A Detailed Analysis of Salesforce File Storage Cost and its Solutions
Picture this: Your Salesforce instance is running smoothly, sales teams are collaborating effortlessly, and customer interactions are being logged without a hitch. But then—boom! A notification pops up – Storage Limit Reached. Now, you’re faced with a dilemma: either pay hefty fees for additional storage or scramble to delete files. Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Salesforce file storage cost is one of the critical challenges for organizations using the CRM for their operations. Salesforce is an incredible platform, but storage costs can creep up on businesses, turning into a silent budget drainer. You might be getting the best outcome in managing customer details through Salesforce, but in a highly likely scenario, you might also be spending an unexpected amount of money on it. Let’s break down how Salesforce file storage costs work, what’s eating up your space, and how you can cut costs without compromising data access. How Much Does Salesforce File Storage Cost? Salesforce provides a default file storage limit that varies by edition. For Professional, Enterprise, Performance, and Unlimited Editions, the base allocation is 10 GB per organization. The Essentials Edition, however, is allocated 1 GB of file storage per org. If your organization exceeds these limits, additional file storage can be purchased at $5 per GB per month. While this Salesforce file storage pricing may seem manageable initially, continuous uploading of files—such as contracts, images, emails, and reports—can quickly escalate storage needs and associated costs, potentially diverting funds from more strategic business initiatives Salesforce File Storage Calculation Understanding how storage is calculated is the first step to managing it effectively. Salesforce storage costs depend on the type and volume of data stored. This means organizations must frequently evaluate their file storage usage to prevent unnecessary expenses. Organizations can calculate these costs using the following steps: Check Storage Usage: Navigate to Setup > Storage Usage in Salesforce to see how much space is consumed by files, records, and Big Objects. Identify High-Storage Objects: Evaluate which files, attachments, and records are consuming the most space. Calculate Additional Storage Costs: If usage exceeds the default limit, multiply the extra storage needed (in GB) by Salesforce’s additional storage cost ($5 per GB per month). Assess Growth Rate: Estimate future file storage needs based on historical growth trends. Implement Cost-Effective Strategies: Consider external storage solutions like XfilesPro to avoid excessive Salesforce storage fees. On-Demand Webinar The Art Of Managing Salesforce File Storage Cost Effectively Get the Webinar! Hidden Costs of Using Salesforce While the upfront costs of Salesforce storage are clear, there are several hidden expenses that organizations often overlook: Salesforce data & file storage limits Salesforce storage costs can escalate quickly. Data storage is 10 GB plus 20 MB per user, while file storage varies by edition. Extra storage costs $125/month per 500 MB (data) and $5/month per GB (files). Salesforce service & support costs A paid Premier Success Plan exists where Salesforce offers 24/7 assistance, faster 1-hour responses, & access to an expanded Salesforce training course for an additional 20% of the license list price in case of Professional & Enterprise editions. Salesforce CRM access via mobile devices Salesforce users can choose to avail the complete & upgraded version of Salesforce Mobile. It is free for customers of the Salesforce Unlimited edition, but comes at a price of an additional $50 per user per month for the users of Professional & Enterprise editions. API call limits Users are advised to exercise due diligence when using their API calls. In case they go over their daily API call limit (15,000+ per organization per day), they are left with two options: either purchase additional user licenses or upgrade all existing users to the most expensive Salesforce Performance edition. Offline access A Salesforce native service called ‘briefcase’ offers both online and offline versions of the CRM services, though it still has several limitations like lack of cases, forecast & reports. For Salesforce customers with the Enterprise & Unlimited plans, briefcase is available free of charge. For users with the Salesforce Professional edition, it comes at an additional price of $25 per user per month. Types of Salesforce Storage and Their Functions Salesforce organizes storage into three primary categories, each impacting costs differently: File Storage File storage in Salesforce is used to store attachments, images, documents, and any files uploaded by users. This is one of the biggest contributors to storage consumption, especially for industries that manage a high volume of contracts, PDFs, media files, and reports. Since file storage has a fixed limit based on edition, exceeding this can lead to additional costs unless files are archived or stored externally. Get the detailed Salesforce File Storage Guide Data Storage Data storage refers to the storage space occupied by Salesforce records, including standard and custom objects. This includes customer data, transactional records, and any structured data within Salesforce. Objects such as Accounts, Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, and Cases consume data storage. Businesses with high transactional volume need to monitor this closely to avoid exceeding limits. Big Object Storage Big Objects are designed to store and manage massive datasets while keeping performance optimal. Unlike regular data storage, Big Objects allow organizations to maintain historical records without consuming traditional storage space. These are commonly used for long-term data retention, audit logs, and large-scale reporting. Since they are designed for scalability, they help reduce dependency on expensive standard storage limits. Manage Salesforce File Storage Cost with XfilesPro After discussing the problems, let’s look at the solutions now. Imagine having a limitless, cost-effective storage solution while still enjoying seamless access to all your files within Salesforce. That’s exactly what XfilesPro offers. Instead of paying for costly additional Salesforce storage, businesses can optimize file management using XfilesPro’s external file storage integrations. Here’s how XfilesPro helps businesses tackle Salesforce file storage costs effectively: Eliminate Additional Storage Fees: Offload files to external cloud platforms like AWS, SharePoint, Google Drive, and OneDrive, reducing reliance on costly Salesforce storage. Automatic File Archiving: Set up smart rules to automatically archive older or
