Documentation

Decommissioning Adobe Audience Manager

Last update: Mon Feb 24 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Decommissioning Adobe Audience Manager (AAM) is a complex process that requires careful consideration of its impact on existing integrations and audience strategies. This document serves as a comprehensive guide to the steps involved in decommissioning AAM, highlighting the importance of consulting with customers before disabling key features such as shared audiences (from Adobe Target) and the Marketing Cloud shared profile (from Adobe Analytics). Understanding these dependencies is crucial for maintaining effective audience targeting and marketing strategies.The primary objective is to isolate Adobe Audience Manager and halt any inbound or outbound connections. It is important to note that users do not need to delete all AAM elements (segments, traits, etc.) if they have successfully stopped all incoming and outgoing data. By following the outlined steps and ensuring clear communication with customers, organizations can effectively manage the decommissioning process while safeguarding their marketing strategies

Description description

The decommissioning process involves several structured steps, each requiring thorough communication with customers to ensure they understand the implications of their decisions.
Steps for Decommissioning Adobe Audience Manager

  1. Send Decommissioning Notice:

    • Notify stakeholders about the decommissioning, specifying the contract end date and company name.[ Available internally to the AAM support team]

  2. Help the Customer Understand Impacts:

    • Disabling Shared Audiences: Before turning off shared audiences from Adobe Target, it is essential to discuss its implications with the customer. If they are utilizing Experience Cloud audiences, advise against disabling this feature. Disabling shared audiences will prevent Target from making calls to AAM, which means that while no data will flow from Target to AAM, Target will also lose access to Analytics audiences. For example, if a customer relies on specific segments created in Analytics for personalized targeting in Adobe Target, turning off shared audiences would disrupt their ability to leverage these insights effectively.
    • Disabling Marketing Cloud Shared Profile: Similarly, before disabling the Marketing Cloud shared profile from Adobe Analytics, it’s important to assess its usage. If customers are using segments from Analytics in Target, advise them against disabling this profile. Turning it off would ensure that AAM does not receive any data; however, it also means that Target will not receive any data either. For instance, if a customer uses Analytics segments for retargeting campaigns in Adobe Target based on user behavior, disabling this profile could severely limit their marketing capabilities.

  3. Turn Off Legacy SSF:

    • Disable the legacy Shared Service Forwarding (SSF) to stop connections between Adobe Analytics and AAM.

  4. Turn Off All Report Suite’s SSF in Analytics:

    • Ensure that all SSF settings across report suites in Adobe Analytics are turned off to prevent any data flow to AAM.

  5. Turn Off Core Service - Shared Audiences (after the confirmation from the customer, covered in point 2.):

    • Disable this service to halt audience data flow from AAM to Adobe Target and segment flow from Analytics to Target as well.

  6. Disable Marketing Cloud Shared Profile (after the confirmation from the customer, covered in point 2.):

    • Turning off this profile will halt data transfer from Analytics to other Experience Cloud platforms such as Target and AAM.

  7. Halt All Automated Jobs Responsible for Uploading Data to the DMP (AAM):

    • Stop any scheduled jobs that are set up to upload data to the Data Management Platform (DMP) to ensure no further data is sent.

  8. Unmap All Segments from All Destinations:

    • Ensure that all segments linked to various destinations are unmapped to prevent any unintended data transfers.

  9. Delete S2S Destinations After Unmapping:

    • Once segments have been unmapped, proceed to delete server-to-server (S2S) destinations associated with AAM.

  10. If Using Campaigns, Stop Any Workflows Uploading Data to AAM:

    • Advise customers using campaigns to halt any workflows that are responsible for uploading data to AAM.

  11. Remove Distributed Code:

    • Ensure that all distributed code and site tags related to AAM are removed from web properties.

  12. Unsubscribe from Data Feeds:

    • Customers should unsubscribe from any active Audience Marketplace data feeds.

Questions to Ask the Customer Before Disabling Shared Audiences and Marketing Cloud Shared Profile

  • Are they utilizing Experience Cloud audiences?
  • Are they using segments from Analytics in Target?
  • Are they using Experience Cloud Audiences in Target?

These questions help gauge the customer’s reliance on these features and inform them about potential impacts.

Resolution resolution

To ensure a successful decommissioning of Adobe Audience Manager (AAM), it is crucial to communicate clearly with customers regarding the implications of disabling shared audiences and the Marketing Cloud shared profile. After discussing the potential impacts and obtaining the customer’s permission, proceed with the following key actions:

  1. Disable Shared Audiences and Marketing Cloud Shared Profile: Ensure that customers understand that disabling these features will prevent data flow from Adobe Analytics to both AAM and Adobe Target.

  2. Unmap Segments and Delete S2S Destinations: The most critical steps are unmapping all segments from various destinations and deleting any server-to-server (S2S) destinations associated with AAM. This action is essential to prevent any unintended data transfers.

  3. Stop All Inflow of Data: Implement measures to halt all incoming data to AAM by:

    • Turning off legacy SSF and all report suite SSF settings in Adobe Analytics.
    • Halting any cron jobs responsible for uploading data to the Data Management Platform (DMP).
    • Ensuring that any workflows from campaigns that upload data to AAM are stopped.

At its core, the objective is to isolate AAM completely by disconnecting it from any incoming data sources and destinations where it can send segments. By following these steps, you can effectively manage the decommissioning process while safeguarding the customer’s marketing strategies and ensuring a smooth transition away from AAM.

recommendation-more-help
3d58f420-19b5-47a0-a122-5c9dab55ec7f