The Communications Enterprise Nimble AMS integration uses the Nimble API in conjunction with Communications Enterprise's API. It is compatible across all browsers and can be used in conjunction with the Communications Enterprise platform.
After the integration is established, customer teams can create the scheduled upload of data to Communications Enterprise with a comprehensive activity sync daily.
Who should read this guide?
This guide is for Communications Enterprise users responsible for determining messaging and contact management guidelines. It assumes that you are familiar with:
- Using the Communications Enterprise system
- Managing Data within Nimble AMS
- Managing Users in Nimble AMS
Initial setup
Failure notifications
Whenever there is a failure for the integration, an individual can opt-in to receive a daily notification.
To modify this setting:
- Log in to Communications Enterprise.
- Select Tools.
- Select Nimble Management.
- Select Settings.
- Under Failure Report, ensure that Enabled is set to YES.
- Enter a Run Time.
- Enter the email address(es) (comma separated format).
- Click Save.
User access requirements
An Communications Enterprise account administrator can designate what users in the account have permission to access the integration. Below you will find tables detailing what each permission level means and what a user can do with that permission.
To assign a permission:
- Select Tools.
- Select Account Management.
- Select Integration Access Levels.
Definition of Communications Enterprise User Permissions
Scheduled upload
| Permission Level | View | Run | Create/Schedule | Edit | Delete |
| Full Access | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Read Only | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| No Access | N | N | N | N | N |
Tracking
| Permission Level | View | Run |
| Full Access | Y | Y |
| Read Only | Y | N |
| No Access | N | N |
Update Nimble AMS Credentials
The default length of time until all user passwords expire is 90 days and must be changed. We recommend during the initial setup that this limitation is lifted for the user integrated with Communications Enterprise. If the password or security token changes, the Communications Enterprise integration will fail.
Updating the password changes the security token, two credentials necessary for the integration to function. When the password and security token changes for the login used to provision the account, an administrative user must update these credentials in Communications Enterprise.
To update these settings:
- Log in to Communications Enterprise.
- Select Tools
- Select Nimble Management.
- Select Settings.
- Click Integration Settings > Nimble.
- Enter a Run Time.
- Enter the email address(es) (comma separated format).
- Click Save.
Configuring tracking information in the Communications Enterprise account
As a default, no tracking information is selected to push over to the production environment. In order to select what tracking information is pushed to Nimble, and when, an administrator must log in to Communications Enterprise.
Communications Enterprise recommends that full access over manage tracking be a permission granted only to other administrators. Once tracking information has been selected, Communications Enterprise will only sync records with Nimble from that point onward. It is for this reason that access to this panel should remain limited.
NOTE: This page also provides detailed error descriptions in the event any records have not synced the night before.
NOTE: Communications Enterprise tracking data will use the data storage in your Nimble account.
To enable tracking:
- Log in to Communications Enterprise.
- Select Tools.
- Select Nimble Management.
- Select Manage Tracking.
- Select the Tracking items to sync to Nimble.
- Select the time you would like for this information to come over.
NOTE: With any integration platform, there is a known use of data; for this reason, Higher Logic recommends that the data be sent over in off-peak hours.
Options for tracking data that can be returned to Nimble AMS include:
- Email Delivered
- Opens
- Click-throughs
- Unsubscribes
- Subscribes
- Suppressed
- Bounces
- Soft Bounces
- Hard Bounces
- User Not Found Mailbox Full
- Bad Domain
- Temporarily Unavailable
- In Progress
- Send Failed
- Fax Sends
- SMS Sends
- Event Signups
- Survey Submissions
- Facebook Posts
- Facebook Comments
- Facebook Likes
- Twitter Tweets
- Twitter Replies
- Twitter Mentions
- Twitter Retweets
- Landing Pages Submitted
- Website Visits
- Goal Reached
Considerations before uploading a Nimble AMS report
Uploading recipients from the Nimble AMS interface to Communications Enterprise can be performed in a variety of ways. Below are the considerations that must be made before you upload your first Report from Nimble AMS.