Salesforce SharePoint Integration Challenges
Salesforce SharePoint integration challenges are quite common for Salesforce users. Many users experience a lack of security or issues in the data flow. But the good news is that they are not permanent and you don’t have to fret about it. If you’re trying to integrate your org with SharePoint and have faced errors or challenges, we’re here to help. We will guide you through overcoming the challenges you face during integration, post-integration, and everything around it. Salesforce is the #1 Customer Relationship Management software platform, with a market share of 31.15%. It manages all aspects of a business, including customer data, marketing, sales, and support. The possibilities are endless when an amazing CRM like this is integrated with SharePoint, which is built for document management. This integration allows users to store large files, access them faster, enhance collaboration, reduce storage costs, maintain version control, and more. Despite the advantages, some challenges can make Salesforce SharePoint integration challenging. Why Salesforce SharePoint Integration? Salesforce is great for managing customer relationships but lacks the features required for efficient document management. Although it provides file storage space, the platform is not built for document management and hence imposes several limitations. Also read: Transform Your File Storage With Salesforce SharePoint Integration Limitations of Salesforce File Storage Document growth is a good sign for growing businesses. However, for document increase, Salesforce is not the right platform for managing them. Here’s why. File Upload Size There are two options to upload documents in Salesforce Attachment – Doc limit is 25MB File – Doc limit 2GB While Salesforce supports uploading smaller files, larger files need to be compressed. This adds extra manual steps and can reduce the clarity of high-resolution photos and images. Storage Constraintse Salesforce provides limited file storage space as a part of its standard package. For most editions, the allotted space is 10 GB of default storage and an additional 2 GB per user license. This might seem like enough space, but this space is occupied in a blink of an eye for growing businesses. The accumulation of files impacts platform performance increasing the time of file retrieval. Inefficient File Management Let’s say you bought additional space. But you see Salesforce is not a file management platform. While it provides space for files, it lacks file management features such as customized folder structures and tagging. Its limits with file sharing and file uploads make file management harder than it should be. Cost Implications The price of expanding storage in Salesforce is notably high compared to external storage options, such as SharePoint, Amazon S3, or Google Drive. This creates a cost-versus-efficiency dilemma for businesses that need scalable solutions. Also Read: Salesforce File Storage Limit Exceeded? Some Use Cases & Tips to Prevent Hitting Storage Limits Limitations of SharePoint While SharePoint is a robust document management platform, using it independently without Salesforce integration presents challenges: Lack of Unified Data Using SharePoint and Salesforce as separate platforms means customer data and documents are not centralized, reducing operational efficiency. Version Control Issues Without integration, syncing data between the two platforms can lead to duplicate files and outdated document versions. Manual Processes Moving files manually between platforms is time-consuming and prone to errors, particularly for high-volume file transfers. Salesforce SharePoint Integration Challenges If your business has faced these challenges then integrating Salesforce with SharePoint could be the ideal solution. However, an uninvestigated integration process can further complicate the situation. Here are some implications you might want to consider with tips on how to resolve them: Complex Setup Process Problem: The integration often requires technical expertise, and issues may arise with authentication, permissions, and API limits during the setup phase. For companies without such resources, it’s not practical to hire a dedicated expert. This adds extra costs or makes it challenging to handle the setup independently. Solution: With these challenges in mind, we’ve developed XfilesPro, an AppExchange application that seamlessly integrates Salesforce and SharePoint. The app integrates with minimal to zero coding requirements. It is easy to set up and user-friendly; hence, no technical expertise is needed. Plus, our dedicated technical team is always available to help you fix integration errors to ensure everything runs smoothly. Benefit: The integration process is easy, making XfilesPro a go-to option for small to medium-sized enterprises. With 24/7 dedicated customer support and over 100 positive customer reviews on AppExchange, we are always here to guide your business through document management chaos. Data Security Concerns Problem: Poor encryption standards or unsecured APIs can lead to data breaches, putting sensitive information at risk. The chances of unauthorized access are always at stake, and businesses simply cannot afford the consequences of a breach, whether it’s financial loss, reputational damage, or legal consequences. Solution: XfilesPro simplifies and secures Salesforce and SharePoint online integration eliminating common data security risks. The solution has role-based access control to ensure that only authorized users can access specific files. Benefit: All data is safe with secure access controls, so only the right people can view files. This helps businesses maintain compliance, protect their reputation, and avoid potential financial or legal penalties. Lack of Automation Problem: The manual process of transferring, organizing, and managing files between Salesforce and SharePoint is time-consuming. This can lead to errors, misplaced files, duplicated documents, and drain valuable resources. Solution: The Auto Export feature of XfilesPro automates the transfer of files based on predefined criteria. Post migration the file synchronization feature ensures that documents are synced and updated across both platforms, maintaining version control. Benefit: This boosts collaboration by ensuring that everyone has access to the latest files, making teamwork smoother and reducing confusion. Customization Limitations Problem: While SharePoint integration solutions for Salesforce offer great benefits, they do come with certain limitations, especially when it comes to customization. Every business has certain customizations that have to be done to best fit their needs. This can lead to increased complexity, longer setup times, and higher costs. Solution: The folder structure, role-based access, tagging, search filters, and file-sharing features are
