Segmented grouping via match rules
Learn about segmented grouping and how it helps you organize large volumes of related records without merging.
Segmented grouping is a feature that lets you group related entities using custom match rules — without merging them. The result is a separate group entity that references member entities via relationships. Unlike traditional merging or automated householding, segmented grouping keeps source entities intact. It uses a high-performance group processor to associate, validate, and evolve groups as contributing entities change. This approach simplifies handling of very large datasets while improving flexibility and maintainability.
Segmented grouping was introduced to address the large object problem in master data environments. In traditional implementations, merged entities can become excessively large — sometimes hundreds of megabytes — due to the accumulation of crosswalks and attribute values.
When a new entity matches existing group criteria, it's added to that group. When a group's integrity is broken by entity changes, it's automatically split or updated.
When and where would I use it?
Use segmented grouping when you need to:
- Group tens of thousands of related entities without merging them
- Support advanced segmentation or analytics pipelines
- Aggregate key values across a logical group (e.g., most common phone or name)
- Support complex householding, organization roll-ups, or partner clustering
Segmented grouping is enabled via tenant configuration and metadata and can be used in any tenant that meets grouping processor and configuration requirements.
What's different from automated householding?
Segmented grouping builds on the householding feature but introduces important differences:
- Supports much larger group sizes (50K–100K entities)
- Uses group-level matching, not per-entity matching
- Removes reliance on messaging queues (v2 implementation).
To be able to use this feature, enable it in your L3 configuration. For more information, see Configure segmented grouping in your tenant. Once done, ensure you have configured your grouping types.