Overall update summary
2024.4 spans platform integration, product data governance and PDX. On the platform, Message Streaming handles imports with a Business Action, REST resources arrive for user and group management, mail relay connections support OAuth 2.0, the Self-Service UI adds import and export of access control, and JavaScript logging is restructured for traceability. For product data, a new Web UI Translation screen supports translators and proofreaders, ETIM Service API support replaces discontinued IXF translations, and the New UI gets faster task updates and a smarter node picker. Matching gains pre-trained address matchers, and the Salesforce connector enters early adopter release. In PDX, assets are transformed automatically to channel requirements, AI attribute mapping can be applied in one click, channel management and Digital Catalog reporting improve, and the TradeSolution channel supports complex packaging hierarchies.
Message Streaming enhancements
Applicable to all domains | Data Integration | Included in Base | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
2024.2 introduced the first iteration of a Kafka-based streaming component, allowing near real-time, event-based message import without background processing so customers could onboard more data faster. With 2024.4, and as requested by customers, Message Streaming is extended to handle an import with a Business Action, and through that to handle custom formats such as JSON.
- Supports more complex management of business requirements on import.
- Data can be checked or objects modified based on received information.
- Extends scalable, high-volume integration to custom formats.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
API extension — user management
Applicable to all domains | Data Integration | Included in Base | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
STEP had no API access for altering users and user groups, leaving user management a manual overhead. With 2024.4, support for user and group management is introduced through a series of REST resources: retrieving user information, creating and deleting users, setting user email and attribute values, creating and deleting groups, linking and unlinking users from groups, and setting values and names on users and groups.
- Enables automation of user management.
- Reduces manual effort and operational overhead.
- Supports integration of user administration with external systems.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
OAuth authentication for mail relay
Applicable to all domains | Cloud Platform | Included in Base | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Email underpins workflow notifications, error alerting and data export delivery in STEP, and configuring a mail relay server previously supported only basic authentication — increasingly considered outdated and vulnerable, with services such as Office 365 planning to discontinue support during 2025. With 2024.4, support for OAuth 2.0 authentication is introduced for connecting to a mail relay server, configurable using either a client ID and secret or a certificate-based approach.
- Brings mail relay configuration in line with current security standards.
- Prepares customers for email services withdrawing basic authentication.
- Offers a choice of client secret or certificate-based configuration.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Self-Service UI improvements
Applicable to all domains | Continuous Updates | Included in Base | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
The Self-Service UI lets customers manage basic elements of their own environments without Stibo Systems assistance, and has been built up across releases — a look and feel upgrade in 2024.1, update experience improvements in 2024.2, and an update availability and maintenance schedule screen in 2024.3. With 2024.4, access control can be managed through import and export.
- Streamlines maintenance of an essential security configuration.
- Enables seamless transfer of access control settings between environments.
- Further reduces reliance on Stibo Systems support.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
JavaScript logging
Applicable to all domains | Data Integration | Included in Base | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Excessive logging from business rules cluttered logs, made system errors hard to identify and slowed performance. 2024.4 restructures this: business rule logs are stored in a dedicated js-logs directory; debug logging at INFO level is disabled by default in Production and Pre-Production but enabled elsewhere; logging can be managed through a property in Self-Service for SaaS; exceptions are logged in both step.0.log and js.0.log; log messages are always written during business rule tests in Workbench; and each entry includes the business rule ID.
- System errors are easier to identify because business rule noise is separated out.
- Traceability improves because every entry carries its business rule ID.
- Logging levels can be tuned per environment and managed in Self-Service.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
ETIM dictionary data import
Applicable to PMDM | Data Standards | Available with the ETIM license | Admin, Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
ETIM is the classification structure manufacturers use to standardize electronic exchange of product data for electrical and electronic products, giving a uniform technical description of goods and their product class. With ETIM discontinuing translations in IXF files, customers needed to connect to new services to retrieve translations. 2024.4 adds support for the ETIM Service API, enabling connections to multiple servers for different translations, with scheduled updates of ETIM Dynamic.
- Manufacturers continue to receive standardized, unambiguous product information despite the change in translation availability.
- Multiple servers can be connected for different translations.
- ETIM Dynamic can be kept current through scheduled updates.
Additional resources
Improved translation efficiency
Applicable to PMDM | Data Governance | Included in Base | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
The Web UI had limited translation capabilities, so customers had to rely on the Workbench for translation work. From 2024.4, a new Translation screen in the Web UI lets business users manage the product translation process, enabling translators to perform translations and proofreaders to review and approve product translations in multiple languages.
- A more efficient, cost-effective and faster translation process.
- Business users can manage translation without the Workbench.
- Supports both translation and proofreading in one interface.
