Document Sharing
Managing user permissions and content entitlements within AlphaSense Enterprise Intelligence platform is simple and customizable at the same time. We have a wide array of options for customers of all size and shape to configure the visibility of documents to the users of the system and mirror the permissions of the organizations sharing policies. Before we get started, please get yourself familiar with Ingestion API and SCIM API (User Management) to enable the full power of customization offered by AlphaSense.
Entitlement Models
AlphaSense entitlement model can be described with three main entities: document model, user model and source model. These models provide multiple flexible entitlement flows.
Document model
Document model is quite simple and straightforward. Each document in the system is published by a provider. Based on the provider information, the system assigns specific document type to the document. Examples of document types are Broker Research, Event Transcripts, Company Document, News, etc. Apart from Document Types, a provider can also use entitlement property(ies) to control document entitlements. Entitlement properties can be used with dynamic models. We will consider a few examples, when we describe Search and Document fetching logic. ↗
Source model
Based on Document Types, AlphaSense solution provides a simple but flexible Source model. ↗
Source Model is used by AlphaSense UI to present the different document sources provided by AlphaSense as well as document categories added by customers but it is not critical for the entitlement and permission workflows. Source menu provides a well structured source tree, which can be extended for client specific content categorization. AlphaSense provides the functionality to incorporate personalized document types. These adaptable document types streamline the categorization process for customers' internal content within our platform's Source menu, allowing users to list a maximum of 9 document types.
When the user loads the source menu, the service is checking the permissions and loads only available sources to the application. ↗
User model
The user object has multiple different properties which are used by the system to define a set of available sources and documents. All these properties can be split into two big groups: Document permissions and Entitlement properties. Document permissions are standard and are primarily used to define a list of available sources for the user, while entitlements are mainly used to scope a set of available documents. ↗
UserDoc Documents
Documents uploaded by customers into AlphaSense are classified as UserDoc documents. UserDoc documents uses the same strategy based on Document Permissions, but on top of this to grant access to the document the system checks for additional property: externalID. The ExternalID values can be populated by querying the SCIM API. For this case the user model looks like: ↗
At the same time Document model for UserDoc documents looks like ↗
For UserDoc documents, the search execution diagram can be viewed here ↗
For UserDoc documents, on top of Basic entitlement model based on Document permissions, the system checks for shareeIds property when Search sub-system executes search request. There are no additional checks during post search processing. ↗ However, the Document Viewer in the platform double checks entitlements with our entitlement system.
Entitlement check for UserDoc documents uses externalID and Document Permissions to define Entitlement Type for the document and user. Entitlement type defines the role of the user for the document. In case of UserDocs the user can be Owner or Reader. More information can be provided on the Entitlement Types.
User Document Sharing Models
The AlphaSense platform is designed to accommodate the varied document sharing needs of enterprises. Our models offer a spectrum of options, from maintaining the utmost privacy of documents to facilitating collaboration across different business units. This flexibility ensures that our clients can tailor the sharing settings to suit their specific organizational structures and privacy requirements.
Configuring Document Sharing
Document sharing on AlphaSense can be configured in three primary ways: through the user interface (UI) within the app, through the Ingestion API, and in some cases through the GraphQL API Suite.
Understanding the Ingestion API
The Ingestion API is a comprehensive tool that extends beyond basic document handling. It enables users not only to upload, delete, and modify documents but also to define critical metadata that includes document authorship, titles, ownership, tags, and sharing permissions. This capability allows for granular control over how documents are managed and shared within the AlphaSense platform.
This means actions performed on documents via the API will override any existing configurations made through the app's UI. :::