Data-Con-101 Tests Getting Data Model Choices Right Before Activation — Not Connector Clicking
For consultants designing Data 360 (renamed from Data Cloud in October 2025) for customers. The exam rewards choosing the right stream category, keys, match rules and segment design up front, because early choices cannot easily be undone.
Check Your Readiness →Most candidates understand Salesforce Certified Data 360 Consultant (Data-Con-101) concepts — and still fail. This exam tests how you apply knowledge under pressure.
Questions read like discovery notes or problem reports: sources, volumes, freshness needs and a business goal. Pick the standard feature that meets it at the right speed and credit cost. The current six-section guide replaced the older outline with separate identity resolution and segmentation sections.
Join the sources on their native customer IDs
Use fully qualified keys, which pair each key with a key qualifier naming its source, so overlapping values stay distinct. Put trusted external identifiers in Party Identification for exact matching.
Write Apex to fetch the score
A copy field enrichment writes the Data 360 value into a CRM field where automation and reports can use it. Related list enrichment displays records but copies nothing into fields.
Build a rapid-publish segment for it
Segments refresh on a publish schedule and suit audiences. A single near real-time event calls for a streaming insight with a data action to a Platform Event, webhook or Data 360-triggered flow.
Provision a second Data 360 org
Create a data space for the brand and use data space filters so shared objects only expose that brand's records. A separate org is warranted only when legal rules demand full isolation.
Rebuild the segment filters from scratch
Members without the selected contact point, or with opt-outs, are excluded from the activation by design. Check contact point selection and consent data before changing segment logic.
Behavioral events belong in an Engagement stream with an event time field so insights and segments can use time windows. Stream category is fixed at creation, so a wrong choice means rebuilding the stream.
Match rules in an identity resolution ruleset are OR'd: meeting any one links records. Criteria inside a single rule are AND'd. Fuzzy first and last name alone over-merges; pair it with an exact or normalized contact point.
Reconciliation rules only choose which value the unified profile shows, using last updated, most frequent or source priority. Which records merge is decided by match rules alone, so duplicates mean tightening or adding match criteria.
Separate containers can be satisfied by different related records, so customers qualify without buying that product in the period. Conditions that describe one purchase belong in the same container.
Zero Copy federation queries Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery or Redshift tables in place as external data lake objects. Zero Copy sharing works outward. Copying data you could federate adds credits, pipelines and governance risk.
Strengthen weak areas with exam-style practice questions and detailed explanations.
Simulate the real exam experience and assess your readiness under timed conditions.
Review key concepts, objectives, and exam topics in one place.
Get personalized explanations, learning recommendations, and instant answers.
Follow a structured learning path designed to help you prepare efficiently.
Data-Con-101 punishes early modelling mistakes. Test your stream, match rule and segment choices now.