Connect to SAP SuccessFactors Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors, Denodo users can work with live SAP SuccessFactors data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for SAP SuccessFactors in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP SuccessFactors data. When you issue complex SQL queries to SAP SuccessFactors, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP SuccessFactors and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze SAP SuccessFactors data using native data types.

Create the SAP SuccessFactors Virtual Port

To connect to live SAP SuccessFactors data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sapsuccessfactors-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC.
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: sapsuccessfactors
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-sapsuccessfactors-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.sapsuccessfactors.SAPSuccessFactorsDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:sapsuccessfactors:User=username;Password=password;CompanyId=CompanyId;Url=https://api4.successfactors.com;

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the SAP SuccessFactors JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.sapsuccessfactors.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     You can authenticate to SAP Success Factors using Basic authentication or OAuth with SAML assertion.

     Basic Authentication

     You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to SAP Success Factors. Note that the provider will reuse the session opened by SAP Success Factors using cookies. Which means that your credentials will be used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from SAP Success Factors will be used for authentication.

     • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
     • User: set this to the username of your account.
     • Password: set this to the password of your account.
     • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.

     OAuth Authentication

     You must provide values for the following properties, which will be used to get the access token.

     • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
     • User: set this to the username of your account.
     • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.
     • OAuthClientId: set this to the API Key that was generated in API Center.
     • OAuthClientSecret: the X.509 private key used to sign SAML assertion. The private key can be found in the certificate you downloaded in Registering your OAuth Client Application.
     • InitiateOAuth: set this to GETANDREFRESH.
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View SAP SuccessFactors Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of SAP SuccessFactors data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.SAPSuccessFactors).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import.
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the SAP SuccessFactors data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_sapsuccessfactors_extaddressinfo) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_sapsuccessfactors_extaddressinfo CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

7. Click Execute to view the data.

With the base view created, you can now work with live SAP SuccessFactors data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying SAP SuccessFactors in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SAP SuccessFactors and start working with your live SAP SuccessFactors data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.