Data Model

1. What are categories in Data Model, and how do I choose the right one for a phone number attribute?

   Categories in Data Model help classify attributes based on the type of information they represent, making it easier to manage and use them during activation. The available categories are:

   1. Phone – To store phone numbers, such as a customer’s mobile or landline. This category enforces E.164 formatting validation to ensure consistency.

   2.  Email – To store email addresses. This category applies standard email format validation.

   3.  Business – For business-related attributes, such as Loan Type, Loan Amount, etc.

2. How do I choose the right data type for attributes in Data Cloud?

   Currently, Acqueon Data Cloud supports the following data types: string, integer, float, double, date, and datetime. If you are working with a data type outside this list in Salesforce, it is best to select string to ensure compatibility and smooth mapping. When selecting a data type, consider the data source:

   1. Salesforce: Match the data type of the Data Cloud attribute with the corresponding Salesforce field. For example, if a Salesforce field is a date, choose date in Data Cloud.

   2. Flat files: Follow the structure of the incoming file. For numeric values, choose integer or float. If the format is unclear or unsupported, string is the recommended option.

This ensures compatibility across systems while preserving data accuracy and preventing ingestion errors.

3. How should unique identifiers be designed for parent and child entities in Acqueon Data Cloud?

   Unique identifiers help Data Cloud accurately recognize and manage individual profiles and records. The way you define them directly impacts how data is merged or tracked.

   1. Profiles: A profile represents a person or an entity. To avoid duplicates, you must choose an attribute that uniquely identifies each profile. This can be a phone number, email address, or any custom attribute, such as a Customer ID, CRM Record ID, which remains consistent across systems.  For example, if your data source is Salesforce, you could use the Salesforce Record ID as the unique identifier for profiles.

   2. Child Record: The unique identifier for these records should be designed based on the specific business use case. For instance, if you store purchase history, you can use a purchase ID or invoice ID as the unique identifier to track each transaction. Avoid using a profile-level attribute, such as phone number, as the record ID, as it may incorrectly merge multiple records under the same entry.

4. Can I rename/delete/recreate profile attributes or change category/data type?

   You cannot rename a profile attribute. Deleting an attribute performs a soft delete. If you recreate it with the same name and data type, the original reappears with its previous settings. The data type cannot be changed after creation. To use a different type, create a new attribute with a different name to avoid restoring the original.

   Category can be changed for custom attributes (for example, from Phone to Business), but is fixed for system-defined attributes.