Data Cleanup and Archiving: Reducing Storage Costs in Salesforce

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Data Cleanup and Archiving: Reducing Storage Costs in Salesforce

Storage overages are a stealth cost: Salesforce’s limited free storage (often 10 GB plus a small per-user allowance) can quietly fill up. Without regular cleanup, you may suddenly face warnings that your org is at 95% capacity. That’s when performance can dip and Salesforce may block new records. The bigger shock comes when you see the price of extra storage – it’s an expensive, often unbudgeted cost. This makes data cleanup a critical cost-avoidance strategy. It’s far cheaper to archive or purge stale data than to pay hefty overage fees year after year.
Vendor incentives vs. mid-term add-on pressure: Frankly, Salesforce has little incentive to encourage cleanup – they profit when you exceed limits. Account managers might alert you mid-contract that you’ve run out of space, then offer pricey add-ons (or even threaten penalties) to solve it. This off-cycle pressure puts you in a bind when you have the least negotiating leverage. By contrast, if you approach your renewal with a lean, cleaned-up database, you remove that pressure. You can negotiate from a position of strength, possibly avoiding the need for extra storage purchases altogether. In short, proactive data cleanup flips the script – it keeps you in control rather than scrambling to meet vendor demands.

Read more about our overview of how you can Optimize Salesforce Licenses and Usage to Cut Costs.

When should you clean up Salesforce data?

The best time to clean up Salesforce data is before you’re in crisis mode.

Don’t wait until you hit 90% of your storage limit and users see “Storage Full” errors. Ideally, set internal thresholds – for example, when you reach 75–80% of capacity, start a cleanup project.

Also consider timing around major events: before contract renewals (so you know your true storage needs), and after large projects or migrations (which often result in a significant influx of data into Salesforce).

Another smart time is during slower business periods (like year-end or summer downtime) when admins can dedicate time to archiving old records with minimal user impact. In summary, cleanups should be scheduled when they can be thorough and safe, not when you’re under the gun.

Planning cleanup as routine, not reactive

Treat Salesforce data cleanup as routine maintenance, much like tuning an engine, rather than a one-off fire drill. Many successful teams institute a quarterly or biannual cleanup cycle.

For example, an enterprise might review all cases closed more than 5 years or opportunities won/lost more than 3 years on a set schedule and archive them.

By making cleanup part of your normal operations, you avoid the scramble of emergency deletions.

Routine cleanup also means you can involve the right people (system owners, compliance officers) calmly, instead of in a last-minute panic.

The key is to be proactive: a small regular archiving job (say, removing a few thousand records every month) is far easier and safer than trying to purge millions of records in one weekend because you’re out of space. Regular cadence = no surprises.

Salesforce archive vs delete: pros and cons

When reducing data, you have two main paths: archive it or delete it. Each has pros and cons:

Archiving (preserve data): Archiving means moving older or inactive Salesforce data to another storage location (could be an external database, a data warehouse, or a Salesforce Big Object). The primary advantage is that you retain the information critical for historical analysis and compliance audits. Users won’t see it in everyday screens, but it’s retrievable if needed. The downside: you’ll need an archiving solution or custom process, which introduces some complexity and possibly additional cost (though usually far less than Salesforce’s storage prices). Archiving is ideal for records you may need later (e.g., old case files, closed deals, past customer communications) that don’t require immediate access in live Salesforce for daily operations.
Deleting (permanent removal): Deletion frees up space immediately with no extra systems required. It’s best for truly low-value data – think duplicates, test records, or trivial logs. The benefit is simplicity and zero ongoing storage cost. However, once deleted (and after Salesforce’s recycle bin retention window passes), the data is gone for good. Deletion can also be risky if you remove something still useful or legally required. There’s also a middle-ground: deleting from production after taking a backup export. But in general, deletion should be done carefully and strategically – you want to be confident those records won’t be missed. A good rule of thumb: Archive what has long-term value or compliance implications, delete what doesn’t.

Read about Rightsizing Users: Matching Salesforce License Types to Employee Needs.

How to archive old Salesforce data without losing the audit trail

Archiving Salesforce data effectively involves offloading data without compromising visibility or audit requirements.

