Consume MailChimp OData Feeds in SAP Lumira

You can use the CData API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for MailChimp (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers) to create data visualizations based on MailChimp data in SAP Lumira. The API Server enables connectivity to live data: dashboards and reports can be refreshed on demand. This article shows how to create a chart that is always up to date.

Set Up the API Server

Follow the steps below to begin producing secure MailChimp OData services:

Deploy

The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.

The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.

Connect to MailChimp

After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for MailChimp, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to MailChimp by clicking Settings -> Connection and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.

Set the APIKey to the key you generate in your account settings. To obtain the API Key:

1. Log into Mailchimp.
2. Navigate to Account > Extras > API Keys.
3. Note the value of the API Key.

When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

You can then choose the MailChimp entities you want to allow the API Server access to by clicking Settings -> Resources.

Authorize API Server Users

After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default, only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.

Connect to MailChimp from SAP Lumira

Follow the steps below to retrieve MailChimp data into SAP Lumira. You can execute an SQL query or use the UI.

1. In SAP Lumira, click File -> New -> Query with SQL. The Add New Dataset dialog is displayed.
2. Expand the Generic section and click the Generic OData 2.0 Connector option.
3. In the Service Root URI box, enter the OData endpoint of the API Server. This URL will resemble the following: https://your-server:8032/api.rsc
4. In the User Name and Password boxes, enter the username and authtoken of an API user. These credentials will be used in HTTP Basic authentication.

5. Select entities in the tree or enter an SQL query. This article imports MailChimp Lists entities.

6. When you click Connect, SAP Lumira will generate the corresponding OData request and load the results into memory. You can then use any of the data processing tools available in SAP Lumira, such as filters, aggregates, and summary functions.

Create Data Visualizations

After you have imported the data, you can create data visualizations in the Visualize room. Follow the steps below to create a basic chart.

1. In the Measures and Dimensions pane, drag measures and dimensions onto the x-axis and y-axis fields in the Visualization Tools pane. SAP Lumira automatically detects dimensions and measures from the metadata service of the API Server.

   By default, the SUM function is applied to all measures. Click the gear icon next to a measure to change the default summary.

2. In the Visualization Tools pane, select the chart type.
3. In the Chart Canvas pane, apply filters, sort by measures, add rankings, and update the chart with the current MailChimp data.