Rewriting History with Amplitude Data Mutability

Data isn't always perfect. It’s like that first draft of an essayーthere might be typos, inconsistencies, and maybe even a few factual errors. In the past, once that first draft of data was sent from a data warehouse (like Snowflake, Databricks, and Amazon S3) or other source, it was pretty much set in stone. Now, we’re excited to announce the general availability of Amplitude Data Mutabilityーletting you retroactively correct, enrich, and even delete data, ensuring your insights are always in perfect sync with your data warehouse.

The static data struggle

The problem with static data is that once it’s ingested into your analytics platform, it’s often locked in place. New or updated data in your warehouse will not be reflected in your analytics platform. This creates a host of problems and leads to what we call “data drift,” which means that teams could be making important business decisions based on data that’s no longer accurate.

Here are some scenarios where this becomes an issue:

• Data enrichment: What if you want to add more information to your existing data, like customer demographics or purchase history? Without mutability, you’d be stuck with the original, less informative data in your analytics.
• Compliance and privacy: What if your team accidentally ingests PII or other sensitive data? Without mutability, removing this data becomes a complex and time-consuming task.
• Data corrections: Has your team ever had to fix a data naming error in your warehouse? If these corrections aren’t reflected in your analytics, it will lead to inaccurate reports and analysis.

Without data mutability, you’re stuck with a static snapshot of your data at the first moment of entry, an old photograph that captures a moment in time but doesn’t reflect the current reality.

Enter Amplitude Data Mutability

Amplitude Data Mutability enables you to change your data retroactively within Amplitude to match the changes you make in your data warehouse. It’s like having a time machine for your dataーyou can go back and edit the past, ensuring that your analytics always reflects the most accurate and up-to-date information. Here’s how it works:

1. Connect your data warehouse: Integrate Snowflake, Databricks, or Amazon S3 with Amplitude. This creates a direct link between your data source and your analytics platform.
2. Make changes in your warehouse: When you make changes to your data in your warehouse, those changes are automatically sent to Amplitude.
3. View automatic updates in Amplitude: The corresponding data in Amplitude is updated to reflect the changes in your warehouse.

It’s all seamless and requires no manual intervention. No more exporting, transforming, or re-importing data. No more worrying about data discrepancies. Just accurate, up-to-date insights, all the time.

Why this matters for your business

How does data mutability affect the work your company does every day? It’s not just about fixing errors—it’s about adding context and depth to your data. Suddenly, you can perform much more sophisticated analysis and uncover deeper insights. Some key benefits:

• Single source of truth: Data mutability helps you establish your data warehouse as the single source of truth for your organization. This eliminates confusion, reduces errors, and ensures that everyone is working with the same information.
• Accurate insights: With mutable data, you can trust that your analytics are always based on the most accurate information. This leads to better decisions, more effective strategies, and better business outcomes.
• Improved data governance: Data mutability makes it easier to maintain data quality. You can confidently ensure governed data in your source of truth is mirrored with the same manner.
• Increased efficiency: No more manual data wrangling or tedious updates. Data mutability automates the process of keeping your analytics in sync with your data warehouse, freeing up your time and resources.
• Deeper analysis: With enriched data, you can perform more sophisticated analysis and gain deeper insights into your customers and their behavior. This can lead to more personalized experiences, more targeted marketing campaigns, increased customer satisfaction, and better loyalty.

Where mutability makes a difference

No matter what industry you're in, data mutability can make a real impact by addressing data challenges and fueling better decisions.

• E-commerce: Imagine an online retailer that needs to correct product category names in its data warehouse. With mutability, those corrections are automatically reflected in Amplitude, ensuring that product reports are accurate and that marketing campaigns are targeted correctly.
• Subscription service: Say a subscription service needs to delete sensitive user data. With mutability, the team can confidently delete the data in their warehouse knowing that it will also be removed from Amplitude, ensuring compliance and protecting user privacy.
• Electronics retailer: When an electronics retailer adds a warranty protection offer for 30 days after an initial purchase, they need to include this additional revenue with the original sale. With mutability, the team can add this information to their warehouse, and it will automatically appear in Amplitude, allowing them to analyze total revenue including future warranty revenue accurately.

The future of data isn't set in stone

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, change is the only constant. Businesses need to be agile and adapt quickly to evolving market conditions. Data mutability is a key enabler of this agility. It allows your analytics to keep pace with your ever-changing flow of data.

It’s not just about fixing past mistakes—it’s about unlocking new possibilities. It’s about gaining a deeper understanding of your customers, your products, and your business. It’s about making smarter decisions based on real-time data points rather than information that used to be correct. Ultimately, it’s about finding ways to generate better business outcomes.

If you’re ready to break free from the limitations of static data and embrace a more dynamic (and accurate) view of your business, it’s time to explore Amplitude Data Mutability. It’s not just a feature—it’s a fundamental shift in how we think about data.