Here are key strategies to archive safely:

Choose the right archive repository: Options include a cloud database (such as AWS or Azure) or Salesforce’s own “Big Objects” or Archive feature. Wherever you store data, ensure it’s secure and reliable. Many enterprises integrate archived data into a data lake or warehouse, allowing analysts to run reports on full historical datasets outside of Salesforce.
Maintain data relationships: One challenge is preserving context. If you archive an object that other records refer to (say, Opportunities related to Accounts), ensure you keep some identifier to link them. For example, keep the Account ID on the archived record or store a reference key. Some archiving tools will restore a lightweight stub or link in Salesforce, allowing users to click from an Account and view archived related records in an external viewer.
Implement retention and audit policies: Work with your compliance team to set rules (e.g. “keep 7 years of data accessible”). A sound archiving process will include retention periods – data is archived after X months and then potentially deleted from the archive after Y years if it is no longer needed. This way, you’re not keeping junk forever, but you also won’t prematurely erase something that regulators or finance teams might ask for. Many tools (and Salesforce’s own Archive product) let you define these policies and even put legal holds on data that mustn’t be deleted.
Test retrieval and reporting: Don’t just park data in cold storage and forget it. Do a dry run of retrieving some archived records – can you get them back into Salesforce or view them easily if needed? For audit trails, ensure that details such as timestamps, user IDs (who created/modified records), and related attachments are all preserved in the archive. The goal is that if, for example, an auditor asks “show me all communications with Customer X from five years ago,” you can pull that from your archive without a nightmare hunt.

By archiving with these precautions, you’ll reduce storage in Salesforce while retaining the integrity and traceability of your business data.

Salesforce cleanup best practices (tools, process, governance)

Cleaning up a Salesforce org’s data isn’t a one-click task – it requires a plan and often a mix of tools.

Here are best practices to guide your cleanup:

Audit and identify data bloat: Start by pinpointing what’s consuming the most space. Use Salesforce’s Storage Usage page or a Storage Analyzer tool to see which objects have ballooned. Perhaps you discover that old Leads, Cases, or Attachments are the top culprits. Quantify how much could be freed by removing records older than a certain date, etc.
Engage stakeholders and set policies: Don’t purge data in a vacuum. Align with legal, finance, and business unit leaders on data retention policies. For example, sales might say, “We never touch opportunities older than 5 years,” and compliance might add, “but keep at least 7 years for audit.” These policies become your rules for what to archive or delete.
Use the right tools: Salesforce provides basic help like the Mass Delete feature (limited to certain objects and 250 records at a time) and the Salesforce Optimizer report (which flags large data and unused fields). For bigger jobs, leverage Data Loader or Data Import Wizard to export and bulk delete records. If coding is an option, an Apex script or SFDX command can do mass purges with proper filtering. For archiving, consider either native Big Objects (if you have developer resources to configure them) or third-party archiving apps from the AppExchange. These tools can automate moving records out and even keep a reference in Salesforce.
Governance and documentation: Establish a governance process to control data cleanup. Assign a data steward or admin to own the cleanup task list. They should document what was removed or archived (object, date range, number of records) each cycle – this helps if questions arise later. Implement checks and balances; for instance, require approval from a system owner before deleting certain sensitive data sets. Good governance prevents overzealous deletion and ensures consistency.
Improve data quality in the future: Prevention is better than a cure. Implement validation rules, required fields, and deduplication tools to minimize the creation of duplicate or inaccurate data. For example, use duplicate rules to avoid identical leads, or require certain fields to prevent “unknown” entries that become clutter. Training users on data hygiene (like not attaching huge files when a link would do) also goes a long way. In short, tighten the faucet so you have less to clean up later.

Following these best practices, companies not only slim down their databases but also maintain their health over the long term. A well-governed, tool-supported approach turns a daunting cleanup into a manageable routine.

Purge Salesforce data safely — what to delete, and what to keep

“Purge safely” means deleting data in a way that doesn’t come back to bite you. It’s crucial to strike the right balance between cleaning out the clutter and preserving important information. Here are guidelines on what to delete versus what to retain (or archive):

What to delete (safe to remove):

Obvious junk and duplicates: If you have multiple copies of the same contact or account, select the master record and delete the others. Use Salesforce duplicate management or an external data quality tool to find these.
Old test or sandbox data in production: Sometimes test records sneak into production (e.g., “Test Lead” or fake opportunities for training). Identify and purge them – they serve no business purpose.
Expired campaign or event data: If you ran a campaign in 2016 and it’s now 2025, the detailed campaign member records and associated tasks might not be needed anymore (unless marketing still analyzes them). Export a summary if needed, then remove the detailed records.
Logs and history beyond retention: Salesforce accumulates various items, including field history tracking, email logs, and login logs. After a certain period (say 1-2 years, depending on compliance), consider deleting or exporting those. For example, email threads in cases older than X years could be removed if not legally required.
Recycle Bin and Archiving of Soft Deletes: Ensure that you empty the Recycle Bin (or use the hard delete option) after performing bulk deletions. Records sitting in the bin still count against storage for 15 days. A truly safe purge means the data is fully gone from Salesforce, and you’ve reclaimed the space.

