory. • Examples: Things like product recommendations or cached search results. • Cost: Storing hot data is expensive, but accessing it is cheap because it's always ready to go. 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 • What It Is: Data you access occasionally, like once a month. • Where It's Stored: On slower but still accessible storage, e.g., Amazon S3 Infrequently Accessed Tier, Google Nearline. • Examples: Older logs or data that are not as frequently needed. This could be data that you use for reporting or analytics. • Cost: It is cheaper to store than hot data, but accessing it costs a bit more. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 • What It Is: Data are rarely accessed and primarily kept for long-term storage. • Where It's Stored: On the cheapest storage options, like HDDs or cloud archive services. • Examples: Old backups or records that you keep for compliance reasons. • Cost: It is very cheap to store but can be slow and expensive to access. Retention is a different animal, explains "how long you should keep data" and is based on 4 pillars: 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 Is this data critical for you, or can it be recreated if needed? You should keep Important data for longer. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 For data you store in fast-access places like memory, set a time limit (TTL) for how long it stays there before moving it to cheaper storage. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Some laws require you to keep data for a certain amount of time or delete it after a specific period. Make sure your data storage practices follow these rules. 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 Storing data costs money. To save on storage costs, you can automate deleting or archiving data when it's no longer needed. Don't just store data—manage it. Save this for your next Storage Decision.

Never delete data. Here's why — and how to archive it properly. IT teams are TERRIFIED of deleting data. They're right to be. That "useless" sensor data from 2019 is now gold for AI training. Those old transaction logs? Perfect for fraud detection models. The customer behavior data you almost purged? Your marketing team's new secret weapon. But the problem is, most companies think it's delete vs. keep everything in production. There's a third option: intelligent archiving. Here's a simple 3-tier strategy we use for our clients: Hot: Last 30 days on fastest storage Warm: 31-365 days on medium storage Cold: 365+ days in archive databases Industry data shows the newer your data, the more frequently it's accessed. You check last 30 days constantly, last year occasionally, 5+ years ago almost never. Create unified views that union your tables. Apps hit the same table name, but with proper partitioning, SQL Server efficiently targets relevant data without scanning unnecessary records. Query today's data? It ignores the 90% sitting in archive. You could see results like: - Query times: 15 seconds → 2 seconds - Production backup windows: 8 hours → 45 minutes - Storage costs: Cut in half - Minimal code changes required Never delete. Always archive. Your database should be a sprinter not a walker. Keep frequently accessed data close and fast. Archive everything else to cheaper storage. Data is the new oil. Don't throw it away — refine it.

Salesforce charges $3,000 per year for just 10 GB of additional storage. 😳 (The hidden impact nobody talks about) As your Salesforce org grows, so does your data. Let’s break down the potential costs: Official Salesforce storage costs: 💰 Data Storage: $125 per month for 500MB 💰File Storage: $41.5 per month per 10GB (4.15$/GB) Just for reference - Let's take Amazon S3 as an alternative storage option: 💰 Up to 50TB: $0.023 per GB per month. See the difference? Salesforce charges 180 times more for the same amount. Sure, your company might have negotiated a better price... It's still probably sucks. Here are the options you have to deal with it: 1. Ignore it and hope Salesforce never sends the dreaded email. 2. Buy storage from Salesforce. Hey, if you have extra cash, maybe invest it in something innovative? 3. Plan strategically—ensure no unnecessary data is created, and clean up what’s already there. Please do number 3. Please. Here’s how to handle reaching the limits: Data storage (records): → Delete old records. Start with no longer needed data (Is that 5-year-old "Cancelled" order really necessary?) → Archive data externally: Keep your org lean by moving less frequently accessed data off-platform. → Consolidate with summary objects: Maintain reporting capabilities while using less space. → Define retention policies: Whether custom or through an app—set it, forget it, and let automation handle the rest. → Monitor storage usage: Identify which objects are storage hogs and optimize the related processes. → Consider moving data to a "Big Object". It has limitations but doesn’t count against any storage limits. File storage: → Store large files externally and link them to Salesforce. → Use file compression techniques. → Do so with either a custom process or 3rd party tools. Effective storage management not only saves costs but also improves system performance and user experience. What strategies are you using to manage your Salesforce storage? Share your thoughts below! --- Like this post? Like 👍 | Comment ✍ | Repost ♻️