Renaming Data Sources to Variables in iQ Tag Management

[kathleen_jo]

We are excited to announce a change to our product’s glossary today. This change will more closely align with the data industry as a whole and hopefully give you, our customers, the ability to more accurately define and work with your data.

Currently, Tealium calls all the data in the data layer “data sources”. However, this does not completely describe what a “data source” is. In fact, the very idea of a “data source” evokes an image of a website, or an email, or a Facebook page, or even a data warehouse. Literally where your data is “sourced” from. “Data sources” do a great job describing the data in a macro sense, however, the data that is in the data layer requires a more granular approach to its naming convention.

As a result, we have decided to change the name of “data sources” in Tealium iQ to “variables” effective today. “Variables” more accurately reflects the types of data that is in the data layer, describing the various nuances of a website down to its micro-level parts (e.g. page_name, product_name, etc). Plus, the term “variables” is more inline with the current way that analysts view all the micro-level data that is collected in the data layer, thus helping minimizing confusion for all parties involved.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.