Safeguarding Salesforce Data in Educational Institutions

Educational institutions thrive on data—whether it’s class registrations, test scores, or admissions records. This data powers their ability to achieve objectives and drive digital transformation. For many, Salesforce and Education Cloud provide the backbone for managing student, faculty, and administrative data, keeping them ahead in the digital transformation race.

However, while many institutions excel at leveraging data, the importance of protecting it often remains overlooked. This insight explores why safeguarding Salesforce data should be a top priority and how tools like Own make it easy.

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The Shared Responsibility Model: Know Your Role

Salesforce simplifies data management for educational institutions, but adopting the platform comes with responsibilities. According to the shared responsibility model, Salesforce secures its infrastructure, while customers are accountable for safeguarding and recovering the data stored on the platform.

For educational institutions, this means planning protection and recovery efforts proactively to avoid costly disruptions and risks before incidents occur.

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Why Protecting Salesforce Data is Critical

As reliance on Salesforce data grows, having a robust backup and recovery strategy becomes essential. Here’s why:

1. Ensure Operational Continuity

Data loss or corruption isn’t a matter of “if” but “when.” Protecting your Salesforce data ensures smooth operations during unexpected incidents.

For example, during admissions season, losing prospective student applications due to accidental deletion could result in delays, reputational damage, and resource strain. With a reliable backup and recovery solution, your institution can quickly restore lost data, avoid operational disruptions, and ensure a seamless admissions process.

2. Stay Ahead of Regulatory Compliance

Education is governed by strict regulations like FERPA and GDPR, and compliance is non-negotiable. By safeguarding your Salesforce data, you reduce the risks of legal, financial, or reputational penalties. A trusted backup solution ensures your data is securely stored, recoverable, and audit-ready to meet evolving compliance requirements.

3. Accelerate Development with Quality Data

Data fuels innovation in Salesforce development. Reliable backups ensure developers have accurate, secure data to work with, reducing errors and speeding up deployment cycles. This enables institutions to adapt quickly to changes and make the most of Salesforce’s powerful capabilities.

4. Unlock AI Potential

AI is revolutionizing education, from classrooms to administrative processes. However, successful AI initiatives require high-quality, historical data. By protecting Salesforce data, institutions can access the insights needed to drive AI-driven innovation and transform educational operations.

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Own: The Solution for Salesforce Data Protection

Educational institutions shouldn’t wait for a data loss crisis to prioritize data protection. The Own Data Platform offers a seamless solution to safeguard Salesforce data, enabling institutions to focus on growth and innovation.

Own’s Key Features

• Recover: Swiftly restore lost or corrupted Salesforce data to minimize downtime.
• Discover: Gain insights into your data environment to identify vulnerabilities and prevent future issues.
• Accelerate: Drive innovation with secure, accurate data for faster deployments and AI initiatives.

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Lessons Learned the Easy Way

Data is the foundation of digital transformation in education. By prioritizing Salesforce data protection with tools like Own, educational institutions can safeguard their operations, meet compliance standards, and pave the way for innovation. After all, in both the classroom and the cloud, lessons are best learned proactively—not the hard way.