Whether you’re planning a new Salesforce rollout or managing day-to-day operations, knowing the impact of storage limits is crucial. You definitely don’t want to be surprised by a “Storage Limit Exceeded” error.
This guide, expanding on Salesforce's official documentation, helps you diagnose your current Salesforce storage situation and provides remediation steps, cost considerations, and preventive architectures for both reactive and proactive scenarios.
Salesforce Storage: Spotting the Trap Before (or After) It Springs
Salesforce storage seems simple, but you need to keep an eye on it to avoid it becoming a cost and performance issue.
The first thing you have to keep in mind is that Salesforce provides two main storage types:
- File Storage – attachments, Salesforce Files, content, email attachments
- Data Storage – database records like Accounts, Cases, and custom objects
Practical Takeaway: While some organizations with millions of records may hit data storage limits, file storage grows much faster and is almost always the main bottleneck. Access Setup > Storage Usage for initial assessments of how it is for your org. You can export CSVs for breakdowns by object and file.
Salesforce offers additional file storage at about $300 per month per TB. All in all, we are talking about a recurring cost that compounds as your document volume increases. File storage growth will depend on the organization, but you can anticipate growth of at least 20-30% annually.
Before choosing that route, it’s worth exploring alternatives.
Do I Really Need to Buy More Salesforce Storage?
The short answer is no. You have two main alternatives:
- You can remove unnecessary files, freeing storage space.
- You can store large files externally.
Removing Unnecessary Salesforce Files
For the first option, know that overages often stem from accumulated legacy files, namely email threads with embedded images, scanned documents, and other large attachments and inactive Chatter files.
If you want to pinpoint the main culprits, and you have access to either Salesforce Workbench or the Developer Console, you can run a SOQL query like
SELECT Id, ContentDocumentId, Title, ContentSize, FileType, CreatedDate FROM ContentVersion WHERE IsLatest = TRUE AND CreatedDate < LAST_N_YEARS:2 ORDER BY ContentSize DESC LIMIT 500
This will give the largest 500 files that are “old” (in this case, more than 2 years old). Deleting them or compressing them might give you some breathing space, but be aware that this is probably going to only fix things for a while.
Offloading Salesforce Files To External Storage
If you decide to store large files externally, it is crucial to ensure minimal disruption by still giving your users full access inside Salesforce. Users should see the files in their usual location in Salesforce and be able to search for them there, while the actual files live in a cheaper, more scalable system.
Can I Use SharePoint External Salesforce Storage?
This is actually a widely adopted pattern—especially because many organizations already use Microsoft 365 and rely on SharePoint for document storage.
Salesforce itself provides this integration with SharePoint through Files Connect (link in References).
When data and documents are aligned across systems, everyone works from the same page—literally.
No more:
- Searching shared drives
- Emailing PDFs around for confirmation
- Asking, “Where’s the signed agreement?”
- Different persons using different versions of the same file
The correct file is already linked inside the Salesforce record, stored securely in SharePoint.
This creates:
- Accuracy – consistent, correct files attached to each record
- Accountability – traceability and complete audit trails
- Trust – departments collaborate on the same information without confusion
Your teams continue working in Salesforce exactly as before, but files no longer count against Salesforce storage limits.
Files Connect: Pros & Cons
While Salesforce’s Files Connect offers an accessible way to link SharePoint files into Salesforce records, it isn’t the right solution for every organization.
Pros:
- Included with Salesforce: No additional licensing cost.
- Direct linking: Allows users to access existing SharePoint files from within Salesforce records.
- Supports multiple back-ends: Can connect to SharePoint Online, Box, Google Drive, and others.
- Familiar experience: Users stay in the Salesforce environment to find the necessary files.
Cons:
- One-way access: Primarily allows you to view (not fully manage) SharePoint files from Salesforce. Changes in Salesforce don’t update the source or vice versa.
- Limited file operations: You cannot create, move, rename, or delete SharePoint folders or files directly from Salesforce.
- No bulk offloading: Files Connect does not move or offload existing Salesforce files or attachments to SharePoint—your Salesforce storage usage remains unchanged.
- Limited external sharing: Collaborating with non-Salesforce users or guests is restricted and may need extra configuration.
Depending on your storage requirements, Files Connect can quickly prove limiting. Still, you can consider offloading your Salesforce files to SharePoint.
Introducing Document Extractor
If you’re looking for a truly hands-off, scalable approach, solutions like from Connecting Software address many of these limitations. Instead of just linking to files in SharePoint, Document Extractor actually migrates your existing and new Salesforce files into SharePoint for good, while preserving the user experience and keeping record associations intact.
With the new backup feature, you can also choose to retain files in Salesforce while creating a synchronized copy in SharePoint, supporting compliance and business continuity needs in addition to storage management.
"We introduced the backup feature in Document Extractor in direct response to customer requests. For some organizations, it’s not about saving storage space in Salesforce: they want to ensure data redundancy, safeguard against accidental deletions, and meet strict compliance requirements. Now, customers can easily keep a copy of their Salesforce files in SharePoint without disrupting their workflows."
— Kirill Zhuklinets, CTO at Connecting Software
How Document Extractor for Salesforce Works:
- A user uploads a file or attachment to Salesforce
- Document Extractor detects it
- The file is transferred to the corresponding SharePoint folder/library
- A reference is placed back in Salesforce
- Users continue accessing the file exactly as before
It is scalable, secure, and completely transparent to end users. Historical files migration can also be handled by .
In Practice:
Files will be accessible from Salesforce AND SharePoint, so there will be no more worrying about hitting Salesforce storage thresholds, and no disruption for users.
Good for:
- Ongoing, bi-directional sync
- Critical storage reduction (includes historical files)
- Proactive design to reduce Salesforce storage needs
- High-volume sync
- Migrations
- Backup
Check for Yourself:
Long-term reliability and adaptability to evolving Salesforce and SharePoint environments are a major strength of Document Extractor, as you can confirm on and in published since 2019.
Coming from a company that has been in the software integration market for over 20 years, the integration capabilities, ease of use, and competent technical support are also mentioned in user reviews.
If you’d like a live demonstration or tailored advice, Connecting Software offers and has a free trial available.
When to Offload Files: Reactive and Proactive Scenarios
Reactive Use Cases
(Storage limit already reached)
- You see “Storage Limit Exceeded” messages
- Users cannot upload new files
- You receive large storage cost quotes
- Org performance is impacted
Immediate remediation: Run to migrate existing files and free up storage.
Proactive Use Cases
(Preparing for growth)
- Service Cloud rollout with heavy email attachment traffic
- Contract lifecycle management implementation
- Onboarding of document-heavy customers
- Legacy data migration projects
- Integrations pushing files into Salesforce
Preventive architecture: Use from day one to ensure Salesforce storage never becomes a problem.
Key Takeaways
- Salesforce file storage is expensive at scale.
- You do not need to buy additional Salesforce storage.
- Integrating Salesforce and SharePoint creates one source of truth across the organization.
- Document Extractor is the recommended way to reduce costs, improve productivity, and streamline access.
References & Further Reading
Files Connect -
Use Cases:
