Analyze Anaplan Data with Power Pivot

The ODBC protocol is used by a wide variety of Business Intelligence (BI) and reporting tools to get access to different databases. The CData ODBC Driver for Anaplan brings the same power and ease of use to Anaplan data. This article uses the driver to import Anaplan data into Power Pivot.

Connect to Anaplan as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Authenticating to Anaplan

The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., US1, which is the default).

Using Basic Authentication

Set AuthScheme to Basic, then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

Using Certificate Authentication

Set AuthScheme to Certificate, then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

Using OAuth Authentication

Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

• OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
• InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

Connect from Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to connect to the DSN in Power Pivot.

1. In Excel, click the Power Pivot Window icon on the Power Pivot tab to open Power Pivot.
2. Launch the Table Import Wizard: Click the Get External Data from Other Data Sources button.
3. Select the OLEDB/ODBC source option.
4. Click Build to open the Data Link Properties dialog.
5. In the Provider tab, select the Microsoft OLEDB Provider for ODBC Drivers option.
6. In the Connection tab, select the Use Data Source Name option and then select the Anaplan DSN in the menu.

Select and Filter Tables and Views

Follow the steps below to use the wizard to import Anaplan tables. As you use the wizard to select, filter, and sort columns of Anaplan tables, Power Pivot generates the query to be executed.

1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to select from a list of tables.

2. Click Preview & Filter to select specific columns, sort data, and visually build filters. To include or exclude columns, select and clear the option next to the column name.

   To filter based on column values, click the down arrow button next to the column name. In the resulting dialog, select or clear the column values you want to filter. Alternatively, click Number Filters or Text Filters and then select a comparison operator. In the resulting dialog, build the filter criteria.

3. Return to the Select Tables and Views page of the wizard. You can access filters by clicking the Applied Filters link in the Filter Details column.

Import and Filter with SQL

You can also import with an SQL query. The driver supports the standard SQL, allowing Excel to communicate with Anaplan APIs.

1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to write a query.

2. In the SQL Statement box, enter the query. Click Validate to check that the syntax of the query is valid. Click Design to preview the results and adjust the query before import.

   
3. Finish the wizard to import the data for your chosen query.

Refresh On Demand

Connectivity to Anaplan APIs enables real-time analysis. To immediately update your workbook with any changes, click Refresh.