What to keep (or archive, not outright delete):

Customer master data, including accounts, Contacts, and related information about real customers or partners, should not be deleted unless they are truly obsolete and have been non-responsive for years. Even then, it’s better to archive them externally than lose them, because you never know if an old customer might return.
Financial and legal records: Closed Opportunities, Contracts, Cases, and Orders often need retention for audit purposes. Don’t delete these just to save space. Archive them after a certain age, but ensure you can retrieve if needed for compliance or future business analysis.
Historical metrics: If your business tracks year-over-year trends, you might need certain data to remain accessible (pipeline history, support ticket volumes, etc.). Identify what feeds your BI reports or KPIs. If you do archive it, make sure your analytics team has access to the archived dataset.
Configuration and metadata references: Sometimes data records are connected to system configurations or code (for instance, custom settings or reference records for integrations). Never mass-delete those without understanding the impact. Keep anything that the system or integration might expect to find.

Finally, always back up before you purge.

Before a large deletion, take a full data export or use a backup tool. That way, if you accidentally delete the wrong thing, you have a safety net in place.

Purging safely is all about caution and foresight: delete the dead weight, but double-check that it truly has no heartbeat first.

How to reduce Salesforce storage costs by archiving attachments, logs, etc.

Certain types of data consume a disproportionate amount of storage – especially attachments, documents, and logs.

Tackling these can yield big savings:

Offload attachments and files: Attachments (such as PDFs, images, and email attachments on cases) can quickly consume file storage space. A classic strategy is to move these files to a cheaper storage solution. For instance, an enterprise might integrate Salesforce with an external content management system (SharePoint, Box, AWS S3 bucket, etc.). Older attachments get moved there and deleted from Salesforce, leaving perhaps a URL or reference behind. Users can click a link to view the file from the external repository. This way, you free up Salesforce space while still providing access to the content. Many companies find that 40-60% of their file storage is old attachments that no one accesses – a huge opportunity to cut costs once archived externally.
Archive or summarize logs and email messages: Salesforce stores items such as EmailMessage records (for every email sent through Salesforce or logged), event logs, and sometimes integration logs in custom objects. Over time, these can number in the millions. You don’t need to keep every log in Salesforce indefinitely. Consider exporting and purging log records that are older than a specified threshold. If you have a system like Splunk or a data lake, push your logs there for long-term retention and analysis. Even field history tables (which track changes) can be trimmed: for example, keep 2 years of field history in Salesforce for quick lookups, and archive older history to a data warehouse for compliance.
Leverage Salesforce Big Objects for high-volume data: Big Objects are Salesforce’s native feature for storing huge volumes of data (billions of records) outside of your main data storage limits. They are ideal for archival storage of, say, old case histories or IoT data logs. The data in Big Objects doesn’t count against your standard storage, and you can still run queries on it (albeit with some limitations). Setting up Big Objects requires some development effort, but it’s a powerful way to keep data “in Salesforce” (within the same organization) in an ultra-scalable format. Some third-party archive tools utilize Big Objects behind the scenes to store your records efficiently and cost-effectively.
Compress or trim data where possible: A niche but sometimes useful tactic – if you have very large text fields or attachments, see if they can be compressed or truncated after a while. For example, long email threads stored as text could be summarized (by storing only the last message or a link to the full text elsewhere). Likewise, if you have an object with a large number of records but only a subset of fields require retention, consider exporting the full records and then deleting or blanking the non-critical fields in Salesforce to reduce the storage footprint. These approaches require effort and careful planning, but in certain cases (like massive case descriptions or log fields) it can help.

In essence, identify the “big rocks” in your storage usage – attachments, logs, bulky objects – and target them with archiving tactics first. It’s akin to freeing the most disk space by deleting or moving large files on your computer.

The more low-hanging fruit you archive, the less you’ll spend on Salesforce storage.

Staying within Salesforce’s free storage limits through smart archiving

Every Salesforce org comes with a free storage allowance (which might be, e.g., 10 GB of data and 10 GB of files, plus extras per user).

The game is to stay within the included storage so you avoid paying extra.