Unique identifiers
Every database-driven system has a way to enforce uniqueness on records to avoid duplicates. Communications Enterprise offers two options for determining uniqueness:
- Email address
- Person Account ID (custom member ID)
NOTE: The default setting has the recipient’s email address as the unique ID. If Person Account ID is selected as the account option, the maintenance of duplicate records is the responsibility of the user/customer. It is for this purpose that Custom Member ID as the unique identifier is only recommended if there is an accompanying AMS.
Email as a Unique ID
When this default option is enabled, Communications Enterprise will only create one record for any single email address. For every record uploaded to Communications Enterprise that contains a custom ID and an email address, Communications Enterprise will create a unique record based on that email address.
NOTE: There can be NO duplicate email addresses with this method. This option also presents the question of how to update email addresses in the Communications Enterprise account.
Implications
- Recipients only have one email address in the system and will not be sent duplicate messages
- Email addresses are not overwritten when a list is uploaded from Nimble AMS. Instead, a new record will be created in Communications Enterprise
- Communications Enterprise validates emails uploaded to the Communications Enterprise system
Custom Member ID as a Unique ID
When custom ID is the unique ID, the Person Account ID will become the unique identifier.
Implications
- Every record uploaded to Communications Enterprise must contain a Person Account ID
- Duplicate email addresses can exist
- Communications Enterprise does not validate Custom IDs uploaded to the Communications Enterprise system
- Data management is completed by the customer team – data should be closely maintained in the database of record
Replacing Communications Enterprise Records
At times there may be a reason for replacing a list of recipients in a given group; this is particularly true when it comes to updated membership lists or when your unsubscribe setting is unsubscribe to specified group:
Communications Enterprise provides two options when uploading a list:
- Adding recipients - If add to existing list is selected, Communications Enterprise will only add the records to the group with the records from the upload. Individual records will not be updated or overwritten.
- Replacing recipients - If Replace existing list is selected, Communications Enterprise will replace the records in the group with the records from the upload. The records being removed are not deleted, only removed from the group (they remain in the database), and there is no impact on the historical data.
NOTE: The replace method can be made the default. To do so, submit a request to your Implementation Project Manager or to Support.
Overwriting Communications Enterprise Records
If Replace is selected (Communications Enterprise's default setting to overwrite existing data), based on the unique identifier will overwrite the corresponding data that exists in Communications Enterprise. This can be particularly useful in instances where there is one database of record that is in the process of being constantly updated.
NOTE: Add to Group will not update individual records in Communications Enterprise.
Character Limitations
When uploading a list to Communications Enterprise the maximum characters allowed per field are:
| Field Type | Characters |
| E-mail, Address 1, Address 2, All Custom Fields | 100 |
| First Name, Last Name, Phone, Fax, City, State, Zip | 50 |
| Company | 200 |
| Enhanced Personalization Field | 250 |
Uploading a Nimble AMS report to Communications Enterprise
All individual Reports that are transferred from Nimble AMS to Communications Enterprise are referred to as an upload job. Upload jobs that are allowed via the integration are:
- Reports in a Folder
Transferring Lists from Nimble AMS to Communications Enterprise
Data can be transferred from Nimble AMS to Communications Enterprise via a scheduled upload or one-time transfers from within Communications Enterprise.
Scheduled upload
The Real Magnet Upload Scheduler (RMUS) is a feature of the integration that allows for automated uploads to the Communications Enterprise system; it is extremely useful in the event you have any lists that you send to on a regular basis.
It allows for the following upload job types:
- Run Now: This upload job will run once and once completed edits or changes cannot be made to this upload job
- On Demand: This upload job will only run when the green play icon is selected and works with the Sync on Send functionality
- Scheduled: This upload job will run on a scheduled basis, either daily or weekly and can be manually run when the green play button. When selecting a group connected to an active Marketing Automation campaign, this option can also upload groups on an hourly basis.
