Big Objects in Salesforce: The Ultimate Guide 2024

In today’s data-driven world, businesses are constantly grappling with the challenge of managing and analyzing vast amounts of information. Salesforce, a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, has risen to this challenge with the introduction of Big Objects. This powerful feature allows organizations to store and manage massive datasets directly within the Salesforce platform. 

By 2025, it’s estimated that 463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally. These numbers underscore the growing importance of efficient large-scale data storage solutions like Salesforce Big Objects.

Big Objects

Big Objects are custom objects in Salesforce designed to store and manage massive amounts of data, up to billions of records. They provide a scalable solution for retaining and accessing historical data, tracking high-volume data changes, and integrating external big data systems with Salesforce.

Key features of Big Objects include:

• Massive data storage capacity
• High-performance queries on large datasets
• Seamless integration with Salesforce platform features
• Support for field history tracking and archiving

Big Objects Best Practices

To maximize the benefits of Big Objects, consider these best practices:

1. Use Big Objects for appropriate use cases, such as storing historical data or high-volume transactional data.
2. Design your Big Object schema carefully, as it cannot be modified after deployment.
3. Implement efficient indexing strategies to optimize query performance.
4. Leverage async operations for data insertion and deletion to manage large volumes effectively.
5. Use custom metadata types to manage Big Object configurations.

Define and Deploy Custom Big Objects

To create a custom Big Object:

1. From Setup, enter “Big Objects” in the Quick Find box and select Big Objects.
2. Click “New” to start the creation process.
3. Define the object’s fields, including at least one field as the primary key.
4. Create an index to optimize query performance.
5. Save and deploy the Big Object.

Populate a Custom Big Object

There are several ways to populate a Big Object:

1. Apex: Use the Database.insertImmediate() method for synchronous insertions or Database.insertAsync() for asynchronous operations.
2. REST API: Utilize the Composite resource for bulk insertions.
3. Bulk API 2.0: Ideal for loading large volumes of data.

Example Apex code for asynchronous insertion:

List<MyBigObject__b> records = new List<MyBigObject__b>();

// Populate the list with records

Database.insertAsync(records, new AsyncCallback());

public class AsyncCallback implements Database.AsyncCallback {

    public void callback(Database.BatchResult[] results) {

        // Handle the results

    }

Delete Data in a Custom Big Object

Deleting data from a Big Object requires using the Database.deleteAsync() method or the Bulk API 2.0. Here’s an Apex example:

List<MyBigObject__b> recordsToDelete = [SELECT Id FROM MyBigObject__b WHERE CreatedDate < :oldestDate LIMIT 10000];

Database.deleteAsync(recordsToDelete, new AsyncCallback());

Also Read – Introduction to Salesforce sObjects

Big Objects Queueable Example

Using a Queueable Apex class allows for better control over asynchronous operations:

public class BigObjectQueueable implements Queueable {

    public void execute(QueueableContext context) {

        List<MyBigObject__b> records = new List<MyBigObject__b>();

        // Populate the list with records

        Database.insertAsync(records, new AsyncCallback());

    }

}

// Enqueue the job 

System.enqueueJob(new BigObjectQueueable());

Big Object Query Examples

Querying Big Objects requires using SOQL with some limitations. Here are a few examples:

// Basic query

SELECT Field1__c, Field2__c FROM MyBigObject__b WHERE IndexedField__c = ‘Value’

// Query with ORDER BY (must use indexed field)

SELECT Field1__c FROM MyBigObject__b WHERE IndexedField__c > ‘Value’ 

ORDER BY IndexedField__c DESC LIMIT 100

// Query with date range

SELECT COUNT() FROM MyBigObject__b WHERE CreatedDate >= 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z AND CreatedDate < 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z

View Big Object Data in Reports and Dashboards

While Big Objects aren’t directly reportable, you can create custom report types based on Big Object data:

1. Create an Apex class that queries the Big Object and returns the data as a wrapper object.
2. Create a custom report type based on this Apex class.
3. Build reports and dashboards using this custom report type.

SOQL with Big Objects

When using SOQL with Big Objects, keep these points in mind:

• Queries must use indexed fields in the WHERE clause.
• JOINs are not supported.
• Aggregate functions are limited (COUNT is supported).
• LIMIT clause is required and cannot exceed 10,000 records.

Conclusion

Salesforce Big Objects provide a powerful solution for managing large-scale data within the Salesforce ecosystem. By leveraging this feature, organizations can unlock new possibilities in data analysis, historical tracking, and integration with external big data systems. As data continues to grow exponentially, tools like Big Objects will become increasingly crucial for businesses aiming to harness the full potential of their information assets.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What’s the maximum number of records a Big Object can hold? 

Big Objects can hold billions of records, with no specific upper limit defined by Salesforce.

2. Can I modify a Big Object’s schema after deployment? 

No, Big Object schemas are immutable after deployment. Careful planning is essential.

3. How do Big Objects differ from standard custom objects? 

Big Objects are designed for massive scale, have different querying mechanisms, and cannot be used in all standard Salesforce features.

4. Are there limits on the number of Big Objects I can create? 

Yes, the number of Big Objects you can create depends on your Salesforce edition and license.

5. Can I use Big Objects in Salesforce formulas or validation rules? 

No, Big Objects cannot be referenced in standard formulas or validation rules due to their unique nature.