Automating Data Backups: Migrating from Salesforce to Heroku

The Challenge: Costly Data Storage on Salesforce

By late 2021, I was working at InvesTech SPA, where one of my key responsibilities was optimizing infrastructure costs for a client. Salesforce is powerful, but its storage can get expensive fast. The client’s ever-growing database was driving up costs, and we needed a solution to manage backups efficiently without breaking the bank.

The answer? Automating data backups and migrating the data from Salesforce to Heroku Cloud. This not only reduced costs but also provided a more scalable solution for long-term data retention.

Step 1: Designing the Backup Solution

The first step was to design an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipeline. Here’s the breakdown of the process: 1. Extract: Pull data from Salesforce using its API. 2. Transform: Clean and organize the data into a format suitable for Heroku storage. 3. Load: Push the transformed data into a Heroku database.

Tools and Technologies Used

Step 2: Building the ETL Pipeline

Here’s a simplified example of the ETL logic:

Extracting Data

SalesforceConnection connection = new SalesforceConnection();
List<DataRecord> records = connection.query("SELECT * FROM LargeDataset");

Transforming Data

List<DataRecord> transformedRecords = records.stream()
    .map(record -> transformRecord(record))
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

Loading Data into Heroku

HerokuDatabase herokuDb = new HerokuDatabase();
herokuDb.insert(transformedRecords);

The real implementation, of course, involved error handling, logging, and handling API rate limits.

Step 3: Automating the Process

To ensure backups ran without manual intervention, I used Heroku Scheduler. The scheduler triggered the ETL process daily, keeping the backup system up to date. Setting it up was as simple as configuring a cron job in Heroku’s dashboard.

The Outcome: Reduced Costs and Greater Flexibility

Migrating the data backups to Heroku saved the client significant costs on Salesforce storage. Additionally, the new system provided: - Scalability: Heroku’s PostgreSQL database could handle growing data volumes with ease. - Flexibility: The backup data was now accessible for analytics and reporting.

Lessons Learned

  1. APIs Are Key: Salesforce’s API made it possible to pull data programmatically, highlighting the importance of robust integrations.
  2. Automation Saves Time: Automating repetitive tasks not only improves efficiency but also reduces errors.
  3. Always Optimize: Infrastructure costs can often be reduced with smarter solutions.

November 15, 2021
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