Technical Overview

PimSentry Architecture: Scale, Security, and Zero Disruption

PimSentry is an external, asynchronous audit layer engineered for exceptional data quality assurance at scale, designed to operate with robust security and absolutely no disruption to your PIM operations.

Your Infrastructure

inventory_2 PIM (Akeneo) Source of Truth
api API Read
webhook Webhooks
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PimSentry Platform

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Event Ingest
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Async Queue
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Worker Pool
Isolated execution contexts
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Scoped Storage
Per-tenant logical separation
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External, asynchronous audit ensures no PIM performance impact.

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Multi-tenant architecture guarantees strict organization isolation.

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Event-driven processing handles data changes efficiently.

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Robust queuing system manages bursts and ensures reliability.

Async Processing & Zero-Disruption Flow

1

Change Detected

Event received via webhook or scheduled poll. No blocking of the user's save action.

2

Fetch Minimal Data

PimSentry retrieves only the necessary attributes via the standard PIM API.

3

Enqueue Validation

Jobs are placed in a durable queue, buffering any bursts in traffic.

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Worker Evaluation

Workers pick up jobs and evaluate them against your specific rule sets.

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Store & Report

Results are stored in organization-scoped databases and reports are dispatched.

bolt No blocking writes, no in-PIM plugins required for core auditing, and no synchronous dependency on PimSentry for your PIM operations.

External Audit Layer

Your PIM remains the single source of truth for all product data. PimSentry acts solely as an auditor, reading data and evaluating it against your defined rules. Validation results are stored and reported entirely outside your PIM environment.

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block What PimSentry Does Not Do

  • close Does not modify PIM data by default.
  • close Does not intercept product saves synchronously.
  • close Does not require direct database access.
  • close Does not expose your data to other tenants.
lock Security Architecture

Per-organization Isolation: Your Data, Secured.

Tenant boundaries are enforced end-to-end across the entire PimSentry platform. Product data from one organization is never exposed to or processed alongside data from another.

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Strict Auth Checks

Rigorous tenant-scoped identifiers and authorization checks on every single operation.

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Logical Separation

Logical separation of data within our storage systems ensures data never bleeds across boundaries.

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Full Encryption

All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256), adhering to enterprise standards.

Handling Scale & Bursts

Our robust queue-based buffering system absorbs sudden increases in validation requests, such as during mass product edits.

Standard Tiers

Utilize shared, optimized queues for efficient processing with dynamic scaling.

Enterprise Tiers

Benefit from dedicated queues and workers, completely isolating processing. This prevents 'noisy-neighbor' effects.

Standard (Shared)
Org A
Org B
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Shared
Queue
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Shared
Workers
Enterprise (Isolated)
Org C
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Dedicated
Queue
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Workers

Reliability Principles

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Incremental

Processing only what changes for efficiency.

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Minimal Fetch

Reducing load on your PIM API.

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Idempotent

Safe retries without side effects.

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Rate Limited

Respecting your API quotas.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does PimSentry do? expand_more
PimSentry acts as a quality firewall for your product data. While a PIM centralizes data, PimSentry ensures it is consistent, complete, and compliant with your business requirements before it is broadcast to your sales channels (e-commerce, marketplaces, print). It is a continuous monitoring solution that detects anomalies automatically.
How is this different from native Akeneo validations? expand_more
Akeneo handles data types and basic completeness (required fields) very well. However, PimSentry goes much further. We allow you to create complex conditional rules (e.g., 'If the product is brand Nike, the description must contain the word 'Air''), advanced format validations (Regex), or consistency checks between multiple attributes—things the PIM does not do natively without custom development.
How does PimSentry connect to my PIM? expand_more
The integration is designed to be 'Plug & Play.' For Akeneo, we use the standard REST API. You do not need to install any code on your servers. Simply generate connection credentials in your Akeneo interface and enter them into your secure space on pimsentry.app. The connection is established in minutes.
Will PimSentry slow down my Akeneo instance? expand_more
No. PimSentry was designed by technical experts who care about performance. Our analysis engine runs asynchronously. We query your PIM via the API in an optimized way without ever blocking the Akeneo user interface or exports to your sales channels.
What kind of rules can I set up? expand_more
You have almost total freedom. Here are some common examples:
  • Formatting: Verify that an EAN code is exactly 13 digits.
  • Content: Ensure no forbidden words (profanity, competitor brands) appear in descriptions.
  • Conditional: Make a 'Weight' attribute mandatory only if the product family is 'Logistics.'
  • Media: Verify the presence of at least 2 images for products enabled on the 'Web' channel.
How am I alerted when errors are found? expand_more
The goal is to reduce noise. You can configure weekly or daily reports sent by email summarizing newly detected errors. For more reactive teams, we will soon offer notifications via Slack or Microsoft Teams for critical errors.
Is my product data stored on your servers? expand_more
Security is our priority. PimSentry does not permanently store your product catalog. We ingest the data necessary for analysis, execute validation rules, store only the error report result (Product ID and error type), and then purge the raw data.
Do I need coding skills to create rules? expand_more
Absolutely not. PimSentry is designed for business teams (Marketing, Data Stewards). We provide an intuitive No-Code interface on pimsentry.app that allows you to build your rules by selecting your attributes and conditions via dropdown menus.
Can I use PimSentry with Akeneo Community (Free)? expand_more
Yes, absolutely. PimSentry is compatible with Akeneo Community Edition (CE) as well as Enterprise Edition (EE), whether SaaS or On-Premise. As long as the API is accessible, PimSentry works.
How much does PimSentry cost? expand_more
Our pricing is simple and scalable, based on the volume of products (SKUs) you wish to monitor. We offer a free trial to let you test the power of our rules on a portion of your catalog. Check our Pricing block for more details.