RevDB Timestamp and On-Demand Sync Button
This article covers RevDB syncing and Timestamps. This guide is best for admin, but it's a great way for others to learn about Timestamp statuses and data refreshing in Clari.
RevDB Sync Basics
RevDB extracts data from various source systems. It connects directly to a source of CRM data (typically Salesforce) for all customers and may incorporate data from other sources, such as email and calendar providers. In all other cases except Salesforce, the extracted data is stored in intermediate caches before being loaded into RevDB.
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Data Source
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RevDB Connection Type
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Salesforce
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Direct
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Other data sources (email, calendar, ERP, etc)
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Indirect via intermediate cache
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RevDB syncs (extracts) data from these data sources based on a schedule (typically every 15 minutes), but a refresh may also be triggered by a write-back to CRM or by utilizing the “Sync with CRM” menu option.
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Sync Trigger
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When
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Updated In
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Normal sync interval (polling)
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Every 15 minutes for most customers
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Typically 30-90 seconds
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Write back to CRM
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A user has updated a CRM field within Clari
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Typically 30-90 seconds
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On-demand sync
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User clicks the “Sync with CRM“ menu option
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Typically 30-90 seconds
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RevDB Sync Considerations
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Regardless of the reason for the sync—whether it was a regular scheduled sync or was triggered by user action—all data sources will be checked for any updates to data extracted and used within Clari.
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Depending on the Clari module and the data source, changes to data from non-Salesforce sources may require a few additional minutes before becoming available in RevDB.
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However, the “Sync with CRM” feature (described below) will refresh data from the primary CRM data source, whether Salesforce or another CRM system or data store. It will not refresh non-CRM data such as email or calendar activity.
What are the RevDB Timestamps?
Timestamps allow users to “check” their data to see what are the latest updates captured in their CRM. They exist in each module that is or gets data from RevDB (E.g. Inspect, Analyze, Forecast, User Management, etc.). The module timestamps depend on which module you are viewing and which mode(s) are being used in that module, so they can be different depending on which part of the product you are in for maximum accuracy. The global timestamp shows you how old your org’s data is.
How to read a timestamp
The timestamp represents how fresh the data in your Clari instance is. If the timestamp in the module and mode you are viewing says 12:01PM, the data you see can be no older than 12:01PM.
What time zone is the timestamp displayed?
Timestamps are displayed in the user’s local time zone as configured for their web browser.
My data just synced (either by manual refresh or on the RevDB cadence) why is my timestamp still old?
It takes approximately 30-90 seconds for your data to be uploaded from your CRM to your Clari instance. Therefore, the timestamp will reflect the latest data ingestion from your CRM. If that took place at 12:01PM and the data was uploaded at 12:02PM, the timestamp will reflect the data as of the latest data ingestion, so it will show 12:01PM.
Where can I find the Global Timestamp?
The global timestamp can be found in your dashboard module. This shows how old your orgs data might be.
Timestamp Terms
Read this table to understand common Timestamp terms.
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Term
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Definition
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Crawl
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Each time RevDB requests (extracts) updated data from a source, this is referred to as a “crawl”, regardless of whether the request is on a regular interval or was driven by user action.
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Timestamp
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The timestamp is the most recent time when the data viewed in the current module/mode was extracted from the source system.
The timestamp does not show the time that the source data was changed, but the time that RevDB checked for recent changes it. Therefore the timestamp may be only seconds or minutes in the past, even if the source data has not changed for hours or days.
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Global Timestamp
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The “global timestamp” is the earliest point in time that RevDB has crawled any data
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Sync Status
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The timestamp status is what the timestamp UI says and may have a CTA (call to action)
Examples:
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“Last Updated 2 minutes ago”
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“Syncing with CRM”
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“CRM syncing delayed, try again”
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How Does Mode Affect the Timestamp?
Here is a list of each module and its type. Read below to see how each Timestamp Type behaves.
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Module
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Timestamp Type
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Timestamp Source
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Inspect
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Single-mode modules
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The Inspect grid shows one single mode at a time. Therefore, the timestamp will represent the crawl time for that associated mode’s query object (the object the mode is built around).
