Geographic Data Upgrade

Geographic Data Upgrade

Geographic Data Upgrade

iCarol has introduced a geographic data upgrade as part of a broader initiative to improve how geographic values are managed across the platform.  We are using a robust, curated geographic data source from GeoPostcodes (https://www.geopostcodes.com/), who serve some large corporations such as Amazon, IBM and Gartner.  This enhancement will improve accuracy and consistency of addresses, coverage areas and geographic data used in resource records and contact logging, supporting more reliable geographic searching and referrals.

We recognize that there may be inconsistencies between the geographic values currently present in iCarol and those in the GeoPostcodes data set, which could negatively affect resource searching if the new geographic values were just applied without validation.  Therefore, we have provided tools to validate the location data before migrating to the new data set.  We have identified three upgrade paths depending on how heavily you use the resource database in iCarol to search for referrals based on physical location or coverage area.  Please see below for the upgrade paths and the steps to review your resource geographic data before migrating to the new geographic data set.

Step 1: Identify your Organization's Upgrade Path

Path 1: Limited Resource Use

This path is best for organizations that primarily use iCarol for contact records and do not rely heavily on the resource database for referrals or geographic searching.
What you need to do:
No preparation is required.  You may enable the upgrade at any time.

Path 2: Moderate Resource Use

This path applies to organizations with a smaller or moderately used resource database (for example, under 1000 records) that sometimes rely on addresses or coverage areas.
What you need to do:
You have two options; choose what best fits your team's workflow:
  1. Option A: Review and verify your resource geographic data before enabling the upgrade, or
  2. Option B: Enable the upgrade first and review/update resource records gradually over time as you use them
Both approaches are suported.

Path 3: High or Critical Resource Use (e.g. 211 Organizations)

This path is for organizations where accurate addresses, coverage areas and geographic searching are essential to daily operations.
What you need to do:
We strongly recommend creating a structured upgrade plan that may include reviewing all resource records in advance of upgrading, or prioritizing your most frequently used or mission-critical resources before enabling the upgrade.

Info
In Q4 of 2026, iCarol will release a tool to identify which resource records have location data that does not have a match in the new data set.  This tool can be used to focus the resource review on just those resource records that don't match, instead of all resource records.

WarningImportant note for shared resources:  If your organization uses shared resources, coordination of the upgrade to the new geographic data set will be very important.  Shared resources should be reviewed and updated before enabling the upgrade to avoid inconsistencies between contact records and resource data.

Step 2: Enable Resource Geographic Data Transition Review

An Admin can take the following steps:
  1. Click Admin Tools in the left hand menu
  2. Click the Setup tab
  3. In the Geography section, click the check box next to 'Enable Resource Geographic Transition Review'
  4. Click 'Save all settings' button at the top of the page
Info
Enabling the Resource Geographic Data Transition Review does not change the geographic data used in your resource records.  This workflow is intended to help with the migration to the new data before actually enabling the new data in your system, so as to not negatively impact searching for resources in cases where there might be a data mismatch.  The resource geographic data transition review tool enables your resource editors to review, update and save the location data they would like to use for the record when the new geographic data is implemented.  Later in 2026, iCarol will add a tool that will identify which records have a data mismatch, so then the resource review can be focused on just those records with a data mismatch between the old geographic data and the new geographic data.

Step 3: Review Your Resource Geographic Data

To review Address data in a resource record, take these steps:
  1. Search for and view the details of a resource record
  2. Click the 'Edit' button
  3. Scroll down to the Location, Mailing Address and/or Other Address section of the resource record
  4. Review the location details noted in the box to the right of the address fields
  5. Make any adjustments to the location noted as needed
  6. Click the 'Mark as Reviewed' button to indicate the record has been reviewed

To review Coverage Area data in a resource record, take these steps:
  1. Search for and view the details of a resource record
  2. Click the 'Edit' button
  3. Scroll down to the 'Coverage area served by this resource' section and click the link 'Modify coverage areas'
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the 'Update Coverage Area' chart
  5. If edits to the coverage area as shown in the chart are needed, click the 'Edit' link in the 'Action' column
  6. Make the necessary edits to the location in the pop-up box, and click 'Save Changes'
  7. Click the 'Mark as Reviewed' button to indicate the record has been reviewed

To track the progress of the resource record review, you can use the Advanced Search & Bulk Editing tool by taking these steps:
  1. Click 'Resources' in the left hand menu
  2. Click 'Manage Resources'
  3. Click 'Advanced Search & Bulk Editing' in the first column on the page
  4. Click the 'Show/Hide field choices' button at the top of the page
  5. Type 'Geographic Data' in the 'Search field names' text box, and then check 'Is Geographic Data Reviewed' when it appears
  6. Apply any other filters to the page that you would like
  7. A '1' in the 'Is Geographic Data Reviewed' column indicates the record has been reviewed

Info
A resource record is considered fully reviewed once all geographic data points (Location, Mailing Address, Other Address and Coverage Area) have been individually verified and marked as reviewed.

Step 4: Migrate to New Geographic Data

When you have completed your review and are ready to migrate to the new geographic data, please submit a ticket to iCarol Support to request this.