Access Control for Data

The type of data and whether the data is categorized determines which access control mechanisms can be applied. The following groupings of data are necessary for the purpose of discussing access control:

• Customer data

  • Customer data includes contacts and transactional data such as opportunities, orders, quotes, service requests, and accounts.

  • Access is controlled at the data item level, through a mechanism such as individual record ownership or ownership by an organization.

• Master data

  • Master data includes the following referential data: products, literature, solutions, resolution items, decision issues, events, training courses, and competitors.

  • Master data can be grouped into categories of similar items, for example, hard drives. Categories can then be organized into catalogs, for example, computer hardware, which are hierarchies of categories. Access can be controlled at the catalog and category levels through access groups, which is the recommended strategy for controlling access to master data. For more information about creating catalogs, see Siebel eSales Administration Guide.

  • Master data can be associated with organizations. By associating master data with organizations, access can be controlled at the data item level. This strategy requires more administration than the access group strategy.

    Note: Divisions provide a way to logically group positions and assign currencies. Organizations provide a mechanism to control data access.

• Other data

  • Other data includes referential data that is not master data, such as price lists, cost lists, rate lists, and SmartScripts.

  • Access is controlled at the data item level.