Build Automated Workflows with Live SAP Ariba Source Data in Workato

Workato is a cloud-based automation platform that helps businesses integrate applications and automate workflows. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to SAP Ariba Source data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to SAP Ariba Source and build workflows with live SAP Ariba Source data in Workato.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for SAP Ariba Source, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live SAP Ariba Source data in Workato. As you build automations, Workato generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes 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 Workato

Connectivity to SAP Ariba Source from Workato is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with SAP Ariba Source data from Workato, 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 Workato.

Automate SAP Ariba Source Data Workflows in Workato

To establish a connection from Workato to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

1. Log into Workato.
2. In the navigation bar, click Projects.
3. In your new (or existing) project, click Create > Connection.
4. In the search bar, enter "SQL Server" and open the Connect to SQL Server screen.
5. In Connect to SQL Server, enter the connection name and the following connecting settings:
   • Location: enter the name of the project.
   • Connection type: select Cloud.
   • Host: enter tds.cdata.com
   • Port: enter 14333
   • Username: enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you previously generated page.
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, SAPAribaSource1).
   
6. Click Connect to see the Connection established message.
7. Next, set up your recipe. In your project, click Create > Recipe.
8. In Set up your recipe, enter the name and location of your recipe.
9. Select Run on a schedule.
10. Select the action to occur on the schedule.
11. Select a table from your Connect Cloud connection and any applicable filters.
12. Click Save to save the recipe.
13. Click Test Jobs to test you recipe.

Real-Time Access to SAP Ariba Source Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live SAP Ariba Source data from Workato for workflows and automations. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Workato, refer to our Connect Cloud page.