Data Cloud for Data Migrations

Is This Post for You?

Who should read this?
Salesforce admins, architects, and anyone planning a one-time data migration into Salesforce.

What will you learn?
Why Data Cloud isn’t the best tool for a one-time migration—and what makes a better choice.

What to do next?
Skip the unnecessary complexity. Stick with spreadsheets or an ETL tool to make your migration faster, cheaper, and easier.

Read below to learn the details and know when Data Cloud is the right solution.

When implementing a new Salesforce cloud or merging in a recent acquisition, companies have an appetite for migrating historical data into Salesforce. These data projects can be extremely challenging - urgent, complex, risky, high-profile, etc. - and so we at Cloud Giants are always looking for ways to make them easier.

Let’s imagine you recently acquired a company, and are looking to bring that firm’s historical customer and sales data into your own CRM. Among many, one decision that needs to be made in the scope of that project is what tooling will be used - spreadsheets, ETL platform, etc. - to support different key steps along the migration project (e.g., field mapping and transformation).

It struck me that Data Cloud could be an appealing option. It has a free version entitled to all Enterprise Edition customers, lowering the barrier to using it. It also has native capabilities that allow it to connect with multiple external systems, ingest data, and build field mapping logic that reconciles records. 

So if this can support my needs, is more reliable and repeatable than spreadsheets, and is free (so I don’t need to spend more money on an ETL tool), isn’t it a no-brainer? I mean, doesn’t this interface look exactly like what you’d want for building transformations?

Unfortunately, just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be. While Data Cloud is powerful, it’s not necessarily the Right Solution for a one-time migration. It’s like driving a spaceship to the store—overkill, unnecessary complexity, and not built for the job.

📌 "Data Cloud’s field mapping interface: Powerful for ongoing integrations, but adds complexity to a one-time migration."
(Source: [Salesforce Data Cloud] - https://www.salesforce.com/news/customer-graph/)

Here’s why Data Cloud makes one-time migrations harder, not easier:

1. You’ll Need a Data Cloud Architect

A successful data migration already requires expertise in strategy design, change management, project management, data modeling, and Salesforce architecture. But using Data Cloud adds another layer of complexity: you now need someone skilled specifically in Data Cloud architecture, which is a niche skill set.

By contrast, most teams already know spreadsheets or lightweight ETL tools—so there’s almost no learning curve. If you introduce Data Cloud into a migration, you’ve just added a difficult-to-fill skill gap, with no real benefit.

2. Migrations Happen Once—So Why Build for Forever?

Data Cloud is designed for ongoing data integration, not one-time moves. Setting it up takes time and effort, and that tradeoff makes sense only if you’re using it long-term. But for a one-time migration, your ROI is super low—because once the data is in Salesforce, you likely won’t touch Data Cloud again.

3. You’ll End Up Right Back Where You Started

One of Data Cloud’s best features is its ability to ingest and harmonize data—but here’s the catch: that harmonized data stays in Data Cloud’s data lake. It’s not actually in your Salesforce CRM yet.

So after spending all that time setting up Data Cloud, you still have to go through another round of extracting, transforming, and loading (ETL) just to get your data where you originally wanted it. That’s the exact thing we were trying to simplify in the first place!

At Cloud Giants, we love exploring new ways to make data migrations smoother—but just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be. When it comes to one-time Salesforce migrations, Data Cloud is more spaceship than sedan—powerful, but not built for the trip.

Successful data migration isn’t just about the right tool—it’s about having the right strategy. We help teams navigate these decisions so they can confidently manage their data long-term. If you’re planning a migration and want expert guidance on the best approach, we’d love to help. We offer a free consult to make sure you’re set up for success—without unnecessary complexity.