Latest updates in STEP
2025.2 concentrates on making core data operations faster and more accurate, and on widening how customers reach their channels. The optimized Match & Merge importer becomes available on all STEP systems with up to 50% faster imports, and a new machine learning matcher release improves person name and address accuracy. In PDX, a channel marketplace makes available direct channels visible, retailers can equip suppliers to produce enhanced content, brands gain interactive content modules, and the Brandbank channel supports multi-packs. The New UI gains workflow transparency, detailed approval feedback and mandatory workflow variables. Administrators get user deactivation, extended REST control over integration components, and self-service handling of quarterly maintenance updates.
User deactivation
Platform | Included in Base | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
When customers approached their user license limit they had to delete existing users to make room for new ones, which was not always desirable because user objects may hold data that must be retained. With 2025.2, users can be deactivated instead of deleted, using REST. A deactivated user remains in the system as an object but cannot use it, so user metadata is preserved and a user ID cannot be accidentally reused — preventing new users from inheriting revisions made by an old user.
- Frees up licenses without deleting user objects.
- Maintains data integrity and allows easy reactivation.
- Prevents unauthorized access and accidental reuse of user IDs.
Additional resources
Extended REST APIs for integration endpoints, event processors and gateways
Platform | Included in Base | Admin, Developer | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Customers make extensive use of integration endpoints, event processors and gateways and needed better external control over them. With 2025.2, REST resources can access and update metadata for all three, returning basic information in JSON. REST resources for disabling and enabling integration endpoints are also extended with options for suspending waiting background processes, mirroring the suspend options already available in the Workbench.
- A structured, efficient way to manage metadata and background processes externally.
- Improves system flexibility and security.
- Brings REST control in line with what the Workbench already offers.
Additional resources
SaaS self-service UI — quarterly maintenance updates
Platform | Included in Base | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Stibo Systems updates all SaaS environments to the latest software build during each quarterly maintenance window, applying bug fixes, security patches and stability enhancements — and customers need visibility into what each update contains plus the ability to apply and validate it themselves beforehand. From 2025.2, starting four weeks before each maintenance window, the SaaS Self-Service UI displays alerts when a maintenance image is available for an environment and offers that image as an update option. A detailed delta changelog is available for each maintenance image, or any update within the same STEP version. This does not apply to customers enrolled in the Continuous Updates progra
- Timely notification when a maintenance image becomes available.
- Greater transparency into exactly what an update changes.
- Enables smoother, disruption-free updates performed at the customer's convenience.
Additional resources
Optimized Match & Merge importer
CXDC, BPDC / Acquire | Included with Low and High Volume Records | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
As customer data volumes grow and MDM becomes more integrated with business systems, import performance, scalability and trustworthy data matter more. The Match & Merge importer has been significantly improved: more efficient data handling delivers up to 50% faster import operations, traceability improvements make slowdowns easier to identify and troubleshoot, and stability enhancements make processing more reliable. Released to selected customers in 2025.1, the improved importer is released to all STEP systems with 2025.2. Stibo Systems enables it in coordination with existing customers and no configuration changes are required.
- Up to 50% faster import operations.
- Simplified identification of slowdowns and easier troubleshooting.
- More reliable processing with fewer interruptions.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Improved AI machine learning matcher
CXDC, BPDC, SDC / Manage | Included with Low and High Volume Records | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Matching is central to any customer mastering project and consumes much of the effort. Building on pre-trained models introduced in 2024.1 and refined in 2024.2, 2025.2 releases machine learning matcher version 2.1. It improves person name matching through better handling of suffixes and fewer false positives for dissimilar names, and adjusts address matching to score lower for somewhat similar street names and for differing sub-premise data such as apartment numbers.
- Higher accuracy in person name and address matching.
- Fewer matching errors.
- Better overall data quality and user experience.
Additional resources
Enhanced Content onboarding
PXDC / Acquire | Available with the PDX Onboarding license | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Suppliers provide content in varying formats, styles and levels of detail, and without standardized formats or guidelines retailers spend excessive time and resources ingesting it — making it hard to onboard the high-quality, compliant enhanced content that lifts listing conversion. With 2025.2, retailers can grant suppliers access to a toolkit for creating engaging product stories to accompany their listings, delivered through the onboarding channel.
- Standardizes the delivery method, format and look and feel across product detail pages.
- Reduces the retailer's operational costs.
- Improves content consistency at the marketplace.
Additional resources
Optimized central authorship — context help
BPDC, SDC / Manage | Included in Base | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Business users creating or updating B2B customer and supplier data face validation challenges and heavy data entry. This initiative continues work started in 11.2 with search-before-create and address typeahead, extended through 2023.3, 2023.4 and 2024.1 with the new data container experience and conditional data validity, and expanded in 2024.3 with Multi Edit Data Containers. With 2025.2, context help comes to Unfolding Data Containers, providing help texts on specific fields and how they should be populated.
- Guided data entry saves time during central authorship and maintenance of business partners.
- Helps users populate fields correctly the first time.
- Makes it easier to migrate from the previous editor to the new one.
Additional resources
InDesign CC 2025 (v20.x) support
PXDC / Manage | Available with the STEP Publisher license | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Adobe deprecates older InDesign versions with each release, so 2025.2 ensures compatibility with InDesign CC 2025 (v20.x) for both server and client systems. This includes plug-in support for Windows and Mac, seamless integration with STEP, and full functionality on SaaSv2 systems.
- Keeps print publishing and datasheet production working on the current InDesign version.
- Supports both Windows and Mac clients.
- Maintains competitiveness in the print market.
