What's new and changed in IBM Match 360 with Watson

IBM® Match 360 with Watson™ updates can include new features, bug fixes, and security updates. Updates are listed in reverse chronological order so that the latest release is at the beginning of the topic.

You can see a list of the new features for the platform and all of the services at What's new in IBM Cloud Pak for Data.

Installing or upgrading IBM Match 360 with Watson

Ready to install or upgrade IBM Match 360 with Watson?

Related documentation:
Important: Before you install or upgrade IBM Match 360, review the limitations and known issues in IBM Match 360.

Refresh 9 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in May 2022.

  • CASE: 1.0.209
  • Operator: 1.1.278
  • Operand: 1.1.278

This release includes the following changes:

Bug fixes

The 1.1.278 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: After upgrading IBM Match 360, a FoundationDB backup agent pod remains in a pending state.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed by adjusting the FoundationDB configuration.

  • Issue: After upgrading IBM Match 360, the FoundationDB operator does not automatically upgrade.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed by adjusting the FoundationDB configuration.

  • Issue: After upgrading IBM Match 360, data publishing jobs can fail.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed by adjusting the configuration of the IBM Match 360 job microservice.

  • Issue: Matching results can be inaccurate if the data model includes multiple entity types for a single record type.

    Resolution: The matching algorithm generation capability was updated to better handle data models that include multiple entity types that share a record type.

Security fixes

The 1.1.278 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes.

Refresh 8 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in April 2022.

  • CASE: 1.0.202
  • Operator: 1.1.259
  • Operand: 1.1.259

This release includes the following changes:

New features

The 1.1.259 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:

New data auditing attributes provide data traceability
Now when you add or edit record data in IBM Match 360, the service adds system-generated audit attributes to each record so you can track their audit history, including:
  • The date when the data was added to IBM Match 360
  • The date when the data was last updated
  • The user who last updated the data
Improve your matching results by using multi-dimensional comparison filters
You can now fine tune your matching algorithm by defining multi-dimensional comparison filters. You can use these filters to compare selected attributes and then adjust matching scores and weights up or down based on criteria that you define. Multi-dimensional comparison filters can reduce the amount of false positive or false negative matches in your matching results. For details, see Customizing and strengthening your matching algorithm.
Bug fixes

The 1.1.259 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: There are problems backing up IBM Match 360 with Watson on Cloud Pak for Data 4.0.7 due to a RabbitMQ issue.

    Resolution: The IBM Match 360 operator was updated to better handle RabbitMQ pod backups.

  • Issue: There are problems with the scroll bar when configuring the master data explorer settings.

    Resolution: The scroll bar issues have been resolved.

  • Issue: When IBM Match 360 jobs are being run, the status of the service in the Cloud Pak for Data dashboard can fluctuate between Ready and Not ready.

    Resolution: The status no longer fluctuates. It shows as Ready even while jobs are being run.

  • Issue: Unpublished entity types can be shown on the matching setup screens.

    Resolution: The matching setup screens now only show entity types from the published data model.

Security fixes
The 1.1.259 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes, including a fix for the following security issue:
  • CVE-2022-22965

Refresh 7 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in March 2022.

  • CASE: 1.0.191
  • Operator: 1.1.215
  • Operand: 1.1.215

This release includes the following changes:

New features

The 1.1.215 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:

Gain new insight by matching records on more than one entity type
Each record in your data can now be matched to multiple entity types. Each entity type that you define has its own matching algorithm for you to configure, tune, and run to create new types of entities. You can now run multiple matching algorithms on your record data to gain insight and discover connections within your data.

For example, in addition to resolving person record data into person entities by using a matching algorithm for deduplication, you can also resolve the same person data into meaningful new types of entities such as households or families.

For details, see Matching your data to create master data entities.

Predefined scaling options
Now you can use predefined deployment sizes to scale your IBM Match 360 deployment. Choose the size that meets your needs. For details, see Scaling services.
Bug fixes

The 1.1.215 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: The FoundationDB cluster can become unavailable when the IBM Match 360 service fails to communicate with FoundationDB.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed by adjusting the FoundationDB configuration.