Know the Benefits of Integrating SharePoint with Salesforce
Salesforce and SharePoint are two of the most widely used platforms by businesses worldwide. The former is a leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, while the latter excels in document management and collaboration. When connected, these two platforms offer extraordinary benefits; organizations can unlock a host of benefits to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall business productivity. We will go in-depth at the key advantages of integrating SharePoint with Salesforce and how XfilesPro can make this process seamless and efficient. What is SharePoint Integration In Salesforce? Salesforce is a CRM and SharePoint is for storage, and together they make a pair that supports effortless file and data management, enabling seamless data exchange and streamlined workflows between the two platforms. The integration allows users to store, manage, and share Salesforce documents directly within SharePoint, leveraging SharePoint’s advanced document management capabilities while maintaining Salesforce’s CRM functionality. Here’s what connecting data flow between these two systems will get you: File Sharing & Storage: Automatically store and share Salesforce-generated documents like contracts, invoices, and proposals in SharePoint. Collaboration: Teams can collaborate on files stored in SharePoint while associating them with Salesforce records. Access Control: Manage permissions for documents via SharePoint while keeping them linked to Salesforce data. But, are these factors sufficient to drive the integration process? The amount of time and resources required to link Salesforce with SharePoint should be proportional to the benefits you receive. That’s why, you list down the limitations that are sure to come up when your business scales and Salesforce can’t keep up! Limitations of Managing Documents within Salesforce Although Salesforce boasts nearly 1.5 million customers (as of 2024), it still does not support vast storage options simply because it is not a repository. You need to shell out money, that too a huge amount, for extra space that can run out quickly enough. Some more limitations include: Basic Document Management: Native file management lacks advanced features like version control and detailed permissions. Inefficient Collaboration: Sharing and collaborating on files is less intuitive compared to dedicated document management platforms like SharePoint. Record and File Size Limits: The maximum storage size for PDFs is 100MB and 5GB for CSV. Similarly, the file size limit is 100 MB or 32 MB for zipped files. Visualization and Sharing: Standard Salesforce tools offer limited visualization and sharing options, which are often difficult to grasp for non-technical users. Technical Expertise: As a CRM, Salesforce is often considered too complex for users who are not aware of technical jargon and workflows. Possible Integration Complexities: Although Salesforce offers multiple integration options, it can still be arduous to implement connections in some cases. Clearly, you can’t forgo every drawback. But when it comes to your business data management, you can rely on XfilesPro to eliminate all these roadblocks easily. One way to do it is by integrating SharePoint with Salesforce, which is a quick and effortless process when done using XfilesPro Top 7 Benefits of Integrating Salesforce with SharePoint Besides the obvious increase in ROI and better data management, the advantages of connecting SharePoint and Salesforce are: Detailed Reporting and Analytics Analysis and documentation is an important part of any data management process. And when it comes to handling that data in CRM, this action becomes much more critical. Integration of Salesforce with SharePoint allows businesses to generate comprehensive reports that combine CRM data with document management insights. For example, businesses that use Salesforce with SharePoint find it easy to analyze customer purchase contracts and associated documents. By combining CRM data with document usage insights, they generate detailed reports that reveal customer behavior trends, aiding targeted marketing strategies and boosting sales. Better File Security Every customer/business data comes with an advantage, but that needs to be protected. File security within the CRM or your external storage option is necessary to avoid breaches or non-compliance. SharePoint offers advanced security features, including encryption, permission settings, and compliance tools. When added with Salesforce, it ensures sensitive documents are stored securely, reducing the risk of data breaches. Easy Collaboration A globalized workforce means multiple teams and simultaneous reviews. If your team also works together to create and review documents, limiting them due to lack of version control is a bad business decision. With the integration in place, your team can collaborate in real time and work together on a single document without missing critical information. So, if your global sales team uses Salesforce for customer data and SharePoint for collaboration, integration allows them to access and update proposals linked to Salesforce opportunities in real time. Compliance Friendly Globally, data regulations change every year if not every day. If you move deeper down, these guidelines are segregated based on business verticals, such as healthcare, digital, and financial. Using SharePoint’s compliance tools ensures documents adhere to industry regulations, and integration with Salesforce provides an audit trail for all document activities. Streamlined Workflows Speaking of automation, another Salesforce and SharePoint integration advantage is streamlined workflows, such as automatic document transfers, approval processes, and task notifications. Suppose your legal firm generates client agreements in Salesforce. These agreements are automatically transferred to SharePoint, where predefined workflows are sent for review and approval. XfilesPro acts as the bridge between SharePoint and Salesforce to carry out tasks, like automatic file transfers, bi-sync of files, and folder structuring. Enhanced Load Balancing When you offload heavy document storage to SharePoint, Salesforce’s performance improves, leading to faster data retrieval and better user experiences. Businesses experiencing slow Salesforce performance due to heavy storage usage can integrate with SharePoint to offload large document files to improve Salesforce query response times and overall system performance. Scalability and Productivity All the above benefits of integrating Salesforce with SharePoint lead to one singular point—your business is scaling. It allows businesses to handle growing volumes of data and documents without compromising on performance or storage limits. Further, having centralized access to all files through Salesforce enables team members to save hours previously spent on locating, sharing, and managing documents. All of these jobs are
