Bulk Import vs. Synchronization: A DefinitionBulk Import vs. Synchronization: A Definition

What

There are two ways to bulk add content into Pure: 

• bulk import (Administrator > Bulk import)
• using a configurable synchronisation (Administrator > Jobs > Cron job scheduling). 

These jobs work in different ways and there are different reasons behind why you should or should not use them i.e. do you plan to maintain the content manually in Pure or will you require multiple updates to this content that would be better suited for a continuous synchronisation?

Below will give you a basic understanding of what each type is and when you should use each (or use one over the other).

Why

Bulk Import:
The bulk import is a one time upload where you import content via XML and then manually maintain that content in Pure. The bulk import does not support modifying already imported/synchronised content.

If content has been imported via a bulk import, we recommend maintaining the content moving forward via a synchronisation job (if applicable). As long as the IDs are the same as those used in the bulk import then the synchronisation job should take over and update the items (note: configurable synchronisations cannot take over content imported through other synchronisations (i.e. SciVal synchronisation)).

Individual documentation for each bulk import is available directly in Pure on each individual import.

Configurable Synchronisations
The configurable synchronisations allow you to import data on a schedule from XML or a database. This can be done continuously and set to a specific schedule.

Individual documentation for the configurable synchronisation is available directly in Pure on each individual job.

More Information

KB-200: Update Content with the Bulk Import
KB-87: Transitioning to the Configurable Synchronisation
KB-66: Configurable rules for data synchronisation
Please also see the 'Person & Organisation synchronisation' master class on Pure Academy which will show you the steps to take when setting up Person and Organisation synchronisations in Pure.