Smart archiving makes this possible:

Define “active” vs “archive” data thresholds: Work out how much data you can keep live without crossing the free limit. For instance, you might decide that the most recent three years of records remain in Salesforce (active data), and anything older is archived. If executed well, your org will consistently sit at, say, 70% of its capacity with current data, leaving a buffer and never incurring overages. The archive will hold everything older. This rolling approach ensures that you aren’t paying Salesforce for data that no one is actively using on a day-to-day basis.
Automate archiving to maintain balance: Smart archiving isn’t a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process. Set up scheduled jobs or use an archiving app to continuously move data out as it ages. For example, every month, archive any case closed more than 2 years ago. By automating this, your storage usage becomes self-regulating – you’re always pruning the tail end. This prevents the scenario of unexpectedly approaching the limit. It’s like having an automatic thermostat for storage: as data grows, the archiver kicks in and moves the older stuff out, keeping you in the safe zone.
Monitor the free storage buffer: Even with archiving, keep an eye on your org’s storage percentage. Ideally, stay well below 100% of your allowance (many teams set internal targets, such as a maximum of 85% usage). If you see the trend line of usage inching up, that’s a signal to perhaps tighten your archive criteria or that new data inflows (maybe a new integration or big project) are outpacing your current plan. Adjust proactively – perhaps start archiving records after 2 years instead of 3, etc., to flatten the curve.
Utilize Salesforce’s features to your advantage: Salesforce has recently recognized the need for improved storage management. Features like the Archive Compliance tool (if available in your edition) or data tiering concepts can help. If Salesforce offers a native archive option for a certain object (for example, Cases sometimes have an auto-archive after 18 months that removes them from the UI but not from storage – not very helpful for cost, unfortunately), understand how it works but don’t rely on it alone for cost savings. Truly staying within free limits usually involves moving data completely off the platform or to Big Objects.

By being disciplined and smart about archiving, many organizations find they can operate indefinitely within the free storage that came with their licenses.

That translates to substantial cost avoidance (tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars saved on would-be storage fees), all while keeping the business running smoothly with the data it needs at hand.

Native tools vs third-party options

Native Salesforce tools:

Salesforce offers basic capabilities for managing and archiving data, albeit with limitations.

On the native front, if you have Enterprise or higher editions, you can utilize features such as Salesforce Archive (Automated Archiving). This new tool allows you to set archiving policies and retention directly within Salesforce. It can automatically move records to an archived state (likely leveraging Big Objects or a similar backend).

This is promising, but it may incur an additional cost depending on your agreement. Apart from that, you have simple options, such as the Weekly Data Export (for taking backups of data you plan to delete) and the Mass Delete wizard for a few standard objects.

For attaching files, Salesforce’s native approach is to use Salesforce Files (Content), which has higher per-user limits; however, files still count toward storage. In short, out-of-the-box tools exist, but many organizations find them insufficient for serious archiving needs.

Third-party solutions:

The AppExchange ecosystem has several archiving and data management solutions. These range from specialized archiving apps (which might store data in Big Objects or on their cloud storage and surface it back to you on demand) to full-fledged backup and archive services.

Examples include tools that archive records and related child records simultaneously, or those that automatically migrate attachments to external storage. Third-party options often come with user-friendly interfaces, scheduling capabilities, and compliance certifications, which can be attractive to enterprise IT teams.

The trade-off, of course, is you’re adding another vendor (and cost). However, many teams justify this by comparing the costs: paying a managed service to archive 100 GB of data externally can be dramatically cheaper than purchasing an additional 100 GB of Salesforce storage. Another advantage is flexibility – some apps let you choose where archived data resides (your AWS cloud, the vendor’s cloud, or on-premises).

DIY and in-house tools:

For organizations with strong Salesforce development teams or IT departments, building a custom archiving solution is also an option.

This may involve writing Apex code or utilizing integration middleware to regularly extract outdated data into an external database. Or using ETL tools to pull data out and then deleting it from Salesforce.

The benefit here is full control (and no recurring license fee), but the downside is maintenance and complexity. Over time, Salesforce upgrades or changes might require you to adjust your custom archiving code.

That said, some large enterprises opt for this route to leverage existing data infrastructure (for example, funneling Salesforce archives into an existing enterprise data lake).

When choosing between native, third-party, and custom solutions, consider your organization’s scale and compliance needs. A midsize company might lean on a ready-made AppExchange app for speed. A highly regulated bank might invest in a custom solution to keep everything in-house.

And if Salesforce’s own Archive product matures, some may opt to stick with that for a seamless (if potentially pricey) native experience. The good news is that you have options – just be sure to evaluate the cost, capabilities, and long-term support for whichever toolset you choose.

Automating cleanup vs periodic one-off purges

One critical decision is whether to automate data cleanup continuously or do it in big periodic sweeps.

