Within the Data Management Suite, there are a few terms that sound similar but have distinct definitions. It’s easy to mix up the meanings when you get started building Chains. Let’s define those terms in one place to help simplify things!

Chains

Chains are a sequence of tasks configured to automate workflows. For example: you may have data in your source system and you are manually uploading that data to Workiva. Instead of doing that manually, you can create a Chain that interacts with your source system and Workiva to export the data from the source and import it to Workiva.

Connectors

Connectors are a grouping of tasks that execute for the system they are named after. Connectors either use 3rd party application’s APIs or are designed to be used for data transformation. For example: the Workiva Connector uses the Workiva API and can be used to execute tasks within the Workiva platform. 

Connections

Connections are configured instances of a Connector, set up within a workspace. Connections establish the authentication and authorization to Chains to ensure that the task is able to execute in the system they were created for. Having multiple connections for a single connector is common, learn more about how to manage multiple connections here. Following our example: in order to use the Workiva Connector, you will need to establish the connection within your Workspace using an API Grant to authenticate. For other Connectors, check out the respective Connector Set Up Documentation.

Commands

Once a Connection is established, you will use Commands to execute the specific tasks that need to take place in your workflow. Each Command added to a Chain has to be configured in order to tell the task how to operate. For example: if you want to upload data to a Wdata Table, you will need to tell the Command which Table to upload to and provide the data that needs to be uploaded. To see the list of commands, or tasks, that can be executed within a Chain, check out the Connector’s Command documentation. Following our example, you will want to check out the Workiva Connector Commands documentation.

Check out the next post in the series: Common Chain Builder Term Definitions