Additional resources
Simplified user experience in the New UI
Applicable to PMDM | New UI | Please refer to your Account Manager | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Customers need a modern, intuitive interface that guides users efficiently through their tasks. 2024.4 delivers two enhancements: workflows are optimized for quicker on-screen updates when submitting tasks, and the node picker is refined to display only valid target objects based on the selected source objects.
- Faster, more responsive on-screen updates when submitting tasks.
- Easier and more intuitive selection of reference targets.
- Less chance of selecting an invalid target object.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
AI machine learning address matcher
Applicable to Customer, Supplier and Location MDM | Simplified Matching | Applicable for use with the Customer Domain and Supplier Domain | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Matching is central to any customer MDM project and consumes much of the effort, and practitioners often misjudge the roles, skills and time needed to build and fine-tune the algorithm — leading to delayed time to value, complex ownership, inaccurate results and heavy manual review. Building on pre-trained person name matcher models introduced in 2024.1 and refined in 2024.2, 2024.4 adds new address matchers that can be incorporated into existing matching rules.
- Simplifies the process of creating and fine-tuning matching.
- Reduces the specialist effort needed to build an accurate algorithm.
- Address matchers can be leveraged within existing matching rules.
Additional resources
Salesforce MDM connector
Applicable to Customer, Supplier and Location MDM | Data Exchange | Early Adopter Release | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Salesforce is typically both an origination point for master data and a key consumer of customer master data from STEP, and clients wanted a rapid, certified integration approach rather than building on existing capabilities. With 2024.4, connectivity and interoperability between STEP and Salesforce are enhanced through a certified Salesforce app with a best-practice reference implementation, supporting bi-directional data flow and synchronization, merge scenarios and search-before-create within Salesforce. The app is optimized for Salesforce Lightning and provides forward compatibility with future Salesforce updates.
- Accelerates time to value on Salesforce integrations.
- Improves the implementation experience.
- Provides forward compatibility with future Salesforce updates.
Additional resources
Language-specific lists of values
Applicable to PDX Onboarding | Localization | Available with the PDX Onboarding license | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
In an onboarding channel, list-of-values product attributes were available in only one language, defined by a configuration in STEP, regardless of the channel language a supplier used — a particular problem for global retailers whose suppliers work in local languages. With 2024.4, support for language-specific lists of values is implemented in onboarding channels.
- Suppliers can interact with lists of values in their local language.
- Improves the mapping experience.
- Reduces data errors and misunderstandings, especially for non-English speaking suppliers.
Additional resources
Asset transformations
Applicable to PDX Onboarding and PDX Syndication | Efficiency | Available with the PDX license | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers and brand owners must ensure digital assets meet the varied requirements of every retailer and marketplace, at scale. With 2024.4, asset transformation is automated in two ways: image size conversion automatically converts images to channel-specific sizes such as 1000, 1500 or 2000 pixels, and image file type conversion converts images to different file types such as JPEG, PNG or TIFF within a given channel.
- Helps brands meet differing channel requirements without maintaining multiple versions of the same image.
- Saves upstream effort and manual work.
- Optimizes storage space.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Channel management enhancements
Applicable to PDX Syndication | Unified Platform | Available with the PDX Syndication license | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers and brand owners face a continuously expanding list of marketplaces and retailers and need to manage them efficiently, with visibility into their syndication channels. With 2024.4, users can export their list of channels in PDX for reporting to leadership and internal teams, see the number of active channels on the dashboard, and search within the channel management tab.
- Clear visibility into an organization's syndication channels.
- Channel lists can be exported for reporting and internal communication.
- Faster to find the channel that needs modifying.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
AI attribute matching
Applicable to PDX Onboarding and PDX Syndication | Efficiency | Requires the PDX license | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers and brand owners starting or expanding syndication often spend weeks or months determining how to map their master data model onto the many channels they publish to. 2024.3 began using AI to offer automated mapping suggestions, and 2024.4 accelerates this further by letting users view and apply all mapping suggestions with a single click, while retaining the flexibility to override AI-generated suggestions with their own mappings.
- Faster time to value for each new PDX Syndication channel.
- Removes weeks or months of manual mapping work.
- Users keep full control and can override any suggestion.
Additional resources
Digital Catalog API reporting
Applicable to PDX Syndication | Analytics | Requires the PDX license | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Brands can make content available to partners through Digital Catalog, where more technically sophisticated partners pull product data via an API — but catalog owners could not see whether partners had actually pulled data, either to track non-adopters or to spot problems. With 2024.4, Digital Catalog owners get a page showing the Digital Catalog API requests made to different catalogs in a given timeframe, how many products were pulled, and reporting on any errors that occurred.
