This slideshare includes presentation slides from the third St. Louis Sitecore User Group Meetup, "Personalization and the Experience Explorer" hosted on June 25, 2015 by Roundedcube and Fpweb.net. Presentation Roundedcube's CMO, Aaron Branson, and CTO, Benjamin Vidal. Are you a St. Louis Sitecore user? Join the User Group here: http://www.meetup.com/Saint-Louis-Sitecore-User-Group-Meetup/

1. “Myth Busting” Sitecore xDB
SAINT LOUIS SITECORE USER GROUP JUNE 25, 2015

2. A little housekeeping
Call for Speakers/Sponsors Topic Suggestions What’s Next
• Interested in speaking or want to
suggest someone?
• Interested in co-organizing and
sponsoring? All are welcome!
• See Meetup discussion board for
thread to make a suggestion
• See poll question and vote on
recommended topics
• Bi-monthly meetups, next up August
• Related events – webinars,
workshops, etc.

3. Welcome back and welcome newcomers!
11:30 – 11:55 Lunch
11:55 – 12:00 Agenda and Introductions
12:00 – 12:30 What the heck is it?
12:30 – 12:45 What does it do? What does it NOT do?
12:45 – 1:00 What does it cost? What’s included in my license?

4. Mike Casey
Sitecore
VP OF SALES ENGINEERING
Aaron Branson
Roundedcube
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

5. Mike Casey
Sitecore
VP OF SALES ENGINEERING
Aaron Branson
Roundedcube
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

6. What is Sitecore xDB?

7. OMS. DMS.
xDB… it’s all
the same
thing.
I don’t know
but its going
to be
expensive.
I hear it is
going to bog
my site down.
I can’t tell if it
is a CRM
replacement
or not.

8. What is Sitecore xDB?
• A feature set of Sitecore that leverages rich customer experience data to deliver the most
relevant, personalized experiences you can.
• It is part of the Sitecore Experience platform – not a separate add-on
• Can I install and use Sitecore without using the xDB?

9. To Put It Simply…
It’s just a database
• Prior to the introduction of xDB
• Required SQL Databases: Master, Web, Core, Analytics
• Optional SQL Databases: Web Forms
• Sitecore 8 Experience Platform
• Required SQL Databases: Master, Web, Core, Reporting
• Required MongoDB Databases: Analytics, Contact, Tracking History, Tracking Live
• Optional MongoDB Databases: ECM Dispatch

10. What’s Different?
Sitecore Uses MongoDB
• It’s a NoSQL Database Server
• What is a Database Server?
• SQL Server – contains multiple databases (master, web, core, reporting)
• MongoDB Server – contains multiple databases (analytics, contact, tracking, etc..)
• Other Database Servers: MySQL, Oracle
• Microsoft Access – is not a database server, it is just a database
• SQL databases are relational databases – tables, rows, and columns
• Tables can connect to other tables
• NoSQL databases are document based – a document can have any structure you define
and it is not constrained by columns and rows.
• Learn more about MongoDB at https://www.mongodb.org/

11. Why NoSQL for Sitecore
Performance & Scalability
• Writing to a SQL Server database was not fast enough to store all the information Sitecore
needs to capture from a single page request
• Example: a page request could gather the user’s IP address and what page they
viewed. This information would get stored into multiple SQL tables
• MongoDB stores all the information within a single document
• Now Imagine this occurring for 400 concurrent page views
• Sitecore’s possibility of Fire and Forget operations
• Ability to control “Write Concerns” levels (Tech Speak: Nerd Stuff)
• Prior to 2.6 MongoDB’s default write concern was a no tolerance fire and forget

12. Why NoSQL for Sitecore
Who is affected by the MongoDB addition?
• System Administrators
• Can your IT department support the database?
• Does it comply with existing IT policies and standards?
• Does it meet the security requirements?
• Is it free? Some company policies require licensed software
• Review MongoDB Enterprise Advanced
(https://www.mongodb.com/products/mongodb-enterprise-advanced)
• Developers (system integrators)
• Integration and customization
• Content Managers
• No need to care – same as the other databases

13. MongoDB vs. SQL Server
• SQL Server is still Sitecore’s best solution for reporting
• Periodically data processing is required to support reporting requirements and functions
• What is a Processing Server…
• How many should I buy?
• Performance is tricky

14. xDB On-Premise Needs

15. Thoughts on Mongo DB Adoption
• Ease of deployment
• Enable new ways to store custom data

16. What does xDB do for me?

18. xDB Purpose and Value
• DATA
• Collect data on every visit and every interaction
• Connect visits/interactions to real people
• Integrate w/ CRM and other data warehouses
• BOOST OTHER EXPERIENCE MARKETING CAPABILITIES
• Personalization: More insight to tailor personalization rules
• Analytics: Single source of in-depth analysis on customers
• Segmentation: More data on which to create Customer Segments
• Automation: More data/segments on which to create automation states/actions

19. What about licensing?

20. Licensing xDB
• Your Sitecore license includes xDB… but to what degree is the question
• Cost is controlled by measuring two variables: Identified Contacts and Interactions
• Pre-2015 customers… no limit to contacts or interactions
• 2015+ customers… see Base/Plus/Premium editions
• All can elect the option of xDB Cloud
• As always, Sitecore licensing is governed by server installs too

21. Licensing xDB

22. Licensing xDB

23. What’s next?
Personalization Strategy Webinar: See meetup website for link to webinar replay
Next meetup: Targeting June, a poll to determine the topic available within a week
Go to www.meetup.com/Saint-Louis-Sitecore-User-Group-Meetup/
Join the group on LinkedIn too! Look for “St. Louis Sitecore User Group”