This article introduces the connector types available in One Model for bringing data into the People Data Cloud. It is intended for Admins setting up or planning a new data source. By the end you will understand which connector type suits your data source, and where to find the detailed configuration guide for your chosen connector or data source.
Before you start setting up a connector, ensure:
- you have Data Admin permissions in One Model
- you can access Data > Sources from the One Model menu
- (if configuring an API connector) you have the relevant API documentation for the data source
There are a number of different ways to bring data into One Model - from one-off imports of simple text files, to automatic incremental updates of data drawn from an API - and a connector for each that defines how data is retrieved and stored in One Model. Choosing a connector is a simple process of evaluating where the data is held and the format it is in.
One Model provides generic connectors which can be configured to the required data source, and data source specific connectors which have a built-in understanding of the data source. Connectors can be found in the Add Data Source menu on the Data > Sources page:
Generic connectors: configure for compatible data sources
| Connector | Description |
|---|---|
| Universal Connector | The Universal Connector retrieves JSON data from third-party systems via their REST APIs. It supports a wide range of authentication methods, pagination styles, and response handling options. Configuration is endpoint-driven, allowing you to define exactly which data to retrieve. |
| CSV Connector | The CSV Connector retrieves data from APIs or services that return data in CSV format rather than JSON. Configuration follows a similar pattern to the Universal Connector, with additional options to handle the structure of CSV responses. |
| File Upload / SFTP | The File Upload / SFTP connector ingests text, JSON, or XML files into One Model - either uploaded manually by a user, or transferred automatically via One Model's hosted SFTP server. When using One Model hosted SFTP, customers push files to the One Model SFTP server, which monitors for new files and retrieves them automatically. File definitions (column names, data types, and format) and SFTP users (for SFTP files) are configured within the data source. |
| External SFTP | The External SFTP connector retrieves files from an SFTP server hosted outside One Model, such as a customer's own SFTP server, or one provided by a third-party system like an engagement survey or recruiting platform. One Model periodically polls the external server and picks up new files on a schedule. If a file is not available at the scheduled time, it will be collected on the next scheduled run. |
| Redshift | The Redshift connector is used to re-feed One Model processed data back into the One Model processing pipeline. Rather than ingesting raw data from an external source, it sources data from a One Model Redshift cluster - making it suitable for processing scripts that require already-processed data as their input. |
| Import / Export | The Import / Export connector allows a connector configuration to be exported as a JSON file and imported into another One Model instance. This is useful for replicating a connector setup across environments without needing to manually recreate the configuration. |
Data source specific connectors: pre-configured for common sources
In addition to the generic connectors above, One Model provides connectors for a number of specific data sources. These appear as named tiles in the Add Data Source menu and are pre-configured with the known details for that data source, reducing the amount of manual configuration required. Where a connector tile exists for your data source, it is recommended to use it.
Finding the right configuration guide
To get started with configuring a data source:
- If your data source has a named connector tile in the Add Data Source menu, select it and follow the configuration guide for that connector.
- If your data source does not have a dedicated tile, use the Universal Connector (for REST APIs returning JSON) or the CSV Connector (for CSV-based APIs) and refer to the relevant configuration guide in this section.
- If you are replicating a connector configuration from another One Model instance, refer to the Import / Export Connector guide.
- For further assistance, contact your One Model Customer Success team.
You should now have an understanding of the connector types available in One Model and which is most appropriate for your data source. Individual configuration guides for each connector are available in the Data Integration section.
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