Global Salesforce: users in NA, EMEA, APAC. Architecture decisions multiply.
Single org vs multi-org:
- Single global org — one Salesforce instance for everyone. Simpler, unified data, easier reporting. Constraint: all data lives in one Salesforce data center; data residency may require multi-org.
- Multi-org — separate instance per region. Required for data residency (EU data in EU region, etc.); independent scaling per region. Cost: integration, governance, talent.
Decision drivers: regulatory data residency, performance/latency, business unit autonomy, M&A history.
For single org:
- Multi-currency must be enabled (irreversible decision).
- Multi-language — Translation Workbench, locale-aware formats.
- Time zones — every user has TZ; Business Hours per region.
- Sharing model — region-based sharing rules; users see only their region's data.
- Region-specific record types for different processes.
- Page layouts / Lightning Record Pages per region.
For multi-org:
- SSO federates user identity across orgs.
- Salesforce-to-Salesforce or Mulesoft for cross-org data sync.
- Shared customer data — Data Cloud or master data system.
- Multi-org reporting — replicate to data warehouse for unified view.
- Independent governance per org with overall coordination.
Performance considerations:
- Salesforce data center proximity affects latency.
- Choose data center closest to majority of users.
- For globally distributed users, multi-org with regional data centers may be necessary.
Operational considerations:
- Follow-the-sun support model.
- Release coordination — multiple regions deploy simultaneously or staggered?
- Sandboxes per region or shared?
- Time-zone-friendly scheduling.
Compliance:
- GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), LGPD (Brazil), industry-specific.
- Data classification + Privacy Center.
- Right-to-be-forgotten workflows.
Phased rollout:
- Pilot one country in one region.
- Expand to whole region.
- Roll region by region.
- Each phase reveals localisation surprises.
Common pitfalls:
- English-first design then localise — usually wrong; designs assume English left-to-right.
- Time zone bugs in scheduled jobs.
- Currency calculation errors in multi-currency.
- Compliance surprises — discovered late, costly fix.
Senior architects engage compliance/legal early. Many regulatory questions only have technical answers.