mParticle

I use mParticle  for centralized data collection and governance to collect events and send this to analytics and marketing platforms, creating a single place that significantly reduces data inconsistencies.

My implementation involves several steps. First, I instrument events at the source using SDKs added to mobile apps, web apps, and back-end services. I collect user events such as login, purchase, and click events, along with user attributes including email and user ID, as well as device information. In the second step, I centralize the event intake where all events flow into mParticle 's single intake layer, making mParticle a system of record for behavioral data. In the third step, I use real-time event processing where events are processed in real time and forwarded downstream for analytics purposes.

For data governance, I follow different steps including data planning, validation and enforcement, and identity governance. Finally, I use controlled data routing which can be used for analytic tools and marketing tools.

My primary use of mParticle involves user events and attributes through which I get the events that flow to downstream data sources. These sources are then used for data analytics by the analytics team and marketing team to check user behaviors and create campaigns for marketing.

mParticle is deployed in my organization as a centralized customer data platform. mParticle SDKs are integrated into web applications, mobile applications, and back-end services. All user events, attributes, and identities are sent to mParticle rather than directly to downstream tools. Data distribution then occurs where mParticle forwards validated data in real time to analytics platforms, marketing automation tools, customer engagement systems, data warehouses, and other destinations. The deployment is cloud-based and managed by mParticle, allowing us to scale event volume without managing underlying infrastructure.

mParticle has had a very positive impact on my organization by centralizing event collection and enforcing data governance. It has reduced integration complexity, improved data quality, and enabled faster and more reliable activation of customer data across analytics and marketing platforms. From my perspective as an engineering manager, mParticle has reduced the operational overhead of managing multiple analytics integrations and significantly improved data quality through schema enforcement. It has also helped product development while ensuring compliance and reliable data flows across various systems.

Specific outcomes and metrics demonstrate how mParticle improved things for my organization. It has reduced almost thirty to forty percent of engineering effort on maintaining analytics by replacing multiple SDKs with a single mParticle integration. Previously, we were using multiple SDKs, but now we use a single mParticle SDK. Onboarding on new tools like CRM , analytics, and marketing is fifty percent faster, saving many hours on every release of engineering. In terms of cost, it has reduced infrastructure maintenance costs by eliminating custom pipelines we were creating. Rework costs have been reduced. Regarding compliance, we were facing many compliance penalties and remediation costs earlier when we were using our own pipeline, but by using mParticle, these costs have also been reduced.

The best features mParticle offers are centralized data collection, which collects events from web, mobile, and back-end in one place. It eliminates point-to-point integrations and reduces engineering complexity. The second feature I value is schema governance, which is called data plans. It defines approved event names and blocks or flags invalid events, which is the best feature I appreciate and is not present in other mParticle competitors. The third feature I would highlight is identity resolution, which combines anonymous and authenticated user activities and supports multiple identity types. The next feature is real-time data routing, which sends events to multiple destinations simultaneously and routes data in real time. Additional valuable features include privacy and compliance controls, event validation and debugging tools, extensive integration ecosystem, scalability, and performance.

Regarding event validation, since it is a live event stream, it helps us with faster troubleshooting and higher data reliability. Schema governance and identity resolution have helped my team significantly. My team can check in real time if events are flowing correctly on the mParticle dashboard, such as when we click on something or perform a certain task. Another example is audience building, which enables personalization without heavy engineering. It supports real-time and batch audiences and allows creation of audiences based on behavior and attributes. Real-time data routing supports multiple identity types including user ID, email, and device ID. We are not dependent on a single attribute like name, user ID, email, or device ID, as there can be a combination of all those identities.

mParticle can be improved as it is somewhat complicated for non-technical users, though it is totally easy to use for technical users. Data plans, identity rules, and routing logic can be complex for first-time or non-technical users. I believe more guided workflows, templates, and good documentation would improve adoption. Another point I would highlight is that mParticle should simplify its debugging and troubleshooting. Event delivery issues sometimes require switching between multiple views, which is not possible for a non-technical user.

Improved performance visibility is needed, including more detailed latency and delivery performance metrics per destination and historical performance trend analysis. Historical data is maintained in mParticle, but that comes at a huge cost. If mParticle can provide a solution for keeping historical data at less cost, that will be very beneficial for engineering and marketing teams.

I have been using mParticle for six years.

I recommend investing time in data planning early by defining event names, attributes, and identity rules upfront using data plans. Start small and then scale. Treat mParticle as a governance layer rather than as a router. Use schema validation, identity rules, and privacy controls actively rather than just forwarding events. Establish clear ownership, monitor event volume and costs most importantly, and leverage debugging and validation tools. Also document the version and schemas. I love mParticle and will continue using it. I recommend it to every organization and my peers. My overall rating for mParticle is eight out of ten.

Public Cloud

Amazon Web Services  (AWS )

mParticle  SDK is installed within our mobile app, and we use mParticle  to collect customer data and events data from devices, receiving all of the data in our S3  bucket for processing.

I collect specific customer data using mParticle, which includes multiple events such as session start, session end, page viewed, video played, and video start. These types of events are collected from users' apps and processed accordingly.

mParticle's primary use case for us is collecting data and sending it in the correct schema and format to our bucket.

mParticle's best features allow us to see the event counts and types we receive every hour and every day, enabling us to manage how much data we can send to the development environment for testing. This makes it very easy to manage our data feeds from different sources into our bucket.

