Build JD Edwards-Connected Dashboards Using Zoho Analytics

Zoho Analytics is a modern BI and Analytics platform that allows you to connect and analyze your data, while also creating visualizations and dashboards to discover hidden insights. When paired with CData Connect AI, Zoho Analytics provides instant, cloud-to-cloud access to JD Edwards data for reporting and analytics. This article demonstrates how to connect to JD Edwards using Connect AI and analyze JD Edwards data by creating dashboards in Zoho Analytics.

CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for JD Edwards, allowing you to analyze JD Edwards data in Zoho Analytics — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to JD Edwards, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested JD Edwards data quickly.

Configure JD Edwards Connectivity for Zoho Analytics

Connectivity to JD Edwards from Zoho Analytics is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with JD Edwards data from Zoho Analytics, we start by creating and configuring a JD Edwards connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "JD Edwards" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to JD Edwards.

   The driver connects to JD Edwards through your Application Interface Services (AIS) Server. Set the following connection properties:

   • URL: The base HTTPS URL of your AIS Server (e.g., https://jde-ais.example.com:8300).
   • User: Your JD Edwards username.
   • Password: Your JD Edwards password.
   • Environment (optional): The JD Edwards environment to use (e.g., PD920 for production or DV920 for development). If not specified, the AIS Server's default environment is used.
   • Role (optional): The JD Edwards role for the session. If not specified, the AIS Server's default role is used.
   • DeviceName (optional): An identifier for the connecting device or application, used for auditing and logging on the AIS Server.
   • Jasserver (optional): The specific Java Application Server (JAS) instance to route requests through, useful in clustered environments.

   Choosing Which Data Is Exposed

   JD Edwards organizes tables and business views by System Code, and the driver exposes each System Code as its own schema. Use these properties to control which schemas are available:

   • DataModel: One or more ERP modules (comma-separated) whose System Codes are exposed as schemas, or All to expose every System Code in the connected instance. Defaults to FinancialManagement.
   • SystemCodes: A comma-separated list of additional System Codes to expose alongside those from DataModel (e.g., 42,43).

   When you connect, the driver sends your credentials to the AIS Server to obtain a session token and caches it. The driver requests a new token automatically before the session expires.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add JD Edwards Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to JD Edwards data from Zoho Analytics.

Connect to JD Edwards in Zoho Analytics Using CData Connect AI

To establish a connection from Zoho Analytics to CData Connect AI, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Zoho Analytics.

2. Create a new connection and select Cloud Databases to open the connection modal.

3. Enter the following information:
   • Database Type - select MS SQL Server.
   • Endpoint - enter tds.cdata.com
   • SQL Server Instance Name - leave this blank.
   • Port - enter 14333
   • Username - enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password - enter the PAT you generated.
   • Database Name - enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, JDEdwards1).
   • Click Next.
   
4. Choose the table that you would like to import from, e.g. AccountsPayable.AccountLedger.

5. A Data Preview of the table should pop up. Next, enter a Workspace Name and Table Name to be able to refer to in Zoho Analytics. Click Next.

6. There is an option to schedule the import periodically. After configuring, click Create.

7. Now, the import has been initiated. Click OK.

8. View your new connection in the Zoho Analytics Explorer.

9. Click on the new connection to see the table.

10. Zoho Analytics can auto-generate dashboards for the user, as seen here:

We have successfully imported JD Edwards data into Zoho Analytics and created dashboards.

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