Here’s how to think about it:

The case for automation: Automating cleanup involves setting up rules and processes that run independently to delete or archive data on a scheduled basis. This can be accomplished via a scheduled Apex job, a Flow, or an external scheduler that triggers the archiving process. The advantage is consistency – your org is always being kept tidy. It’s the “little and often” approach. For example, an automated job could run nightly to remove any records that are at least 5 years old as of that day. Users and administrators barely notice it working, and storage usage remains constant over time. Automation reduces human effort dramatically after the initial setup and lowers the risk of forgetting to perform cleanup tasks. It’s like having a Roomba vacuum for your CRM data, quietly cleaning in the background.
The case for periodic purges: Some organizations, due to either policy or resource constraints, choose to undertake large-scale cleanup projects, perhaps once a year or before renewals. They’ll allocate a weekend of downtime, write queries to find all data older than a specified date, take backups, and delete it en masse. The benefit here is that you achieve a noticeable, immediate reduction in storage usage. It can also be aligned with business milestones (e.g., end-of-fiscal-year archive of closed deals). In certain industries, regulations may require a specific annual review of data, which naturally pairs with an annual purge. And if you lack tools for automation, a manual but thorough purge might be your only option in the short term.
Blending both approaches: In practice, many mature teams use a blend. They might have automation for the straightforward tasks (such as auto-archiving email attachments or logs as they age), and still plan quarterly or annual reviews for more complex cleanup tasks that require oversight (such as inactivating old accounts or consolidating duplicate contacts). One-off purges are also common when first tackling a long-neglected org: you might need a big bang cleanup to get back under limits, and then implement automation to keep it that way.
Avoiding the “panic purge”: Whatever you do, strive to avoid the scenario of a last-minute, unplanned purge (the kind done under duress because you ran out of storage on a Friday and things are breaking). That’s when mistakes happen – the wrong data might get deleted, or no backup was taken in the rush. Whether through automation or scheduled projects, plan your cleanups with time to spare. It’s far safer and more effective.

In summary, automation is ideal for a sustainable, hands-off approach, while periodic purges can complement it for special cases or initial clean-up.

The most important thing is not to rely on “we’ll deal with it later” – build cleanup into your operational rhythm, one way or another.

Risks of deleting audit-relevant data

Data cleanup shouldn’t put your company at risk. A major pitfall to avoid is deleting data that you later find out was crucial for audits, compliance, or historical tracking.

Some cautionary points:

Regulatory requirements: Many industries have laws about data retention. For instance, financial services firms may need to retain transaction records for 7 years, while healthcare organizations may have to retain patient-related data for a similar period, and so on. If an overzealous administrator deletes those records to save space, the company could face fines or legal issues for being unable to produce them on request. Always cross-check with your compliance officer or legal team before deleting classes of records. It’s far better to archive them in a compliant archive (where you can retrieve and show them if needed) than to press delete.
Litigation holds and audit trails: Even if something seems old and unused, consider whether it could be involved in any potential litigation or audit. Customer communications, case histories, and opportunity notes sometimes become important in disputes or financial audits. Deleting such data might mean you can’t reconstruct what happened in the past. This is why archiving with an audit trail is recommended for sensitive data – you maintain the chain of custody. For example, if you archive closed cases, ensure that case comments and timestamps of status changes are preserved. If an auditor asks, “Show me that you followed the process on Incident 123 from 4 years ago,” an archive should be able to provide that, whereas a deletion would leave you empty-handed.
Impact on analytics and reporting: Sometimes, data that feels outdated still informs long-range analytics. Perhaps your data science team uses 10 years of sales data to train revenue models, or marketing looks at trends from the last decade. If you delete the raw data, those models and reports lose fidelity. Double-check with your analytics team to determine the historical range they require. Perhaps you can summarize and maintain aggregated data instead of detailed records, but coordinate this effort to avoid inadvertently sabotaging a dashboard or AI model.
System-side effects: Be aware that some Salesforce features or third-party apps rely on the presence of data. For example, if you remove all old Cases, an app that calculates customer lifetime support volume might break. Alternatively, if you delete accounts that you believe are inactive, you may orphan other records or integrations that rely on them. Always test a small deletion batch and see if anything complains (i.e., if there are any errors in integrations or users saying, “Hey, where’d X go?”). Consider using Salesforce’s “freeze” or deactivate functions (for users) and soft deletes first to gauge the impact.

The mantra here is “When in doubt, don’t throw it out – archive it.” Deletion should be final, so you only do it when you’re certain the data has no future value or obligation.

A bit of diligence up front avoids painful “uh oh, we needed that data” realizations later.

Back-up strategies and governance roles

Even the best-planned cleanup can go wrong without safety nets and clear roles and responsibilities.

