Understanding AbiliTec

If your business application requires real-time application of AbiliTec identifiers, LiveRamp can make the AbiliTec Identity Graph accessible via API interface for matching. You can learn more about the API from the technical documentation at https://abilitec-api.readme.io/. API calls can be made using 1-to-1 record calls, or batch calls that contain up to 1000 records per call. The API allows you to specify the parameters that you would like to match on and the match methodology.

If your use cases require recieving flat files, or if you cannot build on an API, LiveRamp can provide an AbiliTec Batch Processing service for an additional fee. This service is still a beta offering, and therefore requires qualification as an early beta participant with LiveRamp.

Common matching techniques used in the marketplace include probabilistic matching, approximate string matching, and other typical matching approaches, such as edit distance routines to provide matches across names and addresses present within a client’s data. Conclusions are limited to the data available from the client at the time of matching.

AbiliTec combines these approaches with the comparison of customer data to a vast multi-sourced historical repository of consumer contact information. The graph developed from these sources allows us to recognize and bring together customer names and addresses that are impossible to bring together when using traditional matching algorithms acting on only a company’s own data. AbiliTec matching technology recognizes name and touchpoint variations of an individual occurring in company systems over time and brings together similar and what would appear to be dissimilar representations. These records are each assigned a persistent AbiliTec identifier.

The Identity Graph is the foundation of information on which integration decisions are based. The AbiliTec Identity Graph is non-discoverable, meaning the data stored within it is not retrievable by any client, third party, or any LiveRamp associate who is not directly involved in its maintenance. It is only used for analysis to create and maintain AbiliTec Links.

The following information is stored in the AbiliTec Identity Graph for linking:

The Identity Graph is rebuilt each month with updated data from data sources, and so is constantly improving and evolving to provide identifiers that are as accurate and stable as possible. The rebuild cycle occurs close to the 15th of each month – contact your LiveRamp representative if you would like to know the precise date for monthly builds.

Each build cycle allows new data from LiveRamp’s data sources to be incorporated into AbiliTec identifier creation in order to provide the most up-to-date view of the customer as possible. Each build then undergoes extensive regression analysis and testing against sample match data in order to sustain a level of change that ensures stability. Generally, the graph changes 2%-5% with each build, depending on consumer behavior, new data, and improvements introduced to the build process.