Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud: Gaining Control Over Data Residency with CapStorm

One major concern for businesses operating in multiple regions is data residency – where data is stored and how it complies with local regulations. For companies using Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud, the challenge of maintaining control over data residency is a pressing issue, especially in highly regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and the public sector.
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CapStorm offers the tools to tackle these challenges, ensuring that businesses retain full control over their Salesforce data, uphold regulatory requirements, and leverage their cloud infrastructure.

The Salesforce-Alibaba Cloud Partnership

In 2019, Salesforce entered into a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud to make its suite of CRM tools available in the Greater China region. This collaboration leverages Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure, which complies with China’s strict data residency requirements. By hosting Salesforce products on Alibaba Cloud, organizations can ensure that sensitive customer data remains within China’s borders, significantly mitigating regulatory risks.

Key Offerings on Alibaba Cloud

  • Salesforce Products Available: Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and the Salesforce Platform are hosted on Alibaba Cloud, giving companies access to core CRM functionalities.
  • Compliance Assurance: By using Alibaba Cloud’s services, businesses meet China’s data residency mandates, which require personal and sensitive data to be stored domestically.
  • Enhanced Performance: Alibaba Cloud provides a high-speed, low-latency environment tailored for Chinese market conditions, enhancing the experience for local users.

However, while Salesforce’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud provides data residency compliance benefits, it also provides off-platform data access within the customers’ private cloud. For most enterprises, having the ability to leverage CRM data inside and outside of Salesforce securely is non-negotiable.

Salesforce Data Residency Is a Global Concern

Data residency refers to the specific geographic location where data is stored and processed. Data stewardship is a shared responsibility across physical and logical borders, raising concerns about compliance with local laws that govern data storage and security. For businesses operating in countries with strict data residency regulations, such as China, the EU, or certain states in the U.S., the stakes are high.

For companies using Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud, this issue becomes more complex as Salesforce’s infrastructure spans multiple global locations. While Salesforce provides localized data centers, these solutions often fall short of satisfying data residency requirements imposed by local governments. For organizations handling sensitive information, failure to comply with these regulations can result in:

  • Hefty fines for non-compliance with data protection laws.
  • Loss of trust from customers due to security breaches.
  • Operational setbacks from regulatory sanctions or data access restrictions.

This is where CapStorm enters the picture – offering a solution that provides control, compliance, and security over Salesforce data hosted on Alibaba Cloud.

Enhancing Data Control for Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud with CapStorm

As businesses expand into regions with stringent data residency laws, such as China, ensuring compliance while maintaining operational efficiency becomes paramount. Salesforce’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud addresses data localization requirements by hosting CRM solutions within China’s borders. However, organizations often seek greater utility & control over their data beyond mere regulatory compliance. If drawing business intelligence is the goal, then compliance is simply the cost of admission for getting value from data.

CapStorm’s solutions enable near real-time replication of Salesforce data to an organization’s own infrastructure, providing enhanced data ownership, governance, and integration capabilities.

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CapStorm’s CS:Enable product allows for seamless Salesforce data integration.

 

CapStorm’s Approach to Salesforce Data Residency

CapStorm empowers organizations by replicating Salesforce data to customer-owned infrastructure, whether on-premises or within a chosen cloud environment like Alibaba Cloud. This approach offers several key benefits:

On-Premises Data Storage

CapStorm’s CS:Enable solution offers near real-time data replication. It extracts data directly from Salesforce using secure, high-speed APIs, transforming it into a format that can be stored on the organization’s infrastructure – whether on-premises or in a private Alibaba Cloud environment. CS:Enable continuously monitors Salesforce for data changes and updates almost instantly.

  • Data Ownership: With CS:Enable, businesses are no longer bound to Salesforce’s data residency constraints. The solution ensures that all data is stored and managed within the company’s own infrastructure, giving organizations full control.
  • Configuration Flexibility: CS: Enables administrators to specify which objects and fields to replicate, customizing data storage to align with compliance and business needs. This granular control helps businesses manage sensitive information effectively.

Unrestricted Data Access

CapStorm’s solutions not only replicate data but also provide unrestricted access by converting Salesforce’s API-dependent data into SQL databases that can be queried and analyzed without limitations. For more comprehensive governance, CapStorm’s CS:Govern solution adds another layer by enabling detailed user permissions and auditing.

  • Data Usability: By replicating Salesforce data to a relational database, organizations can use standard data analytics and business intelligence tools like Power BI or Tableau to perform in-depth analysis. CS:Enable ensures this data is always verifiable and accessible.

Regulatory Compliance

CapStorm’s CS:Govern solution is designed to handle compliance challenges head-on. Users can encrypt data during transit and at rest, ensuring sensitive information remains protected while being replicated. CS:Govern also provides built-in audit logging and compliance reporting features.

  • Encryption and Security: CS:Govern allows for industry-standard encryption, ensuring that data remains secure throughout the replication process. Organizations can enforce encryption policies in line with local and international regulations.
  • Automated Compliance: CS:Govern generates detailed audit logs, showing every instance of data access or modification. This audit trail can be used for regulatory reporting, proving that the organization adheres to strict data residency laws.

Data Integration

CapStorm facilitates the integration of Salesforce data with other parts of a user’s tech stack, such as ERP platforms, local business intelligence tools, or data warehouses, ensuring seamless data flow.

  • Near Real-Time Updates: CS:Enable allows for bi-directional data flow, meaning updates in Salesforce are immediately reflected in integrated systems and vice versa. This ensures data consistency across the entire organization.
  • Customizable Connectors: Organizations can configure CS:Enable to connect with specific platforms, making integration flexible and tailored to business needs. This feature is crucial for automating workflows and enhancing productivity.

CapStorm’s solutions provide a comprehensive approach to data residency and governance for businesses using Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud. 

Empowering Global Businesses with Salesforce Data Control and Compliance

Leveraging Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud is a strategic move for companies operating in highly regulated markets like China. While this partnership addresses compliance concerns by localizing data storage, it still needs to fully resolve the challenges of data ownership, integration, and governance challenges.

CapStorm’s on-premises solutions empower businesses to stay compliant while enhancing data accessibility and security. This means companies can perform advanced data analysis, seamlessly integrate with internal systems, and enforce custom data retention policies – all while ensuring that sensitive data remains secure and compliant with local laws.

 

By combining the compliance benefits of Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud with CapStorm’s advanced data management capabilities, businesses can meet regulatory demands and gain a competitive edge through improved data governance and operational agility.

Reach out to the CapStorm team today to learn more!




Steven Welch

Steven Welch

Steven has over a decade of experience with content writing and design, and works to bring CapStorm's stories to a wider audience.

About CapStorm

CapStorm is the most technologically advanced Salesforce data management platform on the market. Billions of records per day flow through CapStorm software, and our solutions are used in every industry from credit cards, telecom providers, insurance agencies, global banks and energy providers.

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