How to integrate Metabase with SAP Ariba Source Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live SAP Ariba Source data. This article describes how to connect to SAP Ariba Source and build a simple visualization using SAP Ariba Source data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for SAP Ariba Source, allowing you to easily integrate with live SAP Ariba Source data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to SAP Ariba Source, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return SAP Ariba Source data.

Configure SAP Ariba Source Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to SAP Ariba Source from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with SAP Ariba Source data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a SAP Ariba Source connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "SAP Ariba Source" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP Ariba Source.

   In order to connect with SAP Ariba Source, set the following:

   • API: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Supplier, Sourcing Project Management, or Contract API based on your business role (possible values are SupplierDataAPIWithPaginationV4, SourcingProjectManagementAPIV2, or ContractAPIV1).
   • DataCenter: The data center where your account's data is hosted.
   • Realm: The name of the site you want to access.
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   If you are connecting to the Supplier Data API or the Contract API, additionally set the following:

   • User: Id of the user on whose behalf API calls are invoked.
   • PasswordAdapter: The password associated with the authenticating User.

   If you're connecting to the Supplier API, set ProjectId to the Id of the sourcing project you want to retrieve data from.

   Authenticating with OAuth

   After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

   • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
   • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

     For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

   Automatic OAuth

   After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

   APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

   When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

   1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
   2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
   3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.
   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP Ariba Source Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your 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, you are ready to connect to SAP Ariba Source data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "SAP Ariba Source (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. SAPAribaSource1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute SAP Ariba Source Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query SAP Ariba Source and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the SAP Ariba Source data
2. Write a SQL query based on the SAP Ariba Source connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT SMVendorID, Category FROM Vendors WHERE Region = 'USA'

   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from SAP Ariba Source data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live SAP Ariba Source data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to SAP Ariba Source (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live SAP Ariba Source data in Metabase today.