Stable Unique Profile IDENTIFIER for Reliable AEP and Salesforce Integration??

[JeanBaro_]

Hello,

I'm currently working on integrating Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) with Salesforce and am facing a challenge with reliably linking profiles between the two systems. I hope you can help me find a solution. (There is a simple diagram that might help explaining the problem I am trying to solve).

The Problem:

• Changing Identifiers: In AEP, individual pieces of information (like email or phone number) can change or be removed over time, making it difficult to select a key that always points to the same unique profile.
• Experience Cloud ID (ECID) Limitations: While ECID is commonly used, it’s not ideal for my needs because:
  • The same profile can have multiple ECIDs if users change devices or clear their browser caches.
  • I'm concerned about the long-term reliability of ECID as the profile evolves and old data might be purged.
• Multiple ECIDs Issue: Using the first available ECID to link a Salesforce record can make it difficult to identify which ECID was originally used, causing reliability issues in the long term.

The Goal:

I need a stable, unique identifier that:

• Will not change over time, regardless of changes to the underlying profile data in AEP.
• Can reliably link and sync profiles between AEP and Salesforce.
• Allows easy updates to the corresponding record in Salesforce when the profile changes in AEP.

Process:

• Lead Creation and Updates: All leads (creation and updates to their contact information) will always happen in AEP first to ensure deduplication and data quality.
• Updating Salesforce: Only after AEP processes the data will Salesforce be updated with either:
  • A new Lead record.
  • Changes to an existing Lead (referenced by the unique profile ID information I am looking for).
  • A merge of two or more profiles.

Consideration:

I understand that over time, two profiles might need to be merged inside AEP (using its rules for profile stitching). If this happens, I can handle it in Salesforce as long as there is an I/O event in AEP that notifies me of the merge, specifying that the winning profile ID is "X", and that the profiles to be merged are X and Y (again, X is the winning).

The Question:

Is there an identifier within AEP that uniquely represents the unified profile and remains constant over time? Something like a Person ID that serves as a consistent reference key?

I would greatly appreciate any guidance or solutions you can provide.

Thank you so much for your assistance!

[arpan-garg]

Hi @JeanBaro_  - How is data getting ingested in AEP? Are you just using ECID as a primary id in your schema? Don't you have something like a CRM ID or a customer unique id when the customer logs in.

Can you please give more information on the usecase

Thanks,

Arpan

[JeanBaro_]

Hello,

We have other IDs, including master profile ID (from MDM), and other LoB-specific ids.

Thanks

[kautuk_sahni]

@JeanBaro_ Did you find the suggestion helpful? Please let us know if you require more information. Otherwise, please mark the answer as correct for posterity. If you've discovered a solution yourself, we would appreciate it if you could share it with the community. Thank you!