Tackling a Salesforce 2-Org Merge

Published by Rebecca at November 9, 2011

We recently completed a successful merge of two Salesforce orgs. If you’re new to the game or anticipating this adventure in the near future, here are some tips & tricks to help you maintain your sanity… and yeah, it’s like that.

The concept of combining two orgs in Salesforce is one that makes sense in theory, but can seem nearly impossible to those who have yet to give it a shot. The thought of marrying two sets of complex data, business processes and unique system configurations is enough to make your head spin. Without the proper preparation, things could get very messy.

Ask yourself these questions prior to the start of your merge

Do inactive Users in the old org still own records?

Check to see if the old org (the one merging to another) has inactive Users that have ownership of any records prior to merging.

If the answer is “Yes,” be prepared to take the following steps after exporting data from the old org to the new org:

Use a multi-file “find and replace” tool to locate the record IDs from the inactive User to reassign to an active User
Create an External ID on the User Object and insert the old inactive User’s ID to the target (new) org
Upsert records to this ID to set new ownership

Best Practice: Mass reassign records when deactivating a User

What are the rules?

Check both the old and new orgs’ Validation, Workflow, Assignment, Escalation, and Auto-Response rules and how they affect existing data and businesses processes. Determine what needs to be changed and what will remain in place, and how new data added to existing data will adhere to these rules.

What about Profiles?

If the Users of the new org are existing Users of the org to be merged, determine if they will be respecting their old profiles or if they plan to make any distinct changes. This will affect many other features in Salesforce, so it’s best to know early-on.

What’s the purpose of all Custom Objects? Are they still relevant?

In many scenarios, Custom Objects are created to display a type of data that is unique to an organization, and will serve specific purposes. Check to see if your new org (the product of your merge) will use the Custom Objects existing in the original org.

Role Hierarchy: old, new, or completely different?

Before merging anything, you must first determine which Role Hierarchy will be used in the new org. Is it identical to one already set up, or do you have an entirely new list or tree of Roles? This is very important for the privacy of your existing data and should be mapped out prior to combining the two.

Sales and Support Processes: Which org wins?

There are several factors to consider based on which org’s sales and support processes will take precedence over the other; or perhaps your new org will have a different setup all together. If objects have separate Record Types and Page Layouts, you need to examine both and decide which has the look and feel that your Users will most benefit from.

Other Considerations…

Data Export vs Data Loader

The Data Export function does not provide Task due dates, but will give you all historical Tasks and Events
Data Loader will conduct an export including Task due dates, but will only give you Tasks and Events through a one-year archive, unless a two-year archive has been granted by Salesforce and all Tasks/Events have been previously archived.

Expect unforeseen errors

When estimating this process for your company or your client(s), inform them that unforeseen errors will occur.
If there is a proposal or formal Statement of Work, this needs to be included as billable time within the project.
Assure the client or the executives at your company that you will notify them of unexpected errors as they occur. Chances are, they’ll respect and trust your judgement if you approach this project with a realistic mindset.

Make full use of the resources Salesforce offers if you run into a serious problem. Help & Training, Answers, and using the #Askforce hashtag on Twitter are all great ways to reach out when you need a little extra assistance!

A well-respected and fellow Cloud Computing blog site, Button Click Admin, published a recent post on Merging Salesforce Orgs. We’ve covered the same topic, but Kevin hits some other interesting points that we recommend to anyone reading this!

Contact us at any time if you would like more information, or want to know more about the points we listed above. If you have any questions pertaining to Salesforce, just shoot us an email or give us a call – we’re here to help you!

social@internetcreations.com

609-570-7200

Author
Recent Posts

Connect on:

Rebecca