Organize to Optimize Your Salesforce Documents With XfilesPro
Managing files in Salesforce can feel like an uphill battle, scrolling through alerts, stressing over storage limits, trying to make sense of Salesforce’s file storage costs and confusing questions can leave anyone feeling frazzled. If you’re feeling that pressure right now, trust me, you’re not alone. Many companies hit that same wall. The good news is, there are smart ways to handle Salesforce storage that can totally change the game. With the right approach, you can take control of your documents and put those headaches behind you. Why Is Salesforce File Storage So Tricky? Before we dive into how to manage it, let’s talk about why managing a large volume of files within Salesforce can be so frustrating. Salesforce isn’t designed as a file storage system; its primary focus is on customer relationship management (CRM) and streamlining business processes. This means it lacks some features dedicated to large storage solutions, leading to challenges for users who expect those capabilities. Once you exceed Salesforce’s file storage limits, you’ll hit with additional storage costs, which can add up quickly. According to a recent report 361.6 billion emails are sent worldwide every day, these emails are expected to contain attachments such as PDFs, images, and more. Businesses that utilize Salesforce often have these attachments stored in Salesforce’s primary file storage for varied reasons. This combined with the different types of files (Documents, Images, videos etc) uploaded through web portals or generated from third-party applications can become tricky to handle without a proper structure. Although Salesforce has Files Connect to connect external platforms for file migration, it has a few limitations. Accessibility is one of the biggest challenges, with limited search capabilities making it difficult to locate documents efficiently. Users are often restricted to basic search functions, causing frustration, especially in larger organizations dealing with massive volumes of documents. In a collaborative environment where multiple users might update the same documents simultaneously, version conflicts, outdated edits, and change tracking of who did what and when add another layer of complexity. Collaboration sometimes means giving external access, but with the limited features of the Salesforce solution, this can get complicated. Without proper permission controls, the risk of unauthorized access and confusion over who can do what increases. Wondering If Your Business Needs a Document Management Solution? Read to Learn More. XfilesPro’s Path to Better Document Management: From Organize to Optimize XfilesPro is a robust Salesforce file management solution designed to seamlessly integrate Salesforce and your preferred external storage (SharePoint, AWS S3, Google Drive, OneDrive) facilitating document migration. XfilesPro is like a digital personal assistant you thought you never needed. It starts by giving you the freedom to organize your files in a way that works best for you. Whether you prefer the simplicity of Default folders or the tailored approach of Custom folders, XfilesPro adapts to your needs. Within these folders, you can create subfolders, and the automation of templates allows you to store documents in designated subfolders automatically. XfilesPro makes sure your files are organized in their designated folders, but when you’re managing tons of documents, finding what you need can feel overwhelming. That’s where Tagging steps in! With Manual, Auto, or Custom tagging, you can easily label each file, making it simple to find what you need. Documents are a key part of any business, and keeping sensitive information safe from unauthorized access is really important. That’s why securing these documents is so crucial. With XfilesPro Folder/File Preserve, your important documents are protected from accidental loss. To keep your documents safe, the user access control feature allows you to give specific access levels to the right people, safeguarding data, and preventing unauthorized access. This means documents can be effortlessly shared within teams and with external users, while you maintain control over their access, whether it’s to preview or view files within Salesforce, or to have direct access to external cloud storage. The XfilesPro Bi-sync feature keeps files and folders synced across both platforms. When users make changes to a document, these updates are automatically reflected in both Salesforce and the connected external cloud storage, ensuring everything stays up-to-date regardless of where the changes are made. So, how does this organization actually optimize your Salesforce usage? It’s simple. By moving files to external storage you can save on storage costs, with XfilesPro integration you don’t have to pay for the space you don’t need. More storage efficiency, more savings. Additionally, this file migration enhances platform performance by reducing load times when accessing or processing documents. All your files will finally be in one place, giving you a single, organized hub where you can easily view them. Whether they come from AppExchange apps, Field Service Lightning app, Experience Cloud, or elsewhere, everything is organized and easy to access. This means less time searching and more time to get things done. Real-time synchronization across both platforms maintains different document versions. It ensures that users with access to the documents are working on the updated version, and fosters better collaboration between team members. This increases efficiency and leads to better and faster decision-making. This is just a glimpse of what XfilesPro can do. Beyond seamless file migration, user access control, folder/file syncing, and storing files in a structured way, XfilesPro can do more. XfilesPro has been in the industry for over a decade and has taken document management to new heights across a wide range of sectors. By integrating XfilesPro with Salesforce, organizations have experienced significant ROI, saved time, and improved user experiences. Book a demo with our experts today to explore the full potential of XfilesPro. Poornima GConnecting businesses with top SaaS and CRM solutions through engaging content All Posts
