What is data priority in Eloqua?
Data priority specifies the order in which Eloqua evaluates sources of contact data and determines whether to update contact data in the Eloqua database.
On data import, Eloqua compares new data to existing data; if the incoming data in a field is different from what exists in the system, Eloqua considers the sources of both the new and existing data. If the incoming data comes from a source that has a higher priority--indicating that it is more trustworthy--than the source of the existing data, the existing data is overwritten with the new data. Conversely, if the incoming data comes from a source that has a lower priority--and thus is less trustworthy--than the source of the existing data, no changes are made to that data.
Essentially, your data priority indicates the trust you place in each data source. Eloqua uses those levels of trust to determine whether or not existing data should be updated. Here is an analogy: Think of people who you trust to give you accurate information. Say that you trust Bob more than Alice. Alice tells you that a new acquaintance is named Joe. You write down this person's name as Joe. Then Bob tells you that this new person's name is actually Tim. Because you trust Bob more than Alice, you scratch out the name Joe and replace this with Tim. Alice once again tries to tell you that the person's name is Joe. Because the name Tim came from Bob, who you trust more than Alice, you ignore Alice and keep the name as Tim.
Where is data priority configured?
Warning: Data priority is usually determined during your SmartStart in consultation with Oracle|Eloqua Professional Services. Changing data priority can cause adverse effects such as breaking integration, and thus only qualified administrative users should make any changes to it.
Data priority is configured under Setup> Integration. On the Inbound tab, select Data Priority Order from the Management menu.
The Data Import Priority pane shows the priority order of your data sources, from highest to lowest. In the screenshot below, Bulk API is the highest priority and most trusted data source.
Why is data priority important?
Because it is essential that your contact database contains the most accurate and up-to-date data, you want to ensure that less trustworthy sources of data do not change fields in your database that come from more trusted sources. Ranking your data sources through data priority gives you control over the circumstances under which data will be overwritten.
Where can I learn more about data priority?
Consult these two articles for more information:
http://topliners.eloqua.com/community/do_it/blog/2012/05/22/data-priority-in-eloqua