Within each Directory, data is provided to Sift by one to many Source(s). Each Source represents an integration to one of our Source types, whether it be something like a simple CSV file or a direct API integration.
Primary Sources
The Primary Source within each Directory is responsible for provisioning (creating and deleting) each Profile in Sift. In Primary Sources, we require that you provide basic information on each user (first name, last name, and email address). When a new person is added to a Primary Source, a Profile is created for them, and when a person is deleted from the Primary Source, their Profile is deleted. Each Directory must have exactly one Primary Source, which is created when the Directory is created.
Complementary Sources
A Directory can also optionally have any number of Complementary Sources. With Complementary Sources, you can append additional data to the Profiles created by your Primary Source. We'll usually see this in cases where there's a piece of data that's not present in the Primary Source, but you'd still like to add it to Profiles. This could be something like a CSV import from a skills tool, or a separate system containing employee birthdays.
Creating a Complementary Source
In the Admin Dashboard, go to the "People Data" section, and click on an existing Directory for which you'd like to add a Complementary Source. This will take you to the Directory Dashboard.
In the Complementary Sources area, click the "Add Complementary Source" button.
You will be walked through a setup experience similar to that when you first created a Directory. For more information on the setup experience, see this article. However, there are a few nuances to point out:
When importing people data in a Complementary Source, you can provide a partial set of data rather than the full set, since the data is only appending to existing Profiles, rather than creating or deleting.
The primary mapping you provide during the mappings process needs to match the Unique Identifier value provided in your Primary Source. This is to make sure that we can match the data coming in from the Complementary Source to the correct Sift Profile.