In the modern digital economy, organizations rely on Salesforce as the backbone of their customer relationship management (CRM) and operational workflows. While Salesforce excels at handling structured data—such as customer records, transactions, and sales pipelines—it is not inherently optimized for managing unstructured content like contracts, scanned documents, PDFs, multimedia files, and email attachments. Over time, as organizations store more unstructured data within Salesforce, they unknowingly create an environment where data accumulation begins to act as a force of its own—a phenomenon known as data gravity. 

Coined by engineer Dave McCrory, data gravity describes the tendency of large data sets to attract more applications, services, and additional data, making it increasingly difficult to move, manage, and optimize. Within the Salesforce ecosystem, unchecked data gravity leads to several unintended consequences: escalating storage costs, reduced system performance, increased regulatory compliance risks, and compromised data security. This whitepaper examines the hidden costs of storing unstructured content in Salesforce, the risks of data gravity, and the strategies businesses can employ to mitigate these challenges through intelligent document management practices. 

By implementing proactive governance, automated classification, external storage integration, and data lifecycle optimization, organizations can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and maintain compliance without compromising the benefits of Salesforce as their primary business platform. The key lies in viewing document management not just as a storage issue, but as a strategic initiative that can transform operational efficiency. 

Data gravity is more than a theoretical concept—it is a measurable, real-world challenge that organizations face as they scale their Salesforce environments. As businesses continue to generate unstructured content, that data begins to exert a gravitational pull, making it harder to access, process, and optimize. The larger the data set, the more difficult it becomes to control. 

According to IDC, enterprise data is projected to grow at a staggering 42% annually through 2025, with unstructured data comprising over 80% of that growth (IDC). In the Salesforce environment, this means that businesses without a structured document management strategy will soon find themselves unable to efficiently retrieve critical information, meet compliance mandates, or optimize performance. 

Organizations that allow unstructured content to accumulate without governance typically experience the following issues: 

• Reduced System Performance: Large volumes of unoptimized documents slow down search functionality, increase query response times, and introduce system lag. 

• Increased Storage Costs: Salesforce enforces strict storage limits, requiring organizations to purchase additional capacity as their data footprint expands. 

• Compliance Risks: Failing to establish clear data retention policies increases exposure to regulatory penalties and legal action. 

• Security Vulnerabilities: Sensitive information stored without proper encryption or lifecycle governance becomes a target for data breaches and unauthorized access. 

Without proper controls, data gravity locks businesses into inefficient processes, forcing them to spend more time and resources managing unstructured content rather than focusing on strategic initiatives. 

Businesses often underestimate the secondary costs associated with document mismanagement. While storage expansion is the most visible expense, the reality is that unstructured data impacts operational efficiency, compliance obligations, and security posture. Below are the most significant hidden costs that organizations face when failing to address document bloat in Salesforce. 

A. Rising Storage Expenses and Scalability Issues

Salesforce’s data and file storage pricing model means that organizations exceeding their allocation must pay additional fees. Unlike traditional on-premise storage solutions, cloud-based storage incurs recurring costs, making uncontrolled document accumulation an ongoing financial burden. 

Gartner estimates that organizations waste up to 30% of their cloud storage budget on redundant, obsolete, or trivial (ROT) data (Gartner). Without structured data lifecycle policies, businesses end up storing large volumes of inactive files, dramatically inflating costs over time. 

B. Productivity Loss Due to Inefficient Document Retrieval

An unstructured, disorganized document repository hampers productivity, forcing employees to spend excessive time locating files. McKinsey & Company reports that knowledge workers spend nearly 20% of their workweek searching for information, translating to thousands of lost work hours annually (McKinsey). 

A disorganized document system leads to: 

• Duplicated efforts where employees recreate documents they cannot find. 

• Missed deadlines due to delayed approvals and prolonged document retrieval. 

• Version confusion, resulting in incorrect files being used in contracts and reports.

C. Compliance Risks and Regulatory Liabilities

Global regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and FINRA impose strict data management policies, requiring businesses to track how long documents are retained and when they should be deleted. A failure to manage unstructured data in Salesforce can lead to: 

• GDPR fines for retaining personal data beyond permissible periods. 

• Legal consequences for failure to provide required documentation during audits. 

• Increased litigation risks, as unmanaged records create exposure to legal claims. 

In 2023 alone, GDPR fines exceeded €2.5 billion, largely due to poor data governance practices (European Data Protection Board). 

D. Cybersecurity Risks from Unprotected Documents

Data breaches often target unstructured data, as it lacks the same security controls as structured records. IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that unstructured data mismanagement contributes to an average breach cost of $4.45 million (IBM). 

When businesses store outdated or duplicate versions of sensitive files (such as contracts, financial records, or HR files), they unknowingly increase their attack surface, making it easier for unauthorized actors to access confidential data. 

Addressing data gravity in Salesforce requires a proactive and structured document management strategy. Below are key solutions that organizations can implement to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance compliance: 

A. Implement Governance Policies and Retention Rules

A well-defined data governance framework establishes clear guidelines for document retention, access control, and archival processes. Organizations should: 

• Set mandatory retention policies to prevent data hoarding. 

• Implement automated archival workflows for inactive documents. 

• Define user access levels to limit unnecessary document proliferation. 

B. Leverage AI-Powered Document Classification

AI and machine learning tools can intelligently tag and classify documents based on content type, making retrieval faster and improving search accuracy by 60% (Forrester). 

C. Offload Unstructured Data to External Storage

Integrating Salesforce with external cloud storage solutions (AWS S3, Google Drive, SharePoint) helps reduce unnecessary database expansion while maintaining access control. 

D. Conduct Regular Audits and Data Cleanup Initiatives

Routine data audits help identify and remove redundant files, reducing storage bloat and security risks. Salesforce automation tools can flag outdated documents and trigger clean-up workflows, ensuring that document repositories remain optimized. 

Data gravity is an unavoidable consequence of digital transformation, but with strategic document management policies, organizations can maintain control over their Salesforce environments. Implementing governance frameworks, AI-driven classification, and external storage solutions (like Amazon S3) will ensure cost-effective, efficient, and compliant data practices that support long-term business success.