7 Reasons Why You Should Store Your Salesforce Files In SharePoint, From An #AwesomeAdmin’s Perspective.
Most Salesforce Admins do not believe when we say that managing documents in Salesforce can be easy and automated. We got them completely as we understand that Salesforce is a bit tricky when it comes to file management. Because the CRM platform comes with limited file storage space, the overgrowth of the files would fail the admins to operate the application effectively. Migrating files from Salesforce to an external storage is its only solution. If you’re already using SharePoint, the popular storage system, don’t look further than it as SharePoint provides a lot of advancements to store your Salesforce files externally. Before discussing those factors, let’s take a brief look at SharePoint. A Little Light on SharePoint SharePoint is a proprietary, web-based collaborative platform that integrates natively with Microsoft 365. It’s one of the most popular document management and storage platforms today with over 100 million users worldwide. SharePoint has been making it easy for customers to set up a centralized, password-protected space for safe and secure document sharing, downloading, editing, and uploading. Now, the point of discussion is on the integration of SharePoint and your Salesforce. As you already know, you need to partner with a solution provider for this. To make your life easier, we’d recommend you use XfilesPro, the #1 file management app for Salesforce.XfilesPro integrates Salesforce with your SharePoint without even the need for an additional connector. And post-integration, the application automatically migrates your files from Salesforce to SharePoint in pre-defined intervals and by following the hierarchy of the files. The best part is that apart from SharePoint, XfilesPro also supports other file storage platforms such as AWS S3, OneDrive, Google Drive, and on-premise platforms. With that note on the functionality of XfilesPro, let’s discuss the seven factors why you need to store your Salesforce files in SharePoint by leveraging the power of XfilesPro. Learn why XfilesPro is the most preferred app to connect Salesforce and SharePoint for file storage here. A Slim Wallet Solution Trust us, purchasing additional storage space from Salesforce might break your bank! When sharing files to SharePoint externally, you are saving a huge amount of money associated with the purchase of extra storage space from Salesforce. In addition, as XfilesPro eliminates the need for an additional connector to integrate both platforms, you’re once again receiving an opportunity to save pennies. A Huge Storage Suite With the SharePoint-Salesforce Integration, the need for your file storage out of the Salesforce environment is satisfied with the huge storage capacity provided by SharePoint. The biggest urge for file storage optimization is met. End-to-end Process Automation With the power of XfilesPro, you can automate your file migration process and eliminate manual efforts behind managing files in SharePoint. At the same time, if you want to opt for the manual workflow, XfilesPro also provides the ability to carry out file management in your preferred way at your convenience. Leveraging SharePoint Tagging In search of the right file, sometimes naming conventions will also not be a best practice in a huge directory of files. But with the feature of SharePoint tagging, XfilesPro allows you to apply metadata labels or tags to documents, list items, and other types of content in SharePoint. These tags can be used to categorize and organize content based on different attributes, such as keywords, topics, or themes. Discover how a two-decade-old IT firm automated the migration of Salesforce Files to SharePoint with XfilesPro. Future-proof Security of Files Firstly, there are certain security measures that SharePoint offers to safeguard your files within its platform. On top of that, XfilesPro delivers security expertise including Access Control and Encryption at Rest that helps you to rest assured that no unauthorized users are accessing your files. Real-time File Collaboration Since your Awesome Admin role has never experienced anything like file collaboration in Salesforce, XfilesPro gives you that golden opportunity to collaborate on files in real-time in SharePoint. This is a great chance to eliminate the endless time required for file modification by several users. Enterprise-level File Management Experience By managing Salesforce files in SharePoint with XfilesPro, you’re stepping into the modern document management world, where automation rules the game and everything is controlled by you. Explore how Salesforce-SharePoint integration helps you transform your Salesforce file storage needs here. Huh… That seems like a lot of reasons to choose SharePoint as a repository of migrated Salesforce files. But the only necessity is XfilesPro! If you wish to learn more about how to use your SharePoint platform to keep your migrated Salesforce files, schedule a demo with one of our product experts. Achieve No-code Integration Between Your Salesforce and SharePoint Discover the easiest way to connect your Salesforce with SharePoint for a Seamless Document Management Experience Download Datasheet Sambitwww.xfilespro.com
How To Auto Move Files from Salesforce’s Notes & Attachments to Your External Storage
Are you worried about exceeding the file storage limit in Salesforce? And, figured out that moving files hitting Salesforce’s Notes and Attachments to an external storage could be its solution? Yes! But you don’t know how to move files. If you’re biting your nails about the manual migration of files from the CRM platform, rest assured that it’s smooth sailing from here onwards. In this how-to blog, we are providing you with a clear-cut picture of how you can auto-move files from your Salesforce Notes and Attachments to any of your preferred external storage. Before that, let’s have a look at the Notes and Attachments in Salesforce. Notes and Attachments in Salesforce – The Unpopular Gem Salesforce files are all filled in under one single file repository in its file storage. Be it how many records you create, they all are stored under one location. Notes and attachments in Salesforce display all the files of a particular record. Also, this comes in handy with a lot of hindrances such as limited file storage space, minimal file collaboration, zero folder structure, and many more which is not an ideal solution. Big businesses always have their files incoming continuously and henceforth the above drawbacks will be some pain points that they have to come across daily. Most of the time, files get accumulated in Notes and Attachments are through; Email Attachments Third-party applications Manual upload On that brief about the Notes and Attachments feature of Salesforce, let’s look into the most recommended way of transferring files from there to your preferred external environment. How to Make the Auto Migration Possible? The best solution that has worked when it comes to moving the files from Salesforce is introducing a third-party application that helps in file automation within your Salesforce. And we have never had a better option than XfilesPro for this problem. Trust us, the perks are promising and have been proven effective over the years. If you are curious enough to know about XfilesPro, keep reading especially the below segment. XfilesPro: The Most Trusted File Management App for Salesforce To address your Salesforce file storage management challenges, XfilesPro automatically moves files from the Notes and Attachments section of Salesforce to your preferred external storage such as SharePoint, Google Drive, OneDrive, AWS S3, or On-premises platform (SFTP, Network Drive, SMB) so that your CRM platform will remain unburdened of a massive volume of files. And, what about the story post-migration? You are going to maximize the ROI by leveraging the advancements through the next-gen capabilities of XfilesPro. Preferred Folder Structure Formation This is one of the prominent benefits that XfilesPro provides to make your