Question

What are contact external IDs and how are they generated in Everbridge Suite?

Answer

External IDs are unique identifiers which prevent duplication of contacts and allow customization for individuals with the same name. External IDs are required for contact uploads and can be customized as desired; Everbridge will not generate external IDs.

While external IDs can not be identical, they can consist of similar information if different capitalization rules are applied. For example, a contact with the name of Jane Smith could have two profiles created using the same name, but slightly different external IDs, such as "Jane_Smith" and "Jane_smith".

External IDs can be any unique identifier, including email addresses or other alpha, numeric, or alphanumeric combinations, as long as they are unique for each individual contact. For instance, you can use email addresses as external IDs when uploading contacts to Everbridge.