Salesforce Certified Data Architecture Practice Test

Utilizing the Bulk API to export the data is the recommended approach to avoid timeouts during the export process of Contact records. The Bulk API is specifically designed to handle large amounts of data more efficiently than other APIs. It allows for asynchronous processing, meaning that you can submit larger data sets without the risk of hitting the governor limits or timeouts inherent in synchronous requests.

The Bulk API splits the data into manageable batches, which it processes without needing to maintain a continuous connection over an extended period, reducing the chance of timeouts significantly. This is particularly beneficial when dealing with large volumes of records, such as Contact records, which can often number in the thousands or millions.

While the other options have their merits, they may not be as effective in avoiding timeouts. Using the SOAP API could lead to timeouts when handling larger datasets due to its synchronous nature. GZIP compression can help reduce the size of data during export, but does not address the issue of connection time and limits directly. Scheduling a Batch Apex job is useful for processing large volumes of data in a more controlled manner, but is typically not used solely for export purposes, and the export process itself may still face timeouts if not managed properly.

In summary, leveraging the Bulk API is the