Managing those feeds is easy because of event forwarding, where we set up input and output feeds, and mParticle's UI shows all of the data on one screen. The Customer 360 feature is excellent, enabling us to see specific user profiles and search for any user among a large number of users, which is very helpful for debugging and addressing problems.

mParticle has positively impacted our organization as it is mandatory for our application. We depend on it heavily for providing data that we must process and make available for other stakeholders like the data sciences team, and we maintain a dedicated mParticle Slack channel for daily connections with their support team when issues arise.

When we face issues in the pipeline, we first check if we are receiving the correct data from mParticle, allowing us to search for specific users in our database to find the root cause of any data quality issues. This makes mParticle very helpful in improving our data quality.

mParticle can be improved in showing the event counts; currently, it only displays counts by hour, and I would find it beneficial to add a feature that indicates the exact minute the event is received.

Since I joined The Weather Company, I have been using mParticle for the last three years.

I have not experienced any major outages or issues with mParticle; it has been reliable and very stable in my experience.

mParticle handles large volumes of data without any scalability challenges; it manages the number of events written to its file configuration effectively, and I have not faced any issues while handling scalability.

mParticle's scalability is commendable, as it sends almost millions of records daily without issues, and our data lands into the S3  bucket effectively.

The customer support is very good; we maintain continuous contact through a dedicated Slack channel where they engage with our team.

I have not used any other solution before mParticle, as when I joined The Weather Company, they were already using mParticle, so it was my first experience with it.

The initial setup and integration of mParticle with our existing systems were difficult at first, as we were not accustomed to it, but it became quite easy to understand and configure once we became familiar with it.

The learning curve for new users on my team who start working with mParticle takes some time to understand the management of feeds and inputs, but with the help of team members, the learning curve decreases significantly.

I have not gauged a return on investment with mParticle, as I do not have relevant data or metrics to share.

I am not aware if our organization evaluated other options before choosing mParticle; that topic has never been discussed with me.

I did not use all the features of mParticle, but when I want to debug or cross-check the data counts and events, I create a feed to verify those counts. I know there are other features like segmentation and analytics that I have not used yet.

mParticle integrates very comfortably with other tools or platforms we use, such as analytics or marketing platforms, and it is easy to configure and manage.

mParticle handles data privacy and security by allowing us to set violations, which help us identify how many data violations we receive from the source team, thereby assisting in distinguishing between bad and good data.

The documentation and training material provided by mParticle are very good and helpful whenever we need additional information.

mParticle reliably handles all dependencies for collecting data and sending it to AWS  or any cloud provider, being very easy to configure. I recommend mParticle as a very good third-party tool for others considering its use.

mParticle is good, and we are pleased to have it on our side. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate mParticle a nine. I rate it this high because it definitely helps us in setting up a feed for the development environment, allowing us to verify if everything is working fine and providing outstanding help for debugging, setting up pipelines, and unit testing.

Public Cloud

Amazon Web Services  (AWS)

What do you like best about the product?

Honestly, the user interface (at least the newer versions) is markedly improved over what I've seen before. It's not beautiful, mind you, but it's functional. And I’ll concede - the reporting is actually decent for the level of granularity offered.

What do you dislike about the product?

This is where it gets painful. My biggest issue, and frankly, the one that keeps popping into my head, is the steep learning curve. They’ve layered on so many features, so many integrations, and so many complex rules, that it’s a nightmare for a mid-sized brand - let alone a smaller one - to actually use effectively.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

The "benefit" is reliant on flawless implementation - which, frankly, is extraordinarily difficult. It’s a tool that can only be truly effective if a brand has a clear strategy, skilled personnel, and the discipline to actually use it correctly.

What do you like best about the product?

Mparticle is a multifunctional CDP tool that helps us quickly pinpoint audiences, build them with thoughtful segmentation, and publish them to where we need them to go. This year, I've also used mParticle for more than just Audience building, but also as a key tool to collect 1P data for Sweepstakes, NBCU Profile creation, ingestion of 1P data and much more. The platform seamlessly integrates with a lot of the vendors, partners or external tools we use. However, I think the #1 aspect of mParticle is it's amazing customer service team. I've been working with Molly ever since I began working at NBC/Telemundo and she's always been willing to help, while also offering easy, clear-cut solutions. Beyond Molly, the tech and support team is also always willing to help. Manny and his team are an absolute pleasure to work with, and they always feel like an extension of our internal team, which makes any implementation easy. I use Mparticle quite often for most of the projects I lead, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

What do you dislike about the product?

The only part of mParticle I would say is my least favorite is the new UI, maybe it's a matter of me getting more used it but I sometimes don't feel it is as user-friendly as the past one. There are certain parts of the tool that I still need guidance on and maybe a new experience could make it feel a bit less intimidating.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

They're solving easy but secure ways of sending our 1P data to vendors and partners.
Using our one-app data to build audiences we can activate on our media campaigns.
A way to ingest and organize data collected from Sweepstakes and events.
Easy access to other brands' data (with the right approval of course), providing one unified ecosystem for the entire business.
Data Compliance with the latest privacy and legal requirements to make sure we are using our data the right way.