  • Issue: After completing an upgrade of the IBM Match 360 service, operations such as matching can fail.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed by adjusting the FoundationDB configuration.

  • Issue: Problems backing up IBM Match 360 with Watson on Cloud Pak for Data due to an Elasticsearch issue.

    Resolution: The IBM Match 360 operator was updated to better handle Elasticsearch pod backups.

Security fixes

The 1.1.215 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes.

Refresh 6 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in February 2022.

  • CASE: 1.0.182
  • Operator: 1.1.188
  • Operand: 1.1.188

This release includes the following changes:

Bug fixes

The 1.1.188 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: IBM Match 360 does not fully support installing multiple instances on a cluster.

    Resolution: This problem was fixed with a change to the FoundationDB operator.

  • Issue: Additional steps required to back up IBM Match 360 on Cloud Pak for Data refresh 4 and refresh 5 to resolve problems with the FoundationDB pod.

    Resolution: The IBM Match 360 service has been updated to better manage the FoundationDB operator.

  • Issue: Additional steps required to restore IBM Match 360 on Cloud Pak for Data refresh 4 and refresh 5.

    Resolution: The IBM Match 360 service has been updated to better manage the FoundationDB operator.

  • Issue: After a restore, some Redis pods might not restart automatically.

    Resolution: Redis pods no longer encounter this issue after a backup is restored.

Security fixes

The 1.1.188 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes.

Refresh 5 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in January 2022.

  • CASE: 1.0.177
  • Operator: 1.1.175
  • Operand: 1.1.175

This release includes the following changes:

Bug fixes

The 1.1.175 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: You cannot upgrade IBM Match 360 if there are OpenShift® resource quotas in place.

    Resolution: IBM Match 360 was updated to properly handle resource quotas.

  • Issue: Upgrade fails with a Resource creation timed out error.

    Resolution: This issue was resolved with the release of Elasticsearch 1.1.882.

  • Issue: When you enable a custom attribute for use in matching, you must select one or more component fields for consideration by the matching algorithm. The UI does not validate whether fields are selected.

    Resolution: The user interface now displays a warning message if no fields have been selected for consideration by the matching algorithm.

  • Issue: Cloud Pak for Data global search does not return results from IBM Match 360 data.

    Resolution: Global searches on Cloud Pak for Data 4.0.5 now return IBM Match 360 data as expected.

Security fixes

The 1.1.175 release of the IBM Match 360 includes fixes for the following security issues:

CVE 2021-45046, CVE 2021-45105

Refresh 4 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in December 2021.

  • CASE: 1.0.166
  • Operator: 1.1.167
  • Operand: 1.1.167

This release includes the following changes:

New features

The 1.1.167 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:

More control over matching
This release provides more control over the matching algorithm by enabling data engineers to select custom attributes and fields for matching consideration.

For details, see Setting up your algorithm and matching your data.

Bug fixes

The 1.1.67 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: The FoundationDB operator creates pods infinitely if a PodNodeSelector is present.

    Resolution: This issue was fixed with a change to the FoundationDB operator.

Security fixes

The 1.1.67 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes, including a fix for the following security issue:

CVE-2021-44228

Refresh 3 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in November 2021.

  • CASE: 1.0.144
  • Operator: 1.1.134
  • Operand: 1.1.134

This release includes the following changes:

New features

The 1.1.134 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:

Backup and restore
IBM Match 360 now supports restoring a backed up instance to a different cluster. For details, see Backing up and restoring your deployment.
Performance improvements for matching
The IBM Match 360 matching process has been improved to reduce the time it takes to run the matching algorithm.
Support for Spark 3
IBM Match 360 now uses Spark 3 as its processing engine.
Bug fixes

The 1.1.34 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following fixes:

  • Issue: In certain scenarios, the FoundationDB (FDB) cluster might become unavailable when the IBM Match 360 service failed to communicate with the FDB.

    Resolution: This issue has been resolved by fixes to the FoundationDB and IBM Match 360.