life easier. Since Salesforce does not offer a folder structure option for the users, XfilesPro helps you arrange files in your preferred format in folders. So, you can easily access files without any hassle in the external storage platform. Learn more about XfilesPro’s Smart Folder Structure capability here. Utmost File Security To ensure the files are untouched by unauthorized users in the external environment, XfilesPro delivers an Access Control capability. Through this, you can control who can view, edit, and download the migrated files so that you no longer need to be worried about the security of your files. Real-time File Collaboration XfilesPro understands that it takes forever to get a file modified by many people. When the files pass from user to user for their contributions, the time period that it takes is enormous and it will affect the productivity of people. However, with XfilesPro, both your internal teams and external users can collaborate on files in real time as we provide a centralized file management experience. Discover how to revolutionize your Salesforce file collaboration with XfilesPro here. Increased Cost-effectiveness You don’t need to purchase additional storage space from Salesforce anymore (which comes with hefty charge). Since XfilesPro eliminates the huge spend on the purchase, you can save your pennies. That’s for now! Still, there are a lot of benefits that are unsaid about moving files from Notes and Attachments to the external storage. If you’d love to learn about how our application can help your business, get in touch with us today. AMARLAL
Salesforce File Storage Limit Exceeded? Some Use Cases & Tips to Prevent Hitting Storage Limits
In today’s world where businesses are becoming multifarious, customers are demanding personalized services. To consistently meet evolving customer demands & stay ahead of competitors, technology adoption at an early stage is elemental. Salesforce, being the #1 CRM in the world has been embraced by thousands of businesses around the globe to drive forth innovation & digital transformation. However since it is a multi-tenant environment, there are certain restrictions in place to maintain the speed & performance of the platform. Though maintaining separate files & accounts for each customer is beneficial for delivering personalized experiences, it results in a large volume of files accumulating within Salesforce, which takes up a lot of storage space. Most businesses experience Salesforce storage limits exceeding within the first two years. Managing large volumes of files in Salesforce is a daunting task that brings a lot of related challenges. We will highlight a few common industry use cases where businesses found it difficult to manage a sheer number of files in Salesforce. We will also discuss the strategies they implemented to optimize their Salesforce file storage to prevent hitting their storage limits. Before discussing the Salesforce file storage challenges & solutions, let’s have a look at how much file storage space you get in Salesforce. Also Read: Top 3 Ways To Prevent Hitting The Salesforce Storage Limit In Your Org What are Different Types of Storage in Salesforce? Salesforce classifies storage into three key categories: Data Storage, File Storage, and Big Objects – each playing a crucial role in managing business data efficiently. Data Storage: This is where Salesforce stores records from standard and custom objects like Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and Cases. As businesses scale, the increasing volume of records can quickly consume available storage. File Storage: This category is dedicated to attachments, Salesforce Files, Chatter files, and documents. While essential for document management, Salesforce’s storage limits can make handling large volumes of files a challenge. Big Objects: Designed for massive datasets, Big Objects enable businesses to store and manage billions of records without affecting CRM performance. They are ideal for archiving historical data, system logs, and large-scale records that need long-term retention. Handling data and file storage in Salesforce are completely different. In this blog let’s understand Salesforce file storage, what contributes to Salesforce file storage, and the key factors to consider when managing it. The Salesforce Files (Formerly Chatter Files) Before Salesforce Files there were the Chatter Files. Chatter is majorly focused on enabling users to collaborate seamlessly and enable easier cooperation through a social enterprise environment. Files are an intrinsic part of document collaboration, hence, Salesforce files integrate Chatter with Salesforce CRM Content and allow users to access and share the files stored there. Using the Salesforce files, individuals can upload files privately until they have decided upon sharing them. They can also subscribe to files and get notified when a file has been updated. The process of sharing can be done in the following ways: Sharing with an individual Sharing with the existing groups of people inside Salesforce Sharing with link By indirectly, attaching a Salesforce file to the Chatter feed of a record, as mentioned previously The Salesforce documentation is true that you also have control over the access permissions. Files in Chatter can be: Completely private – No access at all Shared with viewer permissions – Viewer permission to access Editable by collaborators – Collaborator Fully shared – With the owner Salesforce CRM Content This option is often used to store marketing materials or support-related documents. It allows you to store templates, standard marketing collaterals, and corporate files that sales or support teams can use when interacting with customers. Team members can easily customize these templates and use them per their requirements. Additionally, you can be part of multiple libraries and access them through the Libraries tab. This is not it, you can also see them under the Salesforce Files tab. Users can also attach a file stored in a Library, directly to the Chatter Feed of a record. One drawback that can be registered here, is that you cannot have nested folders. Each Library will be like a flat folder in which you are not allowed to have sub-folders. The Salesforce Attachments One more traditional way of storing Salesforce files is Salesforce Attachment which allows you to attach files and documents to individual records. This works well when short sales cycles are generated, with a small number of files per record. The file size is also limited to 25 MB per file. Posting a file in the Chatter feed will automatically show it in the notes and attachment section of that specific record. The Documents This is where you can store web resources like logos, HTML banners, and also Visualforce materials. These are generally such resources, which you plan on using for email campaigns and also for any images that are to be used in a template. How Did Your Salesforce File Storage Limit Exceed? Let’s have a look at how companies generate files and what consequences they face once they accumulate a large volume of files in their Salesforce org. With a huge volume of old or unused files If you have been using Salesforce for a long time, you must find a large chunk of obsolete files. These files might be related to old customers, closed cases, lost accounts, old email attachments, etc. Though your sales or service team does not require these files, they reside within the app and occupy storage. This results in storage shortages over time. File generation from multiple sources If you have a huge Salesforce standard user base (sales & service) and they upload a large number of files daily, you might run out of allocated file storage space faster than usual. This might happen to specific industry customers such as healthcare, financial, logistics, legal, and insurance who deal with more documents. All these industries also deal with files that are larger in size. Files getting uploaded from community users Enterprises with community users and
Why Must Salesforce Admins Monitor Their Salesforce File Storage?
