If you’re reading this then chances are you’re aware of the planned end-of-life Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) has announced for the Purisma Data Hub. The terminal release, now generally available, is 4.5.2.
Should you upgrade to 4.5.2?
If you are on 4.5.x
If you are currently on 4.5.0 then it’s highly recommended to upgrade, as ‘dot oh’ releases usually have minor bugs that are quickly fixed in later incremental releases. If you are currently on 4.5.1 the question comes down to:
- Is the Purisma hub using the PDHOP commands in day to day functionality?
- Do you have duplicate D-U-N-S Numbers that you want in your family tree or want to do customization to HQ Level? 4.5.2 has changes to D&B Family Tree in the following areas:
- HQ-level filtering
- Removal of hierarchy limits
- Reparent operations under orphan records
- Duplicate D-U-N-S handling on hierarchy update
- Am I using the Axiom VPN server?
Upgrades are supported and tested fully by Purisma Operations before upgrading and it typically only takes a day to upgrade.
If you are on 3.x
If you are on 3.x or lower it is highly recommended to upgrade to 4.5.2. There have been many changes from 3.7.5 to 4.5.2, of which a few are listed below:
Data Inspector: A comparison window display similar to cars.com or hotels.com where a user can compare one or more master (composite) records, source records, or candidate records for review or comparison. Data Inspector also includes the functionality to export out to Excel that earlier versions did not have.
Status Indicators: Icons that allow you to review the status of records at glance, such as one that indicates that a user has edited a composite record you are viewing.
Google Map: The ability to right click on a composite and request to view the company on a map.
Hoovers Research Tool: The ability to send data to Hoovers and return a webpage that shows all the information on a company.
Server Management: The ability to assign different servers to perform different functions, like dedicating one server to update hierarchies while another loads in records.
Optimizer Rematch: Allows you to resubmit data for re-matching and optimization if you think the data sent back from D&B Optimizer is incorrect.
We recommend bringing in Purisma Support or an experienced professional services partner when upgrading from 3.x due to the degree of changes and requirements. This will not necessarily be a quick upgrade and will require more comprehensive testing before deployment to a production system.
It is important to note: As-of Release 4.5.0, the following platforms are no longer supported:
- Solaris
- HP-UX
- AIX
What options do you have to migrate to another solution?
Tools like Initiate and Informatica will allow you to import all the data from the Purisma hub. The first question to think about is:
1. Do I want to load the sources individually and have the new product do rematching?
This will cause loss of data stewardship work since the Purisma Hub was established at your company.
2. Do I want to load all the sources and keep composite records together in the new system?
This means the existing PDH composite ID would be used as a matching key. The initial pass match will cluster all exact composite IDs together before doing any fuzzy matching. While this will preserve your match clusters from the PDH, you will not take advantage of the new platform’s fuzzy matching capabilities. It may also complicate explanations of exactly how/why records matched, but this is an expected byproduct of this conversion approach.
Next, you must decide whether you must keep all your match rules. If so, most matching products come with merge rules but it may not be as easy as importing and exporting. You will need to code/configure your specific merge rules into your new MDM solution.
As for hierarchies, products like Informatica can duplicate the same hierarchies as Purisma. One of Informatica’s strengths is the ability to duplicate the D&B Family Tree.
The final consideration for migrating to another solution is whether you have the resources and budget to migrate to another solution. Most migrations can take up to 5 months to fully integrate. These types of migrations may also involve acquiring new server systems to work with the product requirements.
Can I just wait (do nothing)?
Remember the reasons for integrating with Purisma: Was it to match records and put them into groupings, or was it to be able to view parent-child relationships of customers using D&B data? To the extent that your requirements have largely been met and are not expected to evolve in a new or radically different direction, then a new solution may not be justified. The PDH is still one of the best solutions for viewing D&B hierarchies. Remember, a terminal release does not mean that D&B will not support you if you experience an issue.
Infoverity can work with you to evaluate your situation, including in partnership with D&B or other preferred vendors you may prefer.
Ryan R Hartley
Senior Consultant
rhartley@infoverity.com
