Transcript

In this video, we’ll set up an integration with a data file. Major topics include file format and "one-time" vs. "scheduled" jobs.

Within Customer Data Hub, Totango supports integrations via data files. These files can be saved locally for manual upload, or you can save them to another file storage location and set up a connection to allow Totango to access them. Let’s start with the most basic option–a local file.

Local files don’t require you to set up a connection in Data Hub because YOU are acting as the connection. When I click to set up a new integration job, I can now specify what type of data I want to import into Totango OR export out of Totango. Let’s say I’m brand new to Totango, and my company keeps all of its Account data in a spreadsheet. Or maybe it’s in a CRM–but, I don’t have access to set up that connection right now. Either way, as long as I have the data in a CSV format, I can bring it into Totango.

So, which columns should I include in my data file? Of course, that depends on the type of data I want to import. For accounts, Totango requires you to have an Account ID. For other objects, Totango requires you to have a unique identifier for the object itself (like UserID) AND the related account ID. Remember, everything in Totango–tasks, users, touchpoints, and so on–must belong to an account.

Be sure that the unique identifier field(s) are represented in your data file. This identifier is what tells Totango to either create a new record during import–assuming your job settings allow it–or update an existing record if one with the same ID already exists. Any other data that you include in the import is up to you!

For accounts, other important attributes that Totango relies on are Account Type and Status. Including a column in your data file for those attributes would be ideal, but you can alternatively set those values during the integration job itself using custom mapping function, or you can always bulk edit records after the fact using segments.

Whatever fields you bring in from your data file, you’ll need to map to the corresponding Totango attribute. If the attribute you’re bringing in already exists, Totango will attempt to match it, or you can find it in the list. There’s no need to rename the fields in your data file to match the Totango attribute name; in fact, it’s best practice to leave the field names however you got them and let the integration mapping do the work so that it’s consistent every time–especially for scheduled jobs. (More on that in a moment.)

If the attribute you’re bringing in *doesn’t* already exist, Totango will add it for you during the integration process. After I’ve mapped my source fields with Totango attributes, I must validate mapping. And then Totango will show me a preview of how the data will be imported.

We chose a local file, so our job is limited to a one-time import. However, for any of the data file connectors that require a connection, you’ll see an additional option here to specify whether you’d like to set up an integration job to run on a recurring schedule. For scheduled integrations, Totango looks for the data file according to the schedule you specify. When a new version is detected, Totango will process it automatically.

Back to my local file. When I’m ready to import, I can click Save and Upload. I immediately see the sync status, which will update automatically to tell me when the import is finished. If my import was successful, I can hover for additional options. For scheduled jobs, you have additional options for editing the schedule, viewing history, disabling, and working with API endpoints.

Because my job was successful, I can also exit Settings and see my new data that were imported. In this case, all my new or newly updated accounts. I can also make any one-off or bulk edits from the segment view.