Two key safeguards are robust backups and defined governance roles:

Backup before and after cleanup: Always have a current backup of your Salesforce data, especially before large deletions or archiving runs. Salesforce offers weekly export jobs – ensure those are running and the files are stored safely. For mission-critical organizations, consider a professional backup solution (Salesforce now offers a Backup & Restore product, and there are third-party backup services) that can restore data at a granular level. For instance, if someone accidentally wipes all contacts from 2019, a backup can save the day. Also, keep backups of your archived data sets in their new location. If you’re moving data to an external database, ensure that the database itself is backed up. Essentially, you want at least two copies of anything before you delete it from Salesforce – one copy might be the archive, and another a backup file. This redundancy serves as a cost-effective insurance policy against the expense of truly lost data.
Governance roles and approvals: Establish who is responsible for data cleanup decisions. This could be a Data Governance Council for big enterprises or simply the Salesforce Admin and a Business Analyst for a smaller org. Define roles such as data owner (e.g., Sales Ops owns the Accounts and Opportunities data), data custodian (the Salesforce admin responsible for executing the cleanup), and approver (e.g., the CIO or a compliance officer who signs off on the deletion of sensitive information). By formalizing roles, you ensure that one person doesn’t unilaterally purge something important. It also spreads awareness – for example, if Sales ops knows they are the owner, they’ll be more engaged in defining what can be achieved, rather than finding out after it’s gone.
Change management and communication: A governance process involves communicating before and after cleanup. Users should be informed (“We will archive all cases closed before 2018 on March 1. If you believe something that old is still needed in Salesforce, speak now.”). After the action, notify stakeholders that it’s complete and provide instructions on how to access archived data if needed. This prevents surprise and builds trust that data isn’t disappearing into a black hole.
Continuous oversight: Good governance doesn’t stop after one project. Make data cleanup a standing item in IT governance meetings or quarterly business reviews. Track metrics such as current storage usage, growth rate, and the amount archived or deleted in the last period. Assign someone to monitor these and raise flags if, for example, storage usage jumps unexpectedly (perhaps a new app is generating records – governance should detect this and adjust the archive rules accordingly).

In summary, backup strategies ensure you can undo or recover from mistakes, and governance roles ensure the right people are involved and accountable.

Together, they create a safety net for your storage optimization efforts – allowing you to proceed confidently, knowing you have fallback options.

Tracking storage usage and alerts

After putting in the effort to clean up and archive, you’ll want to keep a vigilant eye on your storage so you don’t end up in the same predicament down the road.

Post-cleanup governance starts with monitoring:

Regular storage audits: Make it a habit to review your Salesforce storage usage dashboard at least monthly (or quarterly). Track not just the total percentage used, but which objects are growing the fastest. For example, you might notice your Case object data is growing 5% per month – that could predict when you’ll next need a cleanup. By logging these stats over time, you can identify trends and spot anomalies (such as a custom object’s storage doubling in one month, indicating that someone loaded a large amount of data or an integration misfired).
Set up alerts: Salesforce can send you default warnings at certain thresholds (like 90% full), but you can do better. If you have an admin or developer, set up a simple Apex job or even a Salesforce Flow that checks storage usage and sends an email/Slack alert if you cross a threshold you define (e.g., “Alert: Data storage now at 80%”). Some third-party monitoring tools can also watch Salesforce org limits and notify you. The earlier you know you’re trending high, the more calmly you can respond with archiving efforts.
Integrate with dashboards: Many CIOs and IT managers use operational dashboards to monitor key systems. Consider adding Salesforce storage metrics to your IT ops dashboard. Seeing “Salesforce Data Storage: 55% used” in green is reassuring; if it creeps up to yellow or red, it will be noticed in leadership meetings. This keeps data hygiene on everyone’s radar, not just the admin’s niche concern.
Leverage Salesforce Optimizer and Health Check: Salesforce provides an Optimizer tool that you can run periodically. It can flag large data volumes and even list the top 10 largest reports, objects, and so on. Use these tools as part of post-cleanup checkups to ensure nothing new is spiraling out of control. Similarly, features like Storage Analyzer (in the Archive product) can help visualize which areas to monitor.

The principle is: trust, but verify. You trust that your archiving plan is working, but you verify it with ongoing monitoring.

This way, storage management becomes an ongoing part of your org’s governance – you catch growth trends early and prevent the next crisis.