As businesses become diversified & technological advancements are made, customers demand personalized services, prompting companies to maintain separate accounts & files for each customer. Because of this, it becomes nearly impossible to manage the documents using manual methodologies which results in more automated alternatives being adopted for file management. This is where Salesforce enters the scene, helping companies provide more personalized experiences to customers. But one of the most critical aspects of running a business using Salesforce is managing the massive volume of records, data, files, & documents that are created, moved, modified, & deleted on a regular basis within the very limited storage space. Since companies deal with thousands of customers regularly, there is a constant need to keep track of the primary storage space allotted by Salesforce, when the licenses are purchased. Salesforce Storage: A Brief Introduction Primarily the Salesforce storage is classified into three categories – Salesforce file storage, Salesforce data storage, and Salesforce Big Objects. As the name suggests, file storage is the space allocated for storing important Salesforce files like files & attachments, Salesforce CRM Content, Files home, Documents tab, Chatter files (including user photos), custom File field on Knowledge articles, & assets regarding Site.com. In the same manner, data storage is allocated space used for storing Salesforce records like Cases, Accounts, Notes, Events, Quotes, Leads, Opportunities, Tasks, and much more. And, Big Objects is the space that stores and manages your massive amounts of data on the Salesforce platform. When it comes to storage limits, the Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance & Unlimited editions are allocated 10 GB for data storage, plus 20 MB additional data storage per user, and 10 GB for file storage. Only the Salesforce Essentials edition has 1 GB of primary file storage. Salesforce Orgs also offers additional file storage, decided by the number of standard user licenses: The Enterprise, Performance & Unlimited editions receive an extra 2 GB of file storage per standard user license. While the Contact Manager, Group & Professional editions receive an additional 612 MB of file storage per standard user license. Also read: Top 3 Ways to Prevent Hitting the Salesforce Storage Limit in Your Org Monitoring Salesforce File Storage: How & Why Now that you are aware of the fact that Salesforce file storage limits your Salesforce Org, it’s important to always keep a watchful eye on the primary file storage. To check the enterprise’s storage usage, users can simply navigate to Setup & click Storage Usage to view the Limit, Amount Used, Percentage Used, and usage breakdowns of each storage type. Through this, users can also learn about the Top Users of each storage type. In case your Salesforce Org’s file storage limit is exceeded due to any reason, in most cases, Salesforce allows some buffer storage above 100% usage, usually up to 125-150% of the original storage. After even that grace storage is exhausted, new files & attachments will simply not be updated in the storage. This issue has the potential to result in the malfunctioning of critical CRM processes and the consequent disruption of vital business operations. In more severe instances, if the problem with file storage is not promptly resolved, it could put the continuity, growth, and productivity of the enterprise at risk. In most cases when enterprises run out of their allocated Salesforce file storage, the admin receives a warning email from Salesforce instructing them to either clean up the Salesforce instance by deleting not frequently used files or purchase more file storage space from Salesforce. Deleting files might not be feasible for the enterprise because of various internal policies & external guidelines governing regulatory compliance & retention. And additional file storage may be out of the question owing to the hefty, recurrent costs associated with it. Also, Read: 5 Effective Strategies for Organizing and Managing Files in Salesforce XfilesPro: A Savior in Salesforce File Storage Issues The limitations of the Salesforce file storage, the need to purchase additional storage, & the struggle to migrate important files from the third-party storage (being used before implementing Salesforce) can easily be resolved by integrating the Salesforce system with an external storage platform. This is where XfilesPro, an advanced file management & external collaboration application, emerges as a much-needed savior. XfilesPro can easily help Salesforce users migrate their Salesforce files/attachments to any external Cloud of their choice, thereby freeing up space in the primary file storage. The files/attachments can be seamlessly stored in cloud platforms like SharePoint, AWS S3, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Not only does the application move files to external storage cutting down expenses, but it also gives you the ability to organize the files with a smart folder structure for easy accessibility thereby saving time and enhancing productivity. We also offer secure sharing, community file management, seamless internal and external collaboration, a user-friendly interface, and other features that simplify document management for Salesforce users. What’s more is that XfilesPro future-proofs the file storage by optimizing it, brings down the file storage costs, & offers a more seamless file management experience in Salesforce. Now XfilesPro offers document generation, which means that you can now generate documents and store them all using one platform. To know more about how XfilesPro DocuPrime can further simplify document management visit our website. Admins, you can now stop worrying about those dreaded emails notifying you that Salesforce file storage is exceeding its limits. With XfilesPro you can effortlessly manage and optimize storage without compromising access to important files. Say goodbye to storage stress and hello to smooth, hassle-free file management! Schedule a quick personalized demo to see the application in action. AMARLAL
How to Store Salesforce Files in External Storages using XfilesPro: Steps to Follow
