25 Feb 2021
Technology
2
min read
Peter Lambrou
,
Sitecore Optimisation Consultant MVP Strategist
How you put all this data in one place so you can analyse it and get to market faster?
Sitecore xConnect enables the Sitecore Experience Platform to connect with, and store data from, just about any third party data system. This gives marketers the most comprehensive view of the customer they’ve probably ever had.
Collect and connect
Sitecore xConnect helps you to connect data together, regardless of where the data is coming from or what format it may be in.
It’s a set of APIs and services that comes out-of-the-box as part of Sitecore, and enables integration and data exchange in and out of the Sitecore Experience Database (xDB).
With Sitecore xConnect, you have the ability to accept data from digital devices and touch-points, machine learning engines, CRMs, Point of Sale, ERP systems, and almost any screen or system using the OData industry standard.
It can extract data from a range of connected devices – from mobile apps, store beacons, augmented/virtual/mixed reality systems, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearables, call centres, and customer experience systems.
Sitecore xConnect gives you control of indexing of any contact, facet, interaction, or event. For digital marketing teams, this means a powerful holistic view to customer data that allows you to mine and use data, and then create and deliver campaigns that successfully attract, acquire and retain customers.
If you combine all this with Sitecore Cortex machine learning, Sitecore xConnect can give you vital real-time insights that can help you produce exceptional results.
Sitecore xConnect also encrypts data at-rest, and in-motion, for increased security, and it has support for ‘the right to be forgotten’ and ‘the right to data portability’ to help your Sitecore website comply with the GDPR.
Key features
Model definition and deployment to a centralised configuration server.
Set of APIs and services to integrate data from third party systems to Sitecore Experience Database (xDB).
Easily extract or stream using the OData industry standard, for example, to Microsoft PowerBI.
Push and pull operations on contacts and interactions.
Search features make use of standard technologies like Solr or Azure Search.
Automatic indexing of any contact, facet, interaction, or event.
Abstraction from a specific database technology to enable IT teams to make use of Microsoft Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server 2016, and MongoDB.
Operates across all Sitecore Experience deployment options (on premises, hybrid, and managed cloud).
Foundation of out-of-box connectors created by Sitecore: Sitecore Connect™ for Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Sitecore Connect™ for Salesforce CRM.
Working with Codehouse
We’ve designed and built Sitecore websites for numerous brands, and used Sitecore xConnect to pull in customer data from their various systems – whether CRM, Point of Sale, ERP, mobile app, or other – to give them a 360-degree view of their customers in one place, and a huge advantage over their competitors.
If you’d like to know more about Sitecore xConnect and how we can help you integrate your systems with your Sitecore website, then get in touch.