Hi,
I'm looking for guidance on a use case involving migration from Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement to Marketing Cloud Next (MC Next).
Current architecture – Marketing Cloud Engagement
- An external system sends customer data through the Journey Builder API Entry Event.
- The incoming event data is automatically stored in a Data Extension.
- Journey Builder then sends a mobile push notification.
- We use SFMC Data Views to retrieve send and tracking information, such as send time, SubscriberKey, notification details, and available engagement events.
- This tracking information is then passed back to Salesforce CRM (SFSC).
Proposed architecture – Marketing Cloud Next
I'm considering the following approach:
1. External System invokes an API-triggered On-Demand Flow.
2. The flow receives the customer and notification payload.
3. A Salesforce custom object stores the incoming payload for audit purposes.
4. The flow sends the mobile push notification using the push notification activity.
5. The notification's send and engagement tracking information is retrieved and passed back to Service Cloud.
My questions
1. Can this use case be implemented in MC Next without directly using Data Cloud/Data 360 for data ingestion, transformation, or customer profile unification?
2. Can we use a standard Salesforce custom object to retain the incoming payload for audit purposes instead of using Data Cloud?
3. Does the push notification process require Data Cloud/Data 360 for recipient identification, device registration, or message activation?
4. Reporting and tracking: What is the equivalent of SFMC Data Views in MC Next for retrieving push notification tracking data, such as send timestamp, recipient/customer identifier, notification details, delivery status, and available engagement events (for example, opens)?
5. Can this event-level tracking data be retrieved through supported Salesforce APIs, standard objects, or reports and stored in Salesforce CRM without directly querying or using Data Cloud/Data 360?
The incoming API payload already contains the data required for the notification, and the main requirements are to retain the original payload for audit purposes, send the push notification, retrieve the relevant tracking information, and pass that information back to Salesforce CRM.
I'm trying to understand whether Data Cloud/Data 360 provides any necessary capability for this specific use case or whether standard Salesforce records and MC Next flow capabilities are sufficient. In particular, I'd appreciate clarification on whether Data 360 is only needed for reporting and analytics, or whether it is also required to access the underlying event-level tracking data.
Any recommendations, documentation links, or implementation experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
,
I want to clear this doubt that Data 360 can't be bypassed while following Marketing Cloud Next Architecture.
To better understand the reasons -
Q1) Can this use case be implemented in MC Next without directly using Data Cloud/Data 360 for data ingestion, transformation, or customer profile unification?
A1) NO. While enabling MCN in teh Org, It is mandatory to have atleast 1 IR rule set ( customer profile unification) should be configured else the MCN will not be enabled.
On-demand flow also asks for D360 configured Data Graph.
Q2) Can we use a standard Salesforce custom object to retain the incoming payload for audit purposes instead of using Data Cloud?
A2) YES. The Flow (triggered via SF REST API) will write the incoming payload to a custom object with a Create Records step.
Q3) Does the push notification process require Data Cloud/Data 360 for recipient identification, device registration, or message activation?
A3) YES. because in D360, Salesforce Engagement SDK needs to be configured for linking Contacts to specific Device ID. Push notifications will be sent using "Push notification" element in the Flow
Q4) Reporting and tracking: What is the equivalent of SFMC Data Views in MC Next for retrieving push notification tracking data, such as send timestamp, recipient/customer identifier, notification details, delivery status, and available engagement events (for example, opens)?
A4) Engagement data model objects (DMOs) in Data 360. Specifically, we should use push DMOs for unified reporting. Other options are - Marketing Performance Intelligence, the Unified Engagement History dashboards and Analytics reports
Q5) Can this event-level tracking data be retrieved through supported Salesforce APIs, standard objects, or reports and stored in Salesforce CRM without directly querying or using Data Cloud/Data 360?
A5) NO. The event-level push tracking sits in Data 360. Use Data 360–triggered flow OR Query API OR Related-list enrichment for syncing into a Service Cloud object
