From Single-Org to Multi-Org: Meeting Data Residency and Business Innovation Needs

With China's recent data regulations making data residency a critical consideration for companies operating in the country, companies running on a single-org strategy may need to consider transitioning to a multi-org strategy to ensure compliance.  

Besides this potential trend, from my observations during recent projects, as businesses grow and evolve, their Salesforce org must keep pace. When organizations use a single org shared between multiple business units, the approach can initially promised efficiency by providing:

• Simplified management and administration

• Seamless collaboration across departments

• A unified view of data and processes

• Cost-effectiveness for smaller organizations

• Easier reporting and analytics

However, over time, without proper governance, this strategy can become a bottleneck in many cases. Common challenges, such as:

• Data storage limits and performance issues

• Lack of security boundaries

• Customization overload

• Growing complexity

• Conflicting business needs that hinder innovation

• Difficulty in managing multiple development teams and release cycles

These challenges often reduce agility and responsiveness. As a result, many businesses are driven to consider transitioning to a multi-org strategy, enabling each business unit to better align with its specific goals. This approach allows for improved performance, tailored customizations, and enhanced scalability. Migrating the metadata and data of individual units into their own Salesforce orgs becomes the preferred solution in such scenarios.

In my personal view, the growing regional data residency regulations and the increasing need for businesses to pivot quickly in response to new initiatives or market changes are going to drive the rise of multi-org adoption. However, every benefit comes with its challenges. Now is the perfect time to examine the best approach to execute an org split, and delve into best practices for managing metadata, syncing data between orgs, and developing a robust reporting strategy. I’ll explore these topics in more detail in my next blog, stay tuned.