When to use Connect Platform for ODP
This article lists use cases that Connect Platform for Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) can solve, and use cases where another Optimizely product might be a better fit. For help with determining if Connect Platform for ODP is a good fit for your use case, contact your partner manager.
Note Each use case is formatted as follows: Use case – Solution
Use cases for OCP
Below are examples of use cases where building aConnect Platform for ODP app is a great solution. Use Connect Platform for ODP any time you need a compute environment to pull or retrieve data, transform the data, push it to ODP, or export a subset of the data from ODP.
- Transform data from a third-party service and import it into ODP – Write either a functionfunction or a jobjob to retrieve the data, transform the data using TypeScript language, and import it into ODP using the Connect Platform Node SDKConnect Platform Node SDK.
- Periodically fetch a batch of data from a third-party service – Write a jobjob to retrieve the data from a third-party service and use cron expression to schedule the job.
- Expose a webhook and register it in a third-party service to retrieve events – Write a functionfunction and process the incoming data in its callback method. Register the webhook in your third-party service at installationinstallation or in settings form callback functionsettings form callback function.
- Export a customer-defined segment of users from ODP to a third-party service – Write a channel appchannel app, set up authentication and campaign settings forms, and implement callback functions.
- Import historical data from a third-party service – Write a jobjob and trigger it either from a setting form callbacksetting form callback or in lifecycle callbacklifecycle callback.
- Manage schema required by aJavaScript integration tagJavaScript integration tag – Declare expected schema in YAML filesYAML files and documentdocument how to configure JavaScript tag.
- Authenticate and connect ODP account with a third-party service account – Configure settings formsettings form to retrieve credentials or set up OAuth authentication flowOAuth authentication flow. Store credentials and API tokens securely in the secret storesecret store.
- Import user segments from a third-party service into ODP – Write a jobjob and schedule it with cron expression to periodically import batches. Alternatively, if your third-party service supports sending updates using HTTP, write a functionfunction to expose a webhook and register the webhook in your third-party service at installationinstallation or in settings form callbacksettings form callback function.
Use cases for other Optimizely products
Although Connect Platform for ODP is a flexible platform, there are some use cases that are better suited for other Optimizely products and services. Below are some examples and solutions.
- Create an integration with any Optimizely product – Connect Platform for ODP only lets you create integrations with ODP. To create integrations with any other Optimizely product, use Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP)Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP).
- Send events to ODP from user browsers (for example, from a JavaScript tag) – Use the ODP Web SDKODP Web SDK. This saves an unnecessary network hop. You can still write a Connect Platform for ODP app to manage schemaschema and to provide documentationdocumentation on how to configure your integration.
- Expose an entry point to check if a user belongs to a real-time segment – Use the ODP GraphQL APIODP GraphQL API. This saves an unnecessary network hop.
- Synchronously retrieve data that is used in end-user transactions (for example, placing an order) – Design your solution to work in asynchronous mode to avoid extra latency and dependency. The typical overhead of Connect Platform for ODP is very small, but can still negatively affect the user experience when you combine it with other required steps to finish the transaction.