As the #1 CRM provider in the world for over a decade now, Salesforce has been helping businesses of every size & type unlock a strategic approach for 360-degree business growth with multiple business process automation. The platform has been a real savior for leading enterprises in streamlining crucial sales, marketing, service processes, and delivering exceptional customer service with improved sales and reduced costs & time. In order to keep the application performance intact, Salesforce has certain controls in the platform and limited allocated file storage is one of the top aspects to mention. Salesforce users dealing with a lot of files and email attachments often look for a long-term file management strategy in order to optimize their file storage usage and reduce the storage costs as any additional storage provided by Salesforce comes with a hefty price. Integrating external Cloud (SharePoint, S3, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) & On-premise (Network Drive, SMB, SFTP) storage systems have proven to be one of the most adopted & efficient strategies that help Salesforce users store their files in their preferred external system with a seamless 360-degree file collaboration. XfilesPro, the #1 file management & collaboration solution for Salesforce enables Salesforce files to automatically get stored in the external storage without impacting the native file storage & keeping the usage under control. The integration not only allows Salesforce users to avoid paying high recurring additional storage costs but also enables their application up & running without any hurdle. So, let’s have a look at how a Salesforce admin can start storing their Salesforce files in any of the external storage systems using XfilesPro. Step – 1 Install XfilesPro from the AppExchange The first step is to log in to https://appexchange.salesforce.com/ & type ‘XfilesPro’ in the top search bar. Click on the XfilesPro app icon to go to the listing page. Click on ‘Get it now’ to install the app. 3.1x Step – 2 Configure (Integrate) external storage in a few clicks The next step is to configure the preferred external storage within a few clicks. Once the external system is configured, it will be seamlessly integrated with your Salesforce Org & you can proceed with the next step to start setting up XfilesPro components. 2.9x Step – 3 Set up the XfilesPro components for desired objects Once you are done setting up the external storage, next you can set up the XfilesPro components for the desired objects. Add XfilesPro components to the record page layout of the desired object from ‘Page Layout Editor’. 2.9x Step – 4 Start exporting & uploading the files to the external storage There we go. You are now all set to start uploading the files from your Salesforce Org to the external storage. This can be done with a simple drag & drop. 2.9x You can also upload multiple files at the same time. Files of any size & type (ppt, docx, pdf, xlxs, etc.) can be uploaded to the external storage as well. Watch the video to see how external storage systems (SharePoint, AWS, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, On-premise) can be integrated with Salesforce in order to store Salesforce files with seamless collaboration. XfilesPro is advanced file management & collaboration application for Salesforce that offers a wide range of file management solutions including external file storage, file collaboration, centralized content management, community collaboration, file/folder hierarchy management, multi-org file integration & large volume file migration, all with a high degree of customizable capabilities & in-built features to meet complex Salesforce file management requirements. To know more & see a live demo, please get in touch here. AMARLAL
How to Optimize Salesforce File Storage while using a Third-party Application – A customer use case
As the world’s #1 CRM provider, Salesforce has been enabling multiple businesses with its world-class Sales, Service, Marketing, Community Cloud offerings, and helping them achieve crucial business goals. In order to meet modern-day customer demands, Salesforce frequently streamlines its features in order to help enterprises address their customer needs. To enhance the overall productivity and achieve certain business benefits in less time, enterprises using a Salesforce system often take the AppExchange route. AppExchange is the world’s largest app marketplace where over 3600+ apps are listed with over 3+ million installations. When a Salesforce customer uses any third-party application or any AppExchange managed package, they usually customize it in order to integrate seamlessly with their central Salesforce system and experience a centralized content management system. However, files generating from the third-party apps that get stored in the Salesforce primary file storage is a worry. Salesforce file storage comes with limited space and running out of the storage is very obvious. As additional storage costs are always on the higher side, enterprises often look for an efficient file management strategy. This is where XfilesPro comes into the picture and helps Salesforce customers future-proof their file storage with seamless external system integration. Let’s have a look at a customer use case & see how they optimized their file storage with XfilesPro. CL Services is a leading 3PL company dedicated to delivering the highest level of service in the logistics industry. They were using a third-party transportation management solution (AppExchange Managed Package) to manage shippers, brokers, and 3PL partners. This managed package was automatically generating a lot of files internally. They have generated a massive volume of files (430GB) & reached almost 155% of their allocated file storage. They didn’t want to go for additional file storage space as the cost was on an extremely higher side. They were looking to upgrade the third-party application for better business performance, however unable to execute the same as the file storage was piling up & they have already run out of their file storage. XfilesPro helped the customer integrate their Salesforce system with Amazon S3 for external file storage with seamless integration & collaboration. With XfilesPro they migrated all their files from their Salesforce system to AWS automatically without any manual intervention. They never have to take the pain of paying additional file storage costs & were able to reduce the load in their primary file storage. After implementing XfilesPro, their file storage space drastically reduced from 155% to 72% within a few weeks. This integration provided all the options to choose a better content management system for their entire organization & collaborate with the Salesforce system. Talking about the implementation, the customer said “This is a great Salesforce App for migrating Salesforce File Storage to a cloud service such as OneDrive or Amazon Web Services. The team was extremely responsive and kept us aware of the project status the whole way. I would definitely recommend this App and will come back next time I need a project done for Data or File Storage in Salesforce.” XfilesPro offers a range of file storage options to integrate from multiple external Cloud storage platforms like (SharePoint, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox) to On-premise systems like (SMB, SFTP, Network Drive). The solution supports handling files generated from any third-party app or community portals as well. With its high customizable capability, XfilesPro helps Salesforce customers to blend it as per their unique business specifications. This makes the solution very unique and blended giving the customer amazing ROI from it. To see how XfilesPro can power up your Salesforce file management and help you optimize your storage, please request a demo. AMARLAL