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Analyze (Trend, Flow, Pulse)*
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Single-mode modules
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The Analyze module shows a single mode at a time. Therefore, the timestamp will represent the crawl time for that associated mode’s queryObject.
* This timestamp has a slightly different behavior; see below for more details
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Forecast
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Multi-mode modules
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The Forecast grid can show data from multiple modes simultaneously. Therefore, the timestamp will represent the crawl time for the mode with the oldest timestamp.
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Dashboards and Cadences
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Multi-mode modules
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Each dashboard or Cadence can draw data from different sources. Therefore, the global timestamp is shown.
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Studio/User Admin
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Global
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Where visible in Studio, only the global timestamp is shown. This will always reflect the most recent data extracted from the source system, like user records.
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Timestamps in Analyze
The timestamp in Analyze behaves differently from that of the other timestamps. This is because multiple caches are being used in Analyze, so the data in the module does not necessarily represent the most recent RevDB crawl time. These differences are described below:
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Users may see a timestamp in Analyze that is older than the rest in Clari. This is the intended behavior to ensure that the timestamp the user sees represents the data they see in the Analyze modules.
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In the Trend module, the timestamp only refers to the freshness of the “This Quarter” data. Prior quarters' data are cached by the Analyze module and fetched from RevDB less frequently, so changes made retroactively to prior quarters' data may not be immediately reflected in Trend, even though the time stamp shows the data are up to date.
Timestamp Status
This section covers each Timestamp Status and its meaning.
1. Green CRM Sync Status: Indicates that data crawls, write-back, and loads are functioning as normal and will continue every 15 minutes.
2. Blue Syncing with CRM Status: Clari is syncing with your CRM. This can be triggered by:
- You or another user trigger a manual crawl
- Or you or another user made an edit to a record that triggered write-back and crawl
3. Orange Refresh to see latest CRM data Status: New data has been loaded into RevDB but not pulled into your view. You can interact with the view itself to pull it in, or click the refresh link to update the data with latest.
Note: This will be visible if you initiated the fetching of new data. Clari won't display this info for all users signed into Clari anytime there is new data. For example, if you initiated a refresh in your Clari instance, only you will see a refresh Timestamp. The new data will be available for other Clari users in your org and when they refresh the page (by refresh or navigating to a new module) their data will load and they'll see data as of the latest sync with Salesforce.
4. Red CRM Syncing Delayed, try again status (Error status): Alerts you of an issue with the CRM crawl and data loading. These situations are often “self-healing” but can also sometimes be remedied with a manual crawl. Users can trigger the manual crawl in the dropdown or by clicking try again
Note that the message content will convey the specifics of the issue.
5. Updated time not available Status: There are certain circumstances where the timestamp response will be UNAVAILABLE. This might happen when an error occurred and when the timestamp is not enabled for a given module.
On-Demand Data Sync Button
What does On-Demand Data Sync do?
When you click the On-Demand Data Sync button, it triggers a crawl to get new data from your CRM. This crawl includes all data* for your org for every user.
This takes on average 30-90 seconds to complete
These requests are handled by RevDB so there is no restriction for how many users can request for new data
When the data is ready and uploaded into RevDB, the user will see a CTA to refresh their page; once they refresh their page, they will have the data from the latest crawl available in their Clari instance
*Analyze data will be refreshed upon clicking the button, even if the button only exists in Pulse. However, users may not instantly see new data because each Analyze module has a different cache. To learn more about the cache and how it interacts with the data, see this documentation.
Which modules refresh when I click the On-Demand Sync Button?
Regardless of which module you sync your data in, when you click on the On-Demand sync button, you will refresh all your org's data for every user for every module on RevDB.
How to use the button
If a user would like to sync their data, the should follow these steps
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Click the Actions dropdown (top right) > Sync with CRM.
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The button is disabled after you click it!
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When the crawl is complete, the timestamp will show the orange status with a “Refresh” CTA.
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Click on the Refresh CTA.
Now your data will be updated with the latest crawl data.
Is my data still refreshing if I do not use the on-demand sync button?
Yes. You don't need to take any action to refresh your org’s data. If you want to refresh on demand, click the On-Demand button. But, orgs on RevDB will refresh automatically based on their RevDB crawl cadence (usually every 15 minutes), so users should expect that their data is relatively up to date.
