Analyze Recurly Data in SAP Analytics Cloud

SAP Analytics Cloud is a cloud-based business intelligence platform. CData Connect AI creates a pure, cloud-to-cloud connection to Recurly and can be used to generate an OData API (natively supported in Analytics Cloud) for Recurly. By pairing SAP Analytics Cloud with CData Connect AI, you get true cloud-to-cloud connectivity to all of your SaaS and cloud-based Big Data and NoSQL sources — no need to migrate your data or write your integrations. Simply connect to Connect AI as you would any other OData service and get instant, consolidated access to all of your data.

In this article, we walk through connecting to Recurly from SAP Analytics Cloud (through CData Connect AI) to create a model and build a simple dashboard.

Connect to Recurly from SAP Analytics Cloud

To work with live Recurly data in SAP Analytics Cloud, we need to connect to Recurly from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Virtual Schema for the Recurly data.

Connect to Recurly from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

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

2. Select Recurly from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Recurly.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Recurly Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Recurly.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Recurly (see below).

   Recurly API Profile Settings

   Navigate to Integrations > API Credentials in your Recurly account and click Add Private API Key.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Recurly 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.

Configure Recurly Endpoints for SAP Analytics Cloud

After connecting to Recurly, create a Virtual Schema for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Virtual Schemas page and click Add to create a new Virtual Schema (enter a Virtual Schema Name and click Confirm), or select an existing one.
2. Click Add to open the Add Asset dialog and add new assets to the Virtual Schema.
3. Select the Recurly connection (e.g. API1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Click View Endpoints and make note of the OData Service URL for your virtual schema, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{virtual_schema_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Virtual Schemas configured, you are ready to connect to Recurly data from SAP Analytics Cloud.

Create a Model of Recurly Data in SAP Analytics Cloud

With the connection to Recurly configured and the OData endpoint(s) created, we can create a Model for Recurly data in SAP Analytics Cloud.

1. Log into your Analytics Cloud instance and click Create -> Model from the menu.
2. Choose Get data from a datasource and select OData Services
3. Choose an existing connection to your Connect AI OData or Create a new one:
   • Set Connection Name
   • Set Data Service URL to the Base URL for your OData API: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{virtual_schema_name}
   • Set Authentication Type to Basic Authentication
   • Set User Name to the Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
   
4. Choose Create a new query and click Next
5. Name the Execute, select an OData endpoint (like AccountAcquisition) and click Next
6. Drag the columns you wish to work with into the Selected Data workspace and click Create
7. At this point, a Draft Data source is created; click the draft to finalize the model
8. Perform any transformations, including creating calculated dimensions, location dimensions, and combining data sources, then click Create Model
9. Name your model and click OK

Build a Dashboard in SAP Analytics Cloud

With the model created, you are ready to create a dashboard in SAP Analytics Cloud based on Recurly data.

1. From the menu, click Create -> Story
2. Click on SAP Analytics Template (this article uses the "Dashboard" template)
3. Choose a layout and click Apply
4. From the More menu, select a visualization to insert (Chart)
5. Select a model to visualize
6. Select a structure and the required Measures and Dimensions
7. Save the store

More Information & Free Trial

Now, you have created a simple but powerful dashboard from live Recurly data. For more information on creating OData feeds from Recurly (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Recurly data in SAP Analytics Cloud.