Publish Sage X3 Cloud-Connected Dashboards in Tableau Server

Tableau Server is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for Sage X3 Cloud, you get access to live Sage X3 Cloud data within Tableau Server. This article shows how to connect to Sage X3 Cloud in Tableau Desktop, publish a Data Source to Tableau Server, and build a simple chart from that data.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live Sage X3 Cloud data in Tableau Server. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with Sage X3 Cloud and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Sage X3 Cloud data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to Sage X3 Cloud data.

NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors require Tableau 2020.3 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau, you will need to use the CData JDBC Driver. If you wish to connect to Sage X3 Cloud data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect AI.

Enable Connectivity to Sage X3 Cloud in Tableau Server

Start by installing the CData Tableau Connector on the machine hosting Tableau Server.

Installation on a Linux Machine:

1. Unpack the setup.zip archive. Creating a directory for the connector like /opt/cdata/sagex3cloud is recommended, but the exact install location does not matter.
2. Navigate to the lib subdirectory under the install directory. Generate a license file by running this command and following the prompts:

   java -jar cdata.tableau.sagex3cloud.jar -l

3. Copy cdata.tableau.sagex3cloud.jar and cdata.tableau.sagex3cloud.lic into the drivers directory, /opt/tableau/tableau_driver/jdbc.
4. Copy cdata.sagex3cloud.taco into the connectors directory, MyTableauServerRootDir/data/tabsvc/vizqlserver/Connectors. In most cases MyTableauServerRootDir is located at /var/opt/tableau/tableau_server.
5. Restart Tableau Server.

If you cannot execute the java commmand from step 2, you will need to install a Java runtime environment. The name of this package differs on Red Hat-based and Debian-based systems:

You can substitute Java 8 with a later Java release as needed.

Installation on a Windows Machine:

1. Run the setup.exe installer. The driver JAR file will be automatically placed in the drivers directory, C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers.
2. Navigate to the lib folder under the installation directory. By default the installation directory is a folder in C:\Program Files\CData.
3. Copy cdata.tableau.sagex3cloud.lic into the drivers directory.
4. Copy cdata.tableau.sagex3cloud.taco into the connectors directory, MyTableauServerRootDir/data/tabsvc/vizqlserver/Connectors. In most cases MyTableauServerRootDir is located under C:\ProgramData.
5. Restart Tableau Server.

Connect to Sage X3 Cloud in Tableau Desktop

Once the connectors are installed on the Server machine, we can configure a connection to Sage X3 Cloud in Tableau Desktop and publish a Sage X3 Cloud-based Data Source to Tableau Server.

1. Open Tableau Desktop.
2. Click More under Connect -> To a Server.
3. Select "Sage X3 Cloud by CData".
4. Configure the connection to the data.

   Sage X3 Cloud uses the OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow, and an X-API-Key is also required for API access. Set AuthScheme to OAuth and specify the following connection properties:

   • URL: The base URL of your Sage X3 Cloud instance.
   • OAuthAccessTokenUrl: The OAuth token endpoint (e.g., https://your-auth-domain/oauth/token).
   • OAuthClientId: Your OAuth application client ID.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Your OAuth application client secret.
   • Audience: The API audience value for the token request.
   • XAPIKey: The X-API-Key provided by your Sage X3 Cloud administrator.
   • Folder: The Sage X3 folder name (e.g., SEED). This folder is used as the default schema.
   • Folders (optional): A comma-separated list of Sage X3 folders (e.g., SEED,PERF). Each folder is exposed as a separate schema, so you can query across folders with the Schema.Table syntax.

   The driver obtains an access token with the Client Credentials flow and sends it with the X-API-Key on every API request. With InitiateOAuth set to GETANDREFRESH (the default), the driver acquires and refreshes the token automatically.

5. Click "Sign In".

Discover Schemas and Query Data

Once you establish the connection to Sage X3 Cloud data, you can configure which entities to visualize.

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select SageX3Cloud from the Schema pull-down menu.
3. Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables.
4. Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update auto-loads the changes in the preview area.

Publish Data to Tableau Server

After you configure the data you wish to visualize, you can publish the Data Source to a Tableau Server instance. In Tableau Desktop:

1. Click Server -> Sign In.
2. Enter the URL for your Tableau Server.
3. Authenticate with Tableau Server credentials.
4. Click Server -> Publish Data Source and select your data source.
5. Click Publish.
6. Select the Project, name the Data Source, and optionally add a description.
7. Click Publish.

This creates a new entry under the server's data source list, from which you an change the data source's permissions, view its history, and perform other management tasks.

Note that workstation connected to the same server will be able to use the same source in Tableau Desktop, even if the connector isn't installed there. Also, workbooks created directly on Tableau Server (via the web interface) can use this source.

Visualize Sage X3 Cloud Data in Tableau Server

With the Data Source published to Tableau Server, you are ready to visualize Sage X3 Cloud data.

1. Login to your Tableau Server instance.
2. Connect to the remote source using the Search for Data -> Tableau Server in the Connect sidebar.
3. Click the published Data Source.
4. Click New Workbook.
5. In the workbook, Sage X3 Cloud fields are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData Tableau Connector discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
6. Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
7. Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.

Using the CData Tableau Connector for Sage X3 Cloud with Tableau Server, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Sage X3 Cloud data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.