In a world where businesses are becoming multifarious, customers are demanding personalized services, & companies are at loggerheads with their rivals, it’s important to adopt technologies that guarantee rapid growth and profits. Salesforce, being one such profitable service, is adopted by businesses around the globe for driving forth innovation & digital transformation. But since it’s a multi-tenant environment, there are certain limitations in Salesforce as well.

Though maintaining separate files & accounts concerning each customer is a great way of providing customers with a customized experience, it leads to the presence of a huge volume of files in the Org, in turn putting immense pressure on the primary Salesforce file storage. Most businesses exceed their file storage limits in Salesforce after only 2-3 years of use, following which efficient Salesforce file management becomes a huge hassle for them.

In this article, we are going to discuss some common use cases where enterprises struggled with the Salesforce file management in their Salesforce Orgs. We will also discuss what techniques they implemented to be able to manage their files in a better, optimized manner well within the primary storage space allotted to them, without hitting their Salesforce file storage limits for a long time. But before that, let’s take a look at what exactly those storage limits in Salesforce are. 

Salesforce File Storage : An Overview

One of the Salesforce storage types is Salesforce file storage, the other being Salesforce data storage. As the name suggests, the primary storage space which is designated for storage & safekeeping of important Salesforce files & attachments that are generated in the Org on a regular basis is called the Salesforce file storage. Here is the list of files/attachments that can be stored here:

• Files in attachments
• Salesforce CRM Content
• Files home 
• Documents tab 
• Chatter files (including user photos) 
• Custom File field on Knowledge articles & 
• Assets regarding Site.com 

When it comes to storage limits, Salesforce editions like the Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance & Unlimited have 10 GB of primary file storage allotted to them while the Essentials edition has only 1 GB file storage. Enterprises are also granted some additional file storage, decided by the number of their standard user licenses. The basis of such allotment is given below: 

• The Contact Manager, Group & Professional editions receive an additional 612 MB file storage per standard user license.
• While the Enterprise, Performance & Unlimited editions receive an additional 2 GB file storage per standard user license.

Also read: Top 3 Ways to Prevent Hitting the Salesforce Storage Limit in your Org

How Enterprises Encounter Their Salesforce File Storage Limits?

Now that we have made you aware of the file storage limits in Salesforce, we will now discuss some typical use cases where companies grappled with various Salesforce file management challenges caused by these stringent storage limits. Below we have detailed four ways in which organizations hit their Salesforce file storage limits:

• Large Volume File Management

One of the primary reasons behind encountering Salesforce file storage limits is the presence of a large volume of historical Salesforce files & attachments in the Org. Over time files & attachments (related to cases or events that have already been closed or resolved) accumulate in the Org, taking up precious space in the primary Salesforce file storage. Such infrequently accessed files can lead to various difficulties in the file management, the topmost being confronted by the file storage limits. 

• Files Generated by Standard Users

Another common cause behind enterprises hitting their Salesforce file storage limits is improper management of files generated by the standard users of the enterprise’s Org. While taking care of day-to-day operations (like creating key records, running reports, or creating solutions), standard Salesforce users produce a huge volume of files, information & attachments which are then stored in the live instance of the primary storage space, thereby straining it.

Recommended reading: Salesforce File Management for Standard Users & Community Users: A Collaborative Strategy to Optimize Storage

• Difficulty in Managing Community Users-generated Files

Not only the enterprise’s standard users, but even it’s community portal users generate a plethora of files & attachments regularly. An organization’s community users include Salesforce users that are outside the enterprise’s Org but need to collaborate with the internal users for relevant data, content & knowledge articles. Users like employees, partners & customers fall into this category, which gives them access to custom tabs, Chatter files, & Salesforce Files. Over time the large volume of community user-generated files puts a huge strain on the primary file storage, forcing enterprises to run into their storage limits. 

• Files from Third-party AppExchange Applications

Sometimes enterprises make use of a variety of third-party AppExchange applications to take care of different operations. Even these applications produce a large volume of files & attachments that are again stored inside the primary Salesforce file storage space. The difficulties that arise because of these files created by third-party applications are another major contributor towards enterprises hitting their Salesforce file storage limits.  

Tips to Avoid Hitting the Salesforce File Storage Limits

No matter what the reason behind your enterprise hitting its Salesforce file storage limits is, there’s always a solution to it. One of the best ways to combat this challenge is to move out the files & attachments, stored in the primary file storage, to some long-term, less expensive secondary storage. Salesforce files & attachments, both historical and frequently-used, can be seamlessly migrated to different external storages of one’s choice. 

Large volume file migration (file archiving) techniques can be implemented when moving a massive volume of legacy files from the primary Salesforce storage to the secondary storage. In the same manner, the new files generated by the Org’s standard & community users on a daily basis can be scheduled to automatically move out of the primary storage at regular intervals, without manual intervention. Same can be easily done with the files produced because of the third-party AppExchange applications. 

How is XfilesPro Useful in this scenario?

Enterprises need to implement proper file management applications in their Org that can aid in the hassle-free transfer of files/attachments from the primary Salesforce file storage to the external storages. One such application is XfilesPro. This industry leading file management & external collaboration application can easily help Salesforce users migrate their Salesforce files/attachments to any external Cloud (SharePoint, AWS S3, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) or On-premise (SMB, SFTP, Network Drive) storage of their choice, thereby freeing up space in the primary file storage. 

XfilesPro not only facilitates large volume file migration of legacy Salesforce files from the internal storage to any external storage, it also is useful in managing the newer files generated by the Org’s standard & community portal users. Even the management of files generated from third-party applications becomes simple & seamless when using XfilesPro. The enterprise-grade application also brings down the file storage costs, future-proofs & optimizes the file storage, & boosts business growth.   

If you also want to know more about the application & how it can help your enterprise in seamless Salesforce file management without exceeding the Salesforce file storage limits, then please get in touch with us or schedule a quick personalized demo.