Understanding Important Factors of Salesforce File Storage
Salesforce file storage helps manage documents but can lead to high costs and limitations. With XfilesPro you can optimize your Salesforce file storage, reduce costs, and improve collaboration. Read to know more.
As a leading CRM platform, Salesforce helps businesses manage everything related to their customers, like tracking sales, solving customer problems, and running marketing campaigns all in one place. However, these activities often generate many files, such as contracts, invoices, reports, and other documents, stored in Salesforce.
While Salesforce file storage is efficient and secure, it comes with limitations. Each Salesforce org has a specific storage limit based on its edition and license type. As businesses grow and their file volumes increase, these limits can be quickly reached, leading to higher Salesforce file storage costs or restricted system performance. Managing these constraints requires careful planning or integration with external storage solutions to optimize file handling without compromising accessibility or security.
Salesforce File Storage Overview
Salesforce file storage is the allocated space for storing files such as attachments, documents, and images uploaded to Salesforce by community users, external users, third-party apps, and others.
These documents might be crucial for various business processes, but the Salesforce file storage limitations outlined below can make storing or accessing them challenging.
Types of Storage in Salesforce
Salesforce Org provides three types of storage, that is Data Storage, File Storage, and Big Object Storage.
- Data Storage: Stores records such as accounts, leads, and opportunities.
- File Storage: Stores larger files, including documents, images, and attachments.
- Big Object Storage: Stores large amounts of unstructured data like files and images.
File storage is designed specifically for the bulk of documents and attachments used in day-to-day business operations. Understanding these limitations and the role of file storage is essential for businesses to optimize their document management systems and ensure smooth operations as they scale.
Why is Document Storage Required for Salesforce?
Document storage in Salesforce is essential for smooth operations, cross-team collaboration, and efficient document management.
- Centralized File Access
Salesforce serves as the hub for customer data. Integrating document storage ensures all related files such as contracts, invoices, and proposals are easily accessible in one place. - Enhanced Collaboration
Teams can work together effortlessly with shared access to files stored within Salesforce, enabling smoother workflows and quicker decision-making. - Regulatory Compliance
Industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing have strict compliance requirements. Document storage helps maintain records for audits and legal obligations. - Scalability and Storage Optimization
Document storage solutions allow businesses to offload large files to cost-efficient cloud storage, improving scalability without overloading Salesforce. - Improved User Experience
Quick access to well-organized documents enhances productivity, reducing the time spent searching for files and ensuring data integrity.
Benefits of Using a Document Storage System
- Cost and Space Efficiency
Digital storage reduces the need for physical storage space and helps cut costs, especially when paired with cloud solutions. - Integration
Many systems integrate with tools to automate tasks like file approvals, e-signatures, or document generation. - Scalability
As your business grows, your storage can expand to accommodate more documents without slowing things down. - Better Organization
A document storage system ensures all your files are stored neatly, categorized logically, and easily searchable. - Version Control
Document storage systems track changes, ensuring you always have the latest version of a file while maintaining a history of edits.
Connect Document Storage with Salesforce
There are various methods to connect external storage systems with Salesforce. Among these, the most popular include:
Salesforce Native Solution
Files Connect is Salesforce’s built-in document management tool designed to integrate your Salesforce Org with external cloud storage platforms. This solution has limitations that slow down collaboration and make it harder to maintain an organized document system. As a result, employees waste time searching for files or dealing with version control issues, impacting overall productivity and efficiency.
Limitations of Salesforce File Storage
- Storage space fills up quickly, leading to expensive upgrades or time spent deleting files.
- The 2 GB upload and 25 MB attachment limits make handling big files tough, and poor search options make finding documents hard.
- Sharing is limited to 2,000 shares per file, which can be frustrating for large teams and cause confusion with document versions.
To avoid these pitfalls, businesses need to consider a Salesforce document management solution that can help manage file storage more effectively and streamline operations.
APIs and Custom Development
For businesses with unique requirements, developers can leverage Salesforce APIs to build custom integrations with external storage systems. However, this approach requires technical expertise and can be time-consuming, making it a less practical option for many users.
AppExchange Solutions
Salesforce’s AppExchange provides a wide selection of third-party document management apps designed for seamless integration with Salesforce. These pre-built solutions offer numerous advantages, including cost efficiency, quick installations, advanced features, enhanced collaboration, and more.
Boost collaboration and storage by 10x with XfilesPro integrations. Request a Demo now!
XfilesPro For Salesforce File Storage
XfilesPro is the most trusted document management application available on Salesforce Appexchange. It enables seamless integration with external storage platforms like Amazon S3, SharePoint, and Google Drive, helping businesses optimize Salesforce file storage costs. With features like automated file management, enhanced data security, and scalable storage options, XfilesPro ensures efficient, secure, and cost-effective document handling that fits your growing business needs.
Features of XfilesPro
- Integration
It connects your Salesforce Org with leading external storage platforms such as SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, and AWS S3. You can connect Salesforce org (Sandbox and Production environment) to the external storage system of your choice. - Folder Structure
Creating folders individually works well when starting fresh. However, if you already have folders stored on another platform, you can easily import them into XfilesPro after completing the configuration process.
XfilesPro lets you create a customized folder structure to organize your documents in a way that makes sense for your business.
- Secure Sharing
XfilesPro keeps your documents safe and has strong security features. Users can share documents directly from Salesforce with colleagues, clients, or external stakeholders using secure links or access permissions. You can control who can view or edit files, ensuring your sensitive information stays protected and accessible only to the right people. - Folder/File Sync
XfilesPro’s folder and file sync feature ensures real-time updates between Salesforce and external storage systems. Any changes like adding, deleting, or editing files or subfolders are instantly reflected in both platforms, keeping everything up-to-date and everyone aligned. - Search Capabilities
XfilesPro narrows search results by file name, type, date, or specific metadata, saving time and ensuring you locate the document you need in seconds.
XfilesPro offers additional features such as community file management, file preview within Salesforce, trigger utility, and folder map/unmap. Visit us on AppExchange to learn more.
Benefits of using Xfiles
- Cost Savings
Minimize storage costs by moving large files out of Salesforce and onto more cost-effective cloud storage solutions. - Faster Decision-Making
With faster access to documents and real-time updates, teams can collaborate quickly, improving overall decision-making. - Better Document Control
With granular access controls and permissions, you can ensure that only the right people can view, edit, or share documents, ensuring data privacy and security. - Collaboration Across Teams
Cross-functional teams can work together more efficiently by sharing documents and collaborating within Salesforce, improving workflow and reducing delays.
Instead of purchasing additional Salesforce storage, which can be costly, XfilesPro allows you to leverage the existing external storage system your team already uses for other purposes. Book a demo to know why XfilesPro is the top choice for Salesforce file management and learn how to reduce Salesforce file storage costs.
FAQs
What is the file limit for Salesforce?
The maximum file size is 2 GB in Lightning Experience and 25 MB in Salesforce Classic.
How much does file storage cost in Salesforce?
Salesforce charges $5 per month for every 1 GB of file storage. Additionally, they provide extra data storage in increments of 50 MB or 500 MB, with the cost of 500 MB being $125 per month.
How do I fix the storage limit in Salesforce?
To fix the storage limit in Salesforce, you can upgrade your storage plan which can be expensive, or offload files by integrating XfilesPro with an external cloud storage system.
