File Delivery

If a List Generation workflow is suitable for the use case at hand, the file delivery service is the best way to access Enigma data.

Getting Started

Please reach out to the Enigma team if you need to generate a list. The steps below outline how to best prepare for that conversation.

Requesting the Desired Output

It's important to be aware of the choices available when generating a list so that the output file meets the requirements of your use case. The following are some things to consider.

Entity Type

Indicate whether the desired file should contain a list of businesses or business locations. One file will contain a list of only one of these entity types.

Filters

Provide the Enigma team with an idea of the type of business or business location being targeted. To get an idea of the dimensions along which the Enigma data can be filtered see the Attribute Dictionary.

Attributes

When discussing a list generation with a member of the Enigma team it helps to familiarize yourself with the Attribute Dictionary. This contains explanations of the various attributes available to include in the output file alongside the basic identifiers of the business or business location like business name, address, Enigma ID, etc.

Time Series Data

Some attributes are available as a monthly time-series (currently, only the Merchant Transaction Signals). Let the Enigma team know whether you are interested in only the most recently available month of transaction related data or multiple months of history.

Output Format

CSV

Standard comma-separated values format, ideal for spreadsheet applications and general analysis.

Parquet

Columnar storage format, optimized for large-scale data processing and analytics workflows.

File Structure

The structure of the output file is also something that can be customized.

Enigma data is stored as a collection of attributes. Some of these attributes are represented as objects with properties associated with them. The file can be structured so that all such attributes are either flattened or unflattened.

Flattened Structure

• No columns with nested values
• Each property becomes its own column
• Best for spreadsheet analysis
• Example: industries.classification_type becomes a separate column

Unflattened Structure

• Contains columns with nested values
• Properties remain nested within parent objects
• Optimized for data pipeline ingestion
• Example: All properties remain nested in industries column

Number of output files

Recommended File Splits

In most cases, Enigma recommends sending the output back in one file. However, there are specific scenarios where splitting the data is beneficial:

1. When combining firmographics with time-series data
2. When including both business and business location matches

Here are the cases where multiple files are recommended:

1. Firmographics + Time Series: If a user wants both firmographics attributes and multiple months of history for a time-series attribute, we recommend:

   • One file for firmographics
   • One file for time-series data
   • The Enigma ID serves as the matching key between files

2. Mixed Entity Types: If a user wants to see matches for both businesses and business locations, we recommend:

   • Separate file for business matches
   • Separate file for business location matches

Retrieving Files from Enigma

There are two standard ways you may retrieve files output by Enigma:

1. Downloaded directly via the Enigma Console File Manager

2. Published into a user-defined Data Source:

   • Your SFTP server
   • Your Amazon S3 Bucket
   • A private SFTP account on an Enigma SFTP server

Data Source Setup

For information on setting up a Data Source, please reference the Console File Manager documentation.

Parquet Download Limitations

Due to a technical limitation at this time:

• Parquet files cannot be downloaded directly from the Console File Manager web interface
• Parquet files can be accessed when copied to a user-defined Data Source
• As a temporary workaround, Parquet files may be converted to CSV, TSV, or PSV for web interface downloads
• Contact support@enigma.com for assistance with Parquet file access

Interpreting the Output

The output file will contain columns representing attributes describing a business or business location.

File Structure

• Enigma ID is always included as the first column
• Column names follow a consistent naming pattern
• Custom column names available upon request

Column Naming Conventions

Pattern	Example	Description
attribute**X	names**0	Array elements, where X is the index
attribute**X*_property	addresses**0*_street_address1	Array of objects
attribute__property	card_revenue__growth__3m__rate_sa	Nested object properties
attribute__property__X	industries__codes__0	Nested arrays

Time Series Data

If a time-series attribute was selected (currently, only the Merchant Transaction Signals attributes), there will be multiple rows per Enigma ID - one for each month in the time series.

For more information about our attributes, see:

• Attribute Dictionary
• Merchant Transaction Signals
• Identity and Firmographics

For more information about file delivery options, see the Console File Manager documentation.