Embedding data hygiene in renewal reviews

We’ve discussed cleaning up before renewals; now, let’s formalize it as a checkpoint. When you’re preparing for your Salesforce contract renewal (often an annual cycle or multi-year cycle), embed a data hygiene review into that process:

Pre-renewal storage report: A few months before the renewal negotiation, generate a comprehensive report on your current storage usage and what you’ve archived in the past year. This does two things: (1) It informs your procurement team of any upcoming needs (e.g., “We’re at 8GB of 10GB – do we need to negotiate more storage or are we on track to archive enough?”), and (2) it gives you evidence to push back on upsells. If Salesforce representatives try to sell you additional storage or a higher storage tier, you can respond by saying, “We cleaned up X GB, and our projection is we’ll be fine for next year with our archiving plan.”
Leverage in negotiations: If Salesforce is aware that you’re close to limits, they might suggest adding a storage bundle or even their archiving service. By having your data hygiene under control, you can be vendor-skeptical and push for a better deal. For instance, some companies successfully negotiate free storage increases by pointing out that the base 10GB is outdated for modern data needs. Suppose you’ve been a customer in good standing. In that case, Salesforce might throw in an extra few GB or discount an add-on to keep you happy – especially if you demonstrate that you’re considering third-party solutions to avoid their fees. Use the fact that you have options (you can archive or use other tools) as leverage: “We prefer not to pay for extra storage – what can you do for us as part of this renewal?” You’d be surprised, sometimes they come back with a concession.
Renewal team includes data insights: Ensure your renewal team (procurement lead, IT sourcing manager, etc.) is equipped with knowledge of your organization’s data health. They should know how much you saved by cleaning up and what your forecasted growth is. This way, if the Salesforce AE (account executive) tries the angle of “you might outgrow your storage soon,” your team can respond with confidence: “Actually, we have a robust archiving strategy, and our net usage is trending flat. We won’t need more storage in the next term unless there are drastic
changes. So we’re not budgeting for that upsell.”
Continuous improvement: Finally, incorporate any insights from the renewal into your governance. If, for example, Salesforce announces a new data archiving feature or a change in storage pricing during the negotiation, loop that info to your admin and strategy teams. Maybe they introduced a cheaper “archive storage” tier – that could be worth exploring alongside your in-house methods. Or if they refuse to budge on storage costs, that reaffirms your plan to stay under the limit. Use renewal as a milestone to review and refresh your data management policies: Are we keeping the right amount of data? Should we tighten retention to reduce cost further? It’s an opportunity to refine your approach for the next cycle.

By making data cleanup and storage a talking point in renewal discussions, you ensure it never gets overlooked.

You transform it from a hidden technical detail into a strategic factor in vendor management. This not only saves money but also aligns IT and procurement closely – speaking the language of cost and risk that executives care about.

AI tools for predictive data archiving

Looking ahead, artificial intelligence promises to play a growing role in data management, including archiving.

Here’s how AI could revolutionize Salesforce data cleanup shortly:

Predictive retention models: AI can analyze usage patterns to predict which data records are unlikely to be needed in Salesforce. For example, an AI model might learn that opportunities that closed over 5 years ago with no follow-up activity have a 0.01% chance of being viewed by a user again. It could flag those for archiving automatically. Instead of relying on static rules (such as “archive after 5 years”), AI can dynamically adjust retention based on actual behavior and queries on the data.
Smart classification of data value: One challenge is deciding what data is high-value vs low-value. AI could help classify data by importance. Perhaps by analyzing which records or fields users interact with, or which types of records correlate with revenue or compliance events, the AI can score data. You might get an AI-driven recommendation that says, “These 5000 cases from 2014 have never been accessed in 3 years and contain no VIP accounts – safe to archive,”. In contrast, another set of data (maybe involving key clients or unusual cases) is marked to be kept longer.
Anomaly detection in data growth: AI excels at identifying anomalies. If an integration suddenly starts creating a million extra records a week (perhaps due to a glitch), an AI monitoring tool could detect that spike and alert you, or even take action (such as pausing the integration or archiving the flood of new records). This predictive monitoring would go beyond simple threshold alerts, recognizing “this growth curve looks abnormal compared to historical trends.”
Natural language interface for admins: Imagine being able to ask an AI assistant, “How can I reduce my Salesforce storage costs?” and it scans your org and answers, “Archive attachments older than 2 years (will save 3 GB), delete deprecated custom object X (save 1 GB), compress long text fields in object Y (save 500 MB). Shall I proceed with these actions?” Salesforce is already embedding AI (Einstein GPT, etc.) into many areas; it’s plausible that org maintenance suggestions could be coming.

While these AI capabilities are emerging, some early signs are present. Third-party vendors are beginning to incorporate AI into their archiving products, and Salesforce is also heavily investing in AI across its platform.

Within a few years, we might move from manual, rule-based cleanup to a more intelligent, self-optimizing data management approach.

