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Business Objects

Business Objects provide a simplified way to work with complex data. They combine related information into a single, user-defined structure, making it easier for other systems or users to read, exchange, and manage data.

Business Objects are particularly useful when data from multiple sources or RDF classes needs to be grouped and presented as a single logical unit—for example, grouping information about a product, its composition, and related manufacturing details.

What Are Business Objects?

A Business Object is a predefined data structure created by an administrator. It defines:

  • What data to include (e.g., names, codes, linked entities)
  • How to organize the data (e.g., nested elements or arrays)
  • Which entities to include (e.g., only substances with a specific type)
  • Which systems should receive specific fields (optional metadata)

The goal is to provide external systems with consistent, clean, and reusable data objects—whether for analytics, reporting, or integration.

Viewing and Using Business Objects

Business Objects are not directly editable or visible inside the Accurids user interface, but they play a key role in how data is accessed externally. They support:

  1. Data export and sharing: Business Objects can be automatically exported to destinations such as cloud storage (e.g., an S3 bucket), making it easier to integrate Accurids data with other systems.

  2. Simplified API access: Business Objects are also available through Accurids' API in a structured format — useful for developers or automated pipelines.

Example: Disease Business Object

Here is an example of a Business Object for diseases, such as DOID terms:

{
  "metadata": {
    "export_date": "20250711150826",
    "object_count": 1,
    "type": "full"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "uri": "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/DOID_10600",
      "id": "DOID:10600",
      "label": "chronic tic disorder",
      "synonyms": [
        "chronic motor or vocal tic disorder"
      ],
      "has_obo_namespace": "disease_ontology",
      "subclass_of": [
        {
          "uri": "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/DOID_2769",
          "label": "tic disorder"
        }
      ],
      "in_subset": [
        {
          "uri": "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/doid#NCIthesaurus",
          "label": "NCIthesaurus"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The metadata block describes when and how the data was exported:

  • export_date: Timestamp of when the file was generated
  • object_count: Number of Business Objects included
  • type: "full" means all available data was included, "incremental" would mean only updated data was exported

Optional: Exporting to S3 Buckets

Some Business Objects are configured to be exported automatically to storage services like AWS S3. This allows other platforms (such as analytics tools or regulatory systems) to regularly fetch the latest data from Accurids.

If enabled by an administrator:

  • The Business Object is transformed into a structured file (usually JSON).
  • Files are stored in predefined paths.
  • The data includes only relevant information based on system-specific needs.
  • Updates to the source data will automatically trigger an updated export.

Note: The export destination and content are configured by administrators and may differ depending on use case.

Can I Request Changes?

Business Objects are created and maintained by administrators. If something missing or incorrect in an exported object — or a new Business Object is needed — users can reach out to the admin team or submit a Request.

Learn More

See Business Objects Configuration to understand how Business Objects are defined and how data is filtered, grouped, or exported.