The RMUS can be accessed by logging into Communications Enterprise and selecting Tools. The details below will cover all aspects of the RMUS.
Icon legend
| Icon | Description |
 |
Delete the upload job |
 |
Edit the upload job. This function only applies to On Demand and Scheduled jobs |
 |
Run job. This function only applies to On Demand and Scheduled jobs |
 |
View the rejected individual records (Communications Enterprise validates all email addresses uploaded to Communications Enterprise) |
Upload jobs page overview
This page contains a list of your existing upload jobs in the Communications Enterprise platform, you’ll see a list of the existing upload jobs, and it will contain the following:
- List Name: The name of the Report in Nimble AMS
- Date Created: The date the scheduled upload was created
- Job Type: Whether the upload job is; run now, on demand, or scheduled
- Frequency: If the upload job is scheduled then at what frequency (daily or weekly and what day of the week) does that job run
- Scheduled Time: The times the job has either completed or is scheduled to run next
- Start Time (HH:MM) - The time the upload job is scheduled to start
- Last Run (MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM)- The time the upload job was last executed and completed
- Next Run (MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM)- The next scheduled time it is set to run
- Group Results: The group in Communications Enterprise where the Report was uploaded to and the results of the last upload, that includes the total number in the group and the number added
- Actions: The allowed actions a user can make to the upload job
Create an upload job
To create an upload job in Communications Enterprise:
- Select Tools.
- Select Nimble AMS Management.
- Select Create Upload Job.
- Select a Report.
- Select Create Map.
- Select View Entire Field List or One by One.
- Select which columns you would like to bring over to Communications Enterprise (these are a one-to-one relationship when mapping fields).
- Select Create Schedule.
- Select Create New Group or Add to Existing Group.
- Select either Add to existing group or Replace existing list.
- Depending on account settings the third upload step may reveal the option whether or not to update. Select Do not Update Existing Records (Only Add Records To Group) or Update Existing Records.
- Select Create.
- Select your frequency: Run Now, On Demand, or Scheduled.
- Select Submit.
Manually upload reports to Communications Enterprise
You may have users that want to upload .CSV files into the system, independent of the integration. When uploading a list within Communications Enterprise, independent of the RMUS in order for tracking information to report back to Nimble AMS a user must include the Person Account ID and email address. Upon upload the user must map the Person Account ID column to the Custom Member ID field in Communications Enterprise.
Communications Enterprise data in Nimble AMS
The tracking result of a message is the only information to report back to Nimble AMS, this includes opt-out information. This tracking information will update once a day. The Communications Enterprise tracking data is displayed on the Nimble AMS Person Account page, under Activity.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there multiple opens in my recipient's activity history?
Communications Enterprise reports back gross opens
Why are there multiple links in my recipient's activity history?
Communications Enterprise reports back gross links
Why is there an error when I attempt upload a report?
Your report must contain the ID or Account ID
When I select Upload Jobs it says that the API may be down; why?
Update the credentials for the Nimble AMS integration and then follow the steps under Updating Integration Details in Communications Enterprise.
Why is there no tracking data updating to my Nimble AMS?
Did you select tracking data? Login to Communications Enterprise and walk through the below:
- Select Tools
- Select Nimble AMS Management
- Select Manage Tracking
- Select the Tracking items to sync to Nimble AMS
Why is this individual record missing tracking information?
Ensure that individual is assigned a Person Account ID. If the individual was uploaded outside of the Real Magnet Enterprise Scheduler you must ensure that it also has its Person Account ID mapped to the Custom Member ID. This is how the Nimble AMS platform identifies that individual in its database. If an individual is missing this information, no tracking information will push back for that recipient to Nimble AMS.
What happens if the tracking data portion is cancelled mid-stream?
Communications Enterprise logs the failure and re-attempts to send the data through to Nimble AMS.