The caveat: even as AI helps, human oversight will remain vital – especially to ensure any automated suggestions respect compliance rules. But overall, AI will likely make staying on top of storage both easier and more precise.

Salesforce packaging changes (e.g,. data-as-a-service tiers)are on the horizon.

Salesforce’s business model and offerings evolve regularly, and data storage is a pain point they can’t ignore forever.

We may see changes in how Salesforce packages and prices data in the future:

Increased base storage or new tiers: There’s ongoing chatter in the Salesforce community about the need for higher default storage limits. It wouldn’t be surprising if Salesforce eventually increases the base storage (for example, instead of 10GB + 20MB/user, perhaps they increase it to 20GB + 50MB/user) to reflect the growth in data over the last decade. Alternatively, they might introduce tiered storage packages, similar to hot vs. cold storage. “Hot” (active) data might remain expensive, but it could offer a “cold storage” add-on that’s cheaper per GB, where archived records live but are slower to access. This tiering would be similar to how cloud providers (e.g., AWS Glacier vs S3) price storage – Salesforce could adopt a data-as-a-service model where you pay less for data you don’t need instantaneously.
Salesforce Archive and Data Cloud integration: Salesforce’s recent push into Data Cloud (formerly known as Salesforce Genie) indicates that they are looking to handle massive data volumes outside the traditional CRM storage. Data Cloud is meant to ingest and store huge datasets (like event streams) more cheaply and flexibly. We might see a future where Salesforce encourages customers to use Data Cloud for storing historical records or large objects, effectively providing a Salesforce-native way to archive data that doesn’t consume your CRM storage limits. In licensing terms, that might be sold as a separate capacity (e.g., “X million records in Data Cloud included in Y edition”).
All-in-one data management add-ons: As part of their platform services, Salesforce now offers add-ons such as Backup & Restore and Archive. It’s plausible they bundle these into a “data management suite” or include basic archiving capabilities for free in higher-tier editions to add value. For instance, the Unlimited Edition might come with an archiving tool included, whereas lower editions require an additional payment. Watching the product announcements at each Dreamforce (Salesforce’s big conference) will give clues – storage is often mentioned in the context of performance and data governance.
Pricing adjustments: We’ve already seen Salesforce raise prices in 2025 for core licenses (citing increased value, AI features, etc.). It’s possible that in the coming years, they will also reevaluate storage pricing to remain competitive. If too many customers push back or utilize external archives, Salesforce could lower storage add-on costs or offer promotions to make purchasing extra storage less burdensome. On the other hand, they might find that customers are willing to pay for convenience and introduce premium data services at a high price. Being vendor-skeptical means keeping an eye on these shifts and calculating if they’re truly worth it.

In summary, anticipate that Salesforce will continue adapting its data storage strategy. “Data as a service” may become a reality, where you choose different data retention tiers at different price points.

For customers, this could be a double-edged sword: it may be easier to archive through Salesforce’s platform, but it also means another potential expense.

That’s why it’s smart to optimize your data now – the less reliant you are on whatever Salesforce pitches in the future, the more freedom you have to either take advantage of a good deal or ignore an upsell that doesn’t make sense for you.

Conclusion & Call-to-Action

In today’s data-driven world, an overflowing Salesforce org is not a sign of success – it’s a sign to take action.

Proactive data cleanup and archiving is the straight-shooting strategy to reduce costs and boost performance.

Rather than throwing money at extra storage or letting excess data bog down your CRM, you can take charge with the tactics we’ve explored: routine cleanups, making informed decisions about archiving versus deletion, leveraging tools and automation, and always staying one step ahead of Salesforce’s playbook.

The bottom line for CIOs, procurement leads, IT managers, and admins alike is this: optimizing storage is an ongoing, collaborative effort. Make it part of your organization’s DNA.

Tie your data cleanup workflows to your license management and dashboard metrics – when you review user licenses and spending, review storage usage in the same breath. By embedding data hygiene into your regular IT and procurement processes, you ensure that you’re not caught off guard by surprise overages or vendor pressure.

Call to action: Take a look at your Salesforce org today. How close are you to those storage limits? Identify one quick win – perhaps archiving a chunk of old attachments or eliminating a cache of obsolete records – and execute it this quarter.

Simultaneously, rally your team to set up a long-term archiving plan and assign clear ownership for data stewardship.

By acting now, you can enter your next Salesforce renewal with confidence, having streamlined your organization and strengthened your negotiating position. In the world of Salesforce contracts and data growth, the best offense is a good defense: keep your data clean, your costs down, and your options open.

Read more about our Salesforce Contract Negotiation Service.

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