- Owners can track which partners have not yet accessed the data.
- Errors surface for proactive resolution.
- Helps ensure end customer-facing product data stays up to date.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
TradeSolution channel
Applicable to PDX Syndication | Marketplaces | Available with the PDX Syndication Channels | Admin | 24.4 highlight
What changed
TradeSolution develops Environmental Product Declaration solutions for the Norwegian market and works with major grocery industry players, but PDX did not support creating and maintaining packaging structures in the TradeSolution channel with the same GTINs appearing in multiple hierarchies. With 2024.4, complex packaging hierarchies are enabled, so products can be packaged and reused in various configurations such as pallet versus half pallet. This includes basic and advanced workflows for GTIN reuse and guardrails preventing duplicate GTIN creation in the channel.
- Supports the complex packaging hierarchies customers need.
- Allows GTIN reuse across configurations, with workflow support.
- Guardrails prevent duplicate GTIN creation.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Efficient attribute mappings
Applicable to PDX Enhanced Content | Enhanced Content | Available with the PDX Enhanced Content license | Business User | 24.4 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers and CPG companies struggle to create and maintain below-the-fold content for large assortments because existing tools do not scale. With 2024.4, setting up template mappings is streamlined: users can browse available attributes using type-ahead directly within the relevant content field.
- Significantly fewer steps to get product data flowing to all relevant fields.
- Important for brands managing templates across hundreds of product categories and channels.
- Makes below-the-fold content production more scalable.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Enhancement requests delivered with 2024.4
Applicable to all domains | Included in Base | Admin, Developer | 24.4 highlight | consolidates the deck's Enhancement Requests 1/2 and 2/2 slides
What changed
Enhancement requests let the platform adapt continuously to market and customer needs. Four are delivered with 2024.4: the SSL Client Certificates screen in the Workbench now shows more detail about the validity of the active client certificate used for outbound mTLS and lists the upcoming certificate on SaaS environments for renewal; the File Loading Widget's Swap User option, which runs the import as the logged-in user instead of the configured endpoint user, is now compatible with Business Rule Based Message Processors for business rule binds and not only background processes; a new forceDelete() method is available in JavaScript for Product, Entity, Asset and Classification, completely purging objects from STEP rather than moving them to the recycle bin, provided no constraints exist; and a Business Function can now be dynamically looked up by ID and evaluated from JavaScript, as is already possible for business conditions and actions.
- Clearer visibility of client certificate validity and upcoming renewals.
- Swap User works in more import scenarios.
- Developers gain a true purge method and dynamic Business Function lookup from JavaScript.
FAQ
2024.4 extends Message Streaming to handle imports with a Business Action, adds REST resources for user and group management, introduces OAuth 2.0 authentication for mail relay, adds access control import and export to the Self-Service UI, and restructures JavaScript logging. Product MDM gains ETIM Service API support and a Translation screen in the Web UI, and the New UI gets faster task updates and a smarter node picker. Matching adds pre-trained address matchers, and the Salesforce connector enters early adopter release. In PDX, asset transformations, one-click AI attribute mapping, channel management improvements, Digital Catalog API reporting, TradeSolution packaging hierarchies and streamlined Enhanced Content template mappings all arrive. Four enhancement requests are also delivered.
Administrators are the main audience for the platform, matching, Salesforce, localization and TradeSolution updates. Business users are targeted by the Web UI Translation screen, the New UI improvements, asset transformations, channel management, AI attribute matching, Digital Catalog API reporting and Enhanced Content template mappings. Developers are addressed by two of the enhancement requests.
The 2024.4 deck does not map initiatives to the Acquire, Manage and Share data journey steps used in later releases. It groups them instead by applicability — all domains, PMDM, Customer/Supplier/Location MDM, PDX Onboarding, PDX Syndication and PDX Enhanced Content — and by theme, such as Data Integration, Cloud Platform, Localization and Analytics. Journey step mapping should be confirmed from the release notes before publishing. [Insert / confirm]
The platform updates, the Web UI Translation screen and the enhancement requests are included in base. ETIM dictionary data import requires the ETIM license. Language-specific lists of values require the PDX Onboarding license; asset transformations, AI attribute matching and Digital Catalog API reporting require the PDX license; channel management enhancements require the PDX Syndication license; the TradeSolution channel requires the PDX Syndication Channels; and efficient attribute mappings require the PDX Enhanced Content license. The address matcher is applicable for use with the Customer Domain and Supplier Domain. The Salesforce connector is an Early Adopter Release, and the New UI update directs customers to their Account Manager.
Yes. The Salesforce MDM connector is an Early Adopter Release, accessed by emailing sfdcconnector@stibosystems.com.