Build Interactive Dashboards from SAP Data in Amazon QuickSight

Amazon QuickSight allows users to build interactive dashboards in the cloud. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get direct access to SAP data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for SAP in Connect Server and build dashboards in Amazon QuickSight with access to SAP data.

CData Connect Server provides a pure MySQL interface for SAP, allowing you to easily build visualizations from SAP data in Amazon QuickSight. By importing your SAP data into the Amazon QuickSight "Super-fast, Parallel, In-memory Calculation Engine" (SPICE), you can leverage the powerful data processing features of the Amazon ecosystem to build responsive dashboards. And with the ability to schedule refreshes of the data stored in SPICE, you control how up-to-date your dashboards are.

Create a Virtual MySQL Database for SAP Data

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

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "SAP" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP.

   You can connect to SAP systems using either librfc32.dll, librfc32u.dll, NetWeaver, or Web Services (SOAP). Set the ConnectionType connection property to CLASSIC (librfc32.dll), CLASSIC_UNICODE (librfc32u.dll), NETWEAVER, or SOAP.

   If you are using the SOAP interface, set the Client, RFCUrl, SystemNumber, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section.

   Otherwise, set Host, User, Password, Client, and SystemNumber.

   Note: We do not distribute the librfc32.dll or other SAP assemblies. You must find them from your SAP installation and install them on your machine.

   For more information, see this guide on obtaining the connection properties needed to connect to any SAP system.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to build visualizations in Amazon QuickSight.

Import SAP Data into SPICE and Create Interactive Dashboards

The steps below outline creating a new data set based on the virtual SAP database in Connect Server, importing the dataset into SPICE, and building a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Amazon QuickSight and click "Manage data."
2. Click "New data set," select MySQL as the data source, configure the connection to your Connect Server instance, and click "Create data source."
3. Select a table to visualize (or submit a custom SQL query for your data).
4. Click "Edit/Preview data" to customize the data set.
5. Select "Import to SPICE for quicker analytics" and click "Visualize."
6. Select fields to visualize and a visual type.

Schedule Refreshes for SPICE Data Sets

QuickSight users can schedule refreshes for data sets that are imported into SPICE, ensuring that data being analyzed is only as old as the most recent refresh.

1. Navigate to the QuickSight home page.
2. Click "Manage data."
3. Select the data set you wish to refresh.
4. Click "Schedule refresh."
5. Click Create, configure the refresh settings (time zone, repeat frequency, and starting datetime), and click Create.

SQL Access to SAP Data from Applications

At this point, you have a direct connection to SAP data from your Amazon QuickSight dashboard. You can create new visualizations, build interactive dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining SQL access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from applications like Amazon QuickSight, refer to our Connect Server page.