  • Issue: Installing an older operand version failed when using a newer version’s operator.

    Resolution: The IBM Match 360 operator now supports new installations of older operand versions.

  • Issue: Users sometimes encountered a 401 or 404 error when navigating to the IBM Match 360 entity explorer view.

    Resolution: This issue is resolved as part of this release.

  • Issue: User interface design and usability issues.

    Resolution: Several user interface fixes and updates have been made to improve the user experience.

Security fixes

The 1.1.34 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various security fixes.

Deprecated features

The 1.1.34 release of the IBM Match 360 service includes the following deprecation:

  • As a result of further testing, IBM Match 360 no longer claims support for being installed on a cluster that is enabled to use Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) compliant encryption. For more information, see Services that support FIPS.

Refresh 2 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in October 2021.

  • CASE: 1.0.115
  • Operator: 1.1.90
  • Operand: 1.1.90

This release includes the following changes:

New features
The 1.1.90 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:
Back up and restore
IBM Match 360 now supports backup and restore with the new OADP backup and restore utility. For details, see Backing up and restoring your deployment.
Bug fixes

This release of the IBM Match 360 service includes various fixes that improve the installation and upgrade experiences, including the following fix that was previously documented as a known issue:

  • Issue: In environments where the Cloud Pak for Data scheduling service is installed and enabled, IBM Match 360 instances fail to install.

    Resolution: This problem is resolved with Cloud Pak for Data scheduling service version 1.2.2 and later.

Refresh 1 of Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0

A new version of IBM Match 360 with Watson was released in August 2021.

  • CASE: 1.0.48
  • Operator: 1.1.14
  • Operand: 1.1.14

This release includes the following changes:

New features
The 1.1.14 release of IBM Match 360 includes the following features and updates:
Support for upgrade
You can now upgrade IBM Match 360 from the following Cloud Pak for Data releases:
  • Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.0.x
Bug fixes

This release includes the following fix:

  • Issue: Master data explorer sometimes might not generate data exports and settings were not persisted. This issue occurred when the FoundationDB connection to the mdm-em-ui pod failed, resulting in the master data explorer user interface not being able to persist metadata from exports and settings.

    Resolution: This problem is fixed. Metadata now persists as expected.

Security fixes

This release includes fixes for the following security issues:

CVE-2021-33587, CVE-2021-23343, CVE-2021-27290, CVE-2021-33502, CVE-2020-36048, CVE-2020-36049

Initial release of Cloud Pak for Data 4.0

Version 4.0.0 of Cloud Pak for Data includes the first release of the IBM Match 360 with Watson service.

  • CASE: 1.0.1
  • Operator: 1.0.0
  • Operand: 1.0.0
New features

IBM Match 360 with Watson on IBM Cloud Pak for Data seamlessly consolidates data from disparate sources to establish a single, trusted, 360-degree view of your customers.

Information about your customers can come from multiple sources across your business. Use IBM Match 360 with Watson to simplify the process of creating a 360-degree view of your customers. Consolidate data from:
  • Existing master data management systems
  • Transactional data sources
  • Clickstream data sources
Easier for data engineers
When you add a new data source to IBM Match 360, the service generates a customizable data model, reducing the need to manually map attributes. After you load data, you can run a matching algorithm to create enriched master data entities. You can also tune and train the algorithm to improve future matches.
Accessible to your enterprise
Business users can access IBM Match 360 to search, explore, and analyze master data entities. The service also includes a rich set of APIs that your applications can use to access trusted master data.
IBM Match 360 with Watson includes the following capabilities:
  • Administrators or data engineers can configure the IBM Match 360 service’s master data configuration asset.
  • Data engineers can prepare and configure master data:
    • Upload data assets or connect data sources.
    • Refine the generated data model.
    • Map data into the model.
    • Run the IBM Match 360 service’s powerful matching capability to create master data entities.
    • Configure and tune the matching algorithm to meet your organization’s requirements.
  • Data stewards can search, view, analyze, add, edit, and export master data entities and records.
  • Business users can search, view, and analyze master data entities and records.