Additional resources
Channel Marketplace
PXDC / Share | Available with the PDX Syndication license | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers and brand owners need to connect to business partners and marketplaces seamlessly, but customers had no transparency into which direct channels were available, limiting their ability to use more of them. With 2025.2, a channel marketplace provides clear visibility into available direct channels and keeps users informed as new channels are added, while leveraging the existing customer base to expand channel availability and facilitate connections between Product Data Onboarding and Product Data Syndication.
- Greater transparency and accessibility of available channels.
- Customers can take advantage of more channels efficiently.
- Improved adoption and streamlined onboarding.
Additional resources
Retailer-agnostic content — interactive modules
PXDC / Share | Available with the Enhanced Content license | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Brands need to tell engaging product stories to lift conversion rates, but Enhanced Content Syndication supported only static modules for retailer-agnostic content. With 2025.2, new interactive modules are added for retailer-agnostic content, including video, image carousel, hotspot and Q&A modules.
- Lets brands take product stories beyond static content.
- Increases consumer engagement.
- Supports higher conversion rates on product listings.
Additional resources
- Youtube chapter: Watch
Support for multi-packs in the Brandbank channel
PXDC / Share | Available with the PDX Syndication license | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Manufacturers must provide detailed data such as nutrition facts and ingredients for both multi-packs and their individual sub-products, but the system supported only one set of product data per product rather than at part level. With 2025.2, the Parts Composite model for products in the Brandbank channels can manage and transfer different attribute values for multi-part products and sub-products.
- Customers can provide detailed multi-pack and variety-pack information.
- Improves data accuracy.
- Aligns with Brandbank's standard functionality.
Additional resources
Enhanced transparency of tasks in workflows
PXDC / Manage | Please refer to your Account Manager | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Product onboarding, enrichment and maintenance processes needed more transparency to accelerate time to market and improve efficiency. With 2025.2, workflow visibility features are introduced in the New UI, giving access to task statuses, deadlines and assignees so users can act promptly, with improved support for find, enrich and approve use cases.
- Users can see task status, deadlines and ownership and act promptly.
- Better support for common find, enrich and approve workflows.
- Improves operational efficiency and accelerates time to market.
Additional resources
Enhanced approval process
PXDC / Manage | Please refer to your Account Manager | Business User | 25.2 highlight
What changed
When an approval of one or more objects failed, users needed detailed information about the failure in order to correct the data and re-approve, but error messages were unclear. With 2025.2, a consistent approval experience across the New UI ensures end users receive detailed information on failed approvals.
- Clear, actionable feedback on why an approval failed.
- Enables efficient error resolution.
- Improves data accuracy and overall user experience.
Additional resources
Mandatory workflow variables
PXDC / Manage | Please refer to your Account Manager | Admin | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Workflow variables in the New UI could not be configured as mandatory, creating potential inefficiencies and errors in workflows. With 2025.2, the workflow designer lets administrators configure mandatory workflow variables for specific workflow and state combinations. The effect of the setting is limited to task perspectives in the New UI.
- Ensures the inputs needed for workflow routing and business logic are provided.
- Improves workflow efficiency.
- Gives administrators control over field visibility and usage without duplicating effort across interfaces.
Additional resources
Enhancement requests delivered with 2025.2
CXDC, BPDC, SDC and Platform | Included in Base | Admin, Business User, Developer | 25.2 highlight
What changed
Enhancement requests let the platform adapt continuously to market and customer needs. Four are delivered with 2025.2: 'Unmerged From' references can now be deleted, so administrators are not blocked from deleting records once they have been deleted in the source systems — supporting privacy regulation such as GDPR; users can manually update merge golden records, including deactivation and source info changes, with STEP managing related side effects automatically; the title of the Clerical Review task list screens in the Web UI can be customized; and payload can be uploaded to a REST source receiver integration endpoint via REST without invoking the endpoint.
- Supports compliance with privacy regulation such as GDPR.
- Gives administrators more direct control over golden records and clerical review screens.
- Adds flexibility for developers working with REST integration endpoints.
Additional resources
- Update notes: Read
FAQ
2025.2 releases the optimized Match & Merge importer to all STEP systems with up to 50% faster imports, and ships version 2.1 of the machine learning matcher with better person name and address accuracy. PDX gains a channel marketplace, enhanced content onboarding, interactive retailer-agnostic content modules and multi-pack support in the Brandbank channel. The New UI adds workflow task transparency, detailed approval failure feedback and mandatory workflow variables. Platform updates cover user deactivation via REST, extended REST APIs for integration endpoints, event processors and gateways, and self-service quarterly maintenance updates. Four enhancement requests are also delivered.
Administrators are the main audience for user deactivation, REST API extensions, maintenance updates, matching improvements, InDesign support and mandatory workflow variables. Business users are targeted by enhanced content onboarding, context help, the channel marketplace, interactive content modules, Brandbank multi-packs and the New UI workflow and approval updates. Developers are addressed by the REST API extensions and one of the enhancement requests.
Acquire covers the optimized Match & Merge importer and enhanced content onboarding. Manage covers the machine learning matcher, context help, InDesign support and the three New UI workflow and approval updates. Share covers the channel marketplace, interactive content modules and Brandbank multi-pack support. User deactivation, REST API extensions and quarterly maintenance updates are platform-level.
The platform updates, context help and the delivered enhancement requests are included in base. The optimized Match & Merge importer and the improved machine learning matcher are included with Low and High Volume Records. Enhanced content onboarding requires the PDX Onboarding license; the channel marketplace and Brandbank multi-pack support require the PDX Syndication license; interactive retailer-agnostic modules require the Enhanced Content license; and InDesign CC 2025 support requires the STEP Publisher license. For the three New UI updates the deck directs customers to their Account Manager.
Links to the 2025.2 update notes, overview video, YouTube chapters and overview deck are listed under Supporting assets. [Insert / confirm]