Introduction to DataAccess

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DataAccess is an enterprise data hub solution that extends the power of iQ Tag Management, AudienceStream, and EventStream by providing longer term storage for data collected from web and mobile touchpoints, online and offline channels, and real-time audiences.

In this article:

• How it Works
• Structured Data
• Semi-Structured Data
• Capabilities Chart
• Data Access Offering Descriptions
• FAQ
• Who needs DataAccess?
• Why would I use DataAccess?
• How long does it take for data to appear in DataAccess?
• How long is the data stored?
• Where does the data in DataAccess come from?

How it Works

The data that streams into the Universal Data Hub (UDH) is used in real-time for your vendor integrations or to trigger actions across marketing technologies and DataAccess is used to provide longer term storage for the resulting audience, event, and omnichannel data. Built on the enterprise-class solutions Amazon Redshift and Amazon S3, DataAccess offers two formats for storage: structured data and semi-structured data.

Offering two formats for data storage is important because:

• Structured data is easier to upload, extract, load, store, query, and analyze because of its high degree of organization and fixed fields.
• Semi-structured data, due to its lack of organization, makes structure harder to accomplish and requires an Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) into systems such as Hadoop before the data can be used.

Structured Data

Structure data can be accessed using various business intelligence tools. This format is available in the following offerings:

• EventDB
• AudienceDB

Semi-Structured Data

Semi-structured data is a raw format that can be downloaded directly from within Tealium. This format is available in the following offerings:

• EventStore
• AudienceStore

Capabilities Chart

Offerings Name	Store Data	Extract Data	Query Data	Analyze Data	Visualize Data
EventStore	✔	✔		✔
EventDB	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
AudienceStore	✔	✔		✔
AudienceDB	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
EventDirect		✔
Webhook (Event/Audience)		✔

Data Access Offering Descriptions

Offerings Name	Description	Structure Type	Technology Used
EventStore	EventStore collects raw event data from your web, mobile, internet of things (IoT), and offline channels. The data is stored in a semi-structured data format in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) on an Amazon Simple Storage Service S3 bucket.	Semi Structured Data	Amazon S3
EventDB	EventDB extends the capabilities of EventStore by taking the raw event data and organizing it into a structured Amazon Redshift database instance. Any Postgres-enabled platform can access this data and users can run SQL directly against the database. The structured data can then be used by business intelligence (BI) tools, such as Splunk and data visualization tools, such as Tableau.	Structured Data	Amazon RedShift
EventDirect	EventDirect sends event data, such as the following, directly to an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) of your choice: Metadata Querystring parameters Web cookie data In-content events JavaScript variables Marketing source URL parameters Data manipulation / Tealium iQ extension data - privacy, lookup tables, attribution) The data is sent in HTTP POST format.	Customer Choice	Customer Host
AudienceStore	AudienceStore provides raw storage of audience data and attributes collected from AudienceStream. Like EventStore, the data is stored in a semi-structured format on an Amazon S3 instance. JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or Comma Separated Value (.csv) are employed to create this file. The data is made available for download via the Amazon S3 bucket.	Semi Structured Data	Amazon S3
AudienceDB	Like EventDB, AudienceDB expands on the capabilities of AudienceStore and stores audience data and attributes collected from AudienceStream in a structured format. Any Postgres-enabled platform can access this data and users can run SQL directly against the database. The structured data can be tapped and used for historical analysis or visualization at a later date by BI tools such as Splunk and data visualization tools, such as Tableau.	Structured Data	Amazon RedShift
Webhook (Event/Audience)	Webhook (Event/Audience) sends audience data (attributes / profiles, badges, and omnichannel / offline data) directly to the EDW of your choice.	Customer Choice	Customer Host

FAQ

Who needs DataAccess?

DataAccess is a powerful option for anyone interested in:

• Capturing a single view of the customer
• Enterprise Data Management
• Spending less time on Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) or normalization of data
• Spending more time on data visualization and analysis
• Collaborating across the organization with a common data set

Why would I use DataAccess?

The UDH can become a valuable resource to your data supply chain as it contains rich data from the past and the present that can be used to create tailored customer experiences across your organization. DataAccess is often the easiest and most direct way to get that data back into your systems and, since the data is hosted on a flexible and powerful platform, it is primed for use with the analysis tool of your choice.

How long does it take for data to appear in DataAccess?

EventStore/AudienceStore

For both EventStore and AudienceStore, data updates occur based on the following conditions, whichever occurs first:

• The size of the bucket reaches 100 MB
• 1 hour elapses

Visitor Create/Update

Visitor profiles are created and updated when a session ends.

Visitor Stitching

When visitor profiles are stitched together, the existing records are deleted and the stitched profile is re-inserted.

Visitor Delete

Visitor profiles are deleted if they haven't been updated during the profile retention period. For example, for a profile retention period of 90 days, all visitor profiles that have not been updated in the previous 90 days will be deleted.

EventDB/AudienceDB

New data is stored in EventDB and AudienceDB up to 1 hour after it reaches EventStore/AudienceStore.

How long is the data stored?

The time period for which data is stored depends on which format you are using:

• Structured data stored in Amazon RedShift remains available according to the length of time stated in your contract, usually 90 days. Contact your Account Manager to review the terms of your contract that determine the length of time your data is stored.
• Semi-structured data stored on Amazon S3 remains indefinitely unless you act otherwise.

Where does the data in DataAccess come from?

The data in DataAccess can come from many different sources, including but not limited to:

• Desktop websites
• Tablet/Mobile websites
• Mobile applications
• Offline sources, such as call centers, retail transactions, or loyalty cards
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• From one of our 1000+ vendor integrations