Given the requirements to standardize and cleanse incoming data streams while keeping the original data unchanged in compliance with regional regulations, the best approach is to implementbatch data transformations. Here’s why:
Understanding the Requirements
The global fashion retailer operates across multiple regions (AMER, EMEA, APAC), each with varying data formats for customer, order, and product information.
Compliance regulations require the original data to remain unchanged in the source systems.
The company needs a unified view of customer profiles for real-time personalization and analytics.
Why Batch Data Transformations?
Batch Transformations for Standardization:
Batch data transformationsallow you to process large volumes of data at scheduled intervals.
They can standardize and cleanse data (e.g., converting different date formats, normalizing product names) without altering the original data in the source systems.
Compliance with Regulations:
Since the original data remains unchanged in the source systems, batch transformations comply with regional regulations.
The transformed data is stored in a separate layer (e.g., a new Data Lake Object or Unified Profile) for downstream use.
Unified Customer Profiles:
After transformation, the cleansed and standardized data can be used to create a unified view of customer profiles in Salesforce Data Cloud.
This enables real-time personalization and analytics across regions.
Steps to Implement This Solution
Step 1: Identify Transformation Needs
Analyze the differences in data formats across regions (e.g., date formats, currency, product IDs).
Define the rules for standardization and cleansing (e.g., convert all dates to ISO format, normalize product names).
Step 2: Create Batch Transformations
UseData Cloud’s Batch Transformfeature to apply the defined rules to incoming data streams.
Schedule the transformations to run at regular intervals (e.g., daily or hourly).
Step 3: Store Transformed Data Separately
Store the transformed data in a new Data Lake Object (DLO) or Unified Profile.
Ensure the original data remains untouched in the source systems.
Step 4: Enable Unified Profiles
Use the transformed data to create a unified view of customer profiles in Salesforce Data Cloud.
Leverage this unified view for real-time personalization and analytics.
Why Not Other Options?
A. Implement streaming data transformations:Streaming transformations are designed for real-time processing but may not be suitable for large-scale standardization and cleansing tasks. Additionally, they might not align with compliance requirements to keep the original data unchanged.
C. Transform data before ingesting into Data Cloud:Transforming data before ingestion would require modifying the original data in the source systems, violating compliance regulations.
D. Use Apex to transform and cleanse data:Using Apex is overly complex and resource-intensive for this use case. Batch transformations are a more efficient and scalable solution.
Conclusion
By implementingbatch data transformations, the global fashion retailer can standardize and cleanse its data while complying with regional regulations and enabling a unified view of customer profiles for real-time personalization and analytics.
