Oracle’s New Eloqua Data Retention Policy: What Does it Mean For You?

UPDATE (3.10.2016): Oracle has extended it timeline to export historical marketing activity older than 25-months to July 1, 2016.

We first wrote a blog about the implications of the data retention policy changes for Oracle Eloqua when it was initially communicated in January because there seemed to be some confusion over what it is, when it was going to take effect, and how it might impact Oracle Eloqua users. The questions and concerns voiced by customers and partners were heard by Oracle, and we are happy to share that they are delaying the implementation of the new data retention policy in order to give customers more time to export their historical marketing activity data before it’s gone.

Here’s a reminder summary of what may happen starting July 1, 2016:

• The new data retention policy gets put in place which means that Oracle will only guarantee up to 25-months of historical data marketing activity data stored within Eloqua. If you review the updated announcement, this is an “at least” guarantee policy so you might get more, but don’t make that assumption.
• The policy impacts historical marketing activities such as email sends, opens, click-throughs, subscribes, unsubscribes, bouncebacks, form submissions, website visits and page views.
• Raw form submission data retention is not impacted, just the form submission activity.
• Campaign, Email, Form, and Website activity for up to 25 months, or “at least”, will still be available within Insight reporting, for lead scoring, and for Campaign Canvas and Program Builder decision rules, as it is currently.

Hopefully this summary provides you with a quick and clear understanding of how the policy change may impact you and your organization. Topliners has been updated with a long list of FAQs that came in from customers. It’s a good read, check it out.

Here’s the one thing that I can’t stress enough – this is rolling policy. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s a rolling 25-months, so it’s great to back up your historical data but, if you want to have all of your data after July 1, 2016, I suggest you continue to do daily or intra-day exports. That way, you’ll always have a complete view of activity history that can be used not only for historical analysis but also building out new campaign segments, optimizing your efforts, or extending your lead scoring logic.

Oracle recognizes this and suggests that, prior to July, Eloqua users that want to retain their activity data older than 25 months export it via the bulk API. That sounds great, but most customers don’t have a team of developers sitting around that can build such export connectors nor do they want to maintain them going forward. Luckily, we at Relationship One planned ahead and have already built a few options for you!

Relationship One AppCloud Data Transporters
For Eloqua customers that want a “Do-It-Yourself” solution for exporting Eloqua activity data to an SFTP server, into a database (such as Microsoft SQL, Postgres, MySQL, or Oracle), or to an Amazon Redshift data warehouse, check out our AppCloud data transporters.

• Set up exports in minutes
• Optionally filter the type of data exported
• Archive historic Eloqua activity data
• Continue to export activity data when you want it (every 15-minutes, hourly, intra-day or daily)

For more information about Relationship One AppCloud Data Transporters or to sign up for a free account, visit appcloud.relationshipone.com.

Relationship One Data Cloud
For Eloqua marketers that don’t have access to a database or data warehouse, Relationship One’s Data Cloud might be a better option. Our Data Cloud is a turn-key solution that includes everything you need to export and store your Eloqua data, including your historic activity data.

• Cloud Database or Data Warehouse
• Historical and intra-day updates of your Eloqua data (contacts, accounts, activities, custom objects)
• Real-time data queries
• Unlimited monthly data transfer
• Up and running fast!

If you would like more information about Relationship One’s AppCloud Data Transporters or our Data Cloud, please fill out our Contact Us form or give us a call at 763.355.1025. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about Eloqua data retention, our solutions, and how we might help.