infoVia is happy to announce a Business Key Collision Code (BKCC) solution for WhereScape 3D! This is a lightweight change that expands 3Ds automation capabilities to integrate the BKCC column in Data Vault models, enabling greater control of how your vault integrates data.
Business Keys are a nigh-immutable and unique identifier for a business concept. At least, unique within their own source. Sometimes more than one source will have the same Business Key. When two identical Business Keys represent different entities or concepts it a Business Key Collision Code is necessary.
Say you have customer data from your data source Acme Archive in the United States. All customers are assigned a unique four digit code that is commonly used to identify them. The European branch of the business uses Zeta Zillions to track its customers. Just like the United States branch, Its customers are assigned a unique four letter identifier.
Looking at the customers and their business keys in Acme Archive and Zeta Zillions shows the following:
US – Acme Archive | |
| Business Key | Customer |
| USPS | United States Postal Service |
| MAXC | Maximum Cargo |
| ABCS | Alphonse, Bernard and Cesar Shipping |
EU- Zeta Zillions | |
| Business Key | Customer |
| USPS | Unlimited Shipping Package Service |
| MAXC | Maximum Cargo |
| 123H | 123 Hauling |
We can see that the company USPS in the US branch is different than company USPS the EU branch. This is a Business Key collision. Two identical business keys are representing two different companies. So how can we separate the US USPS from the EU USPS?
We use a Business Key Collision Code. This creates a Compound Business Key and enables each key to be unique.
US – Acme Archive | ||
| Business Key | BKCC | Customer |
| USPS | US | United States Postal Service |
| MAXC | ENT | Maximum Cargo |
| ABCS | ENT | Alphonse, Bernard and Cesar Shipping |
EU- Zeta Zillions | ||
| Business Key | Customer | |
| USPS | EU | Unlimited Shipping Package Service |
| MAXC | ENT | Maximum Cargo |
| 123H | ENT | 123 Hauling |
There are three BKCCs represented above. ENT represents “Enterprise” and indicates that the business key is unique at an enterprise level. Thus “MAXC, ENT” is the same business from both data sources.
On the other hand, we have noted that USPS is a different company for each branch. Thus, instead of assigning it the Enterprise BKCC we assign it a regional BKCC code which gives us two companies. “USPS, US” and “USPS, EU”.
By using the BKCC we were able to provide the grain necessary to differentiate otherwise identical Business Keys while still retaining the integration benefits of enterprise-wide business keys.
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