Build SAP SuccessFactors LMS Visualizations in Tableau Cloud

Tableau Cloud is an analytics platform fully hosted in the cloud. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to SAP SuccessFactors LMS data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS and build visualizations from SAP SuccessFactors LMS data in Tableau Cloud.

CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for SAP SuccessFactors LMS, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live SAP SuccessFactors LMS data in Tableau Cloud without installing connectors or publishing worksheets and data sources from Tableau Desktop. As you build visualizations, Tableau Cloud generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to SAP SuccessFactors LMS, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return SAP SuccessFactors LMS data.

Configure SAP SuccessFactors LMS Connectivity for Tableau Cloud

To work with SAP SuccessFactors LMS data from Tableau Cloud, we need to connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the SAP SuccessFactors LMS data.

Connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS from Connect AI

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

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "SAP SuccessFactors LMS" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS.

   SAP SuccessFactors LMS uses OAuth authentication. Before connecting, you must configure an OAuth application tied to your SAP SuccessFactors LMS account.

   To establish a connection, set the following properties:

   • User: Your SAP SuccessFactors LMS username.
   • CompanyId: Your SAP SuccessFactors company identifier.
   • Url: The SAP SuccessFactors API URL (e.g., https://api4.successfactors.com).
   • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

   See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP SuccessFactors LMS Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the 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.

Configure SAP SuccessFactors LMS Endpoints for Tableau Cloud

After connecting to SAP SuccessFactors LMS, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the SAP SuccessFactors LMS connection (e.g. SAPSuccessFactorsLMS1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to SAP SuccessFactors LMS data from Tableau Cloud.

Visualize Live SAP SuccessFactors LMS Data in Tableau Cloud

The steps below outline creating a new data source in Tableau Cloud based on the virtual SAP SuccessFactors LMS database in Connect AI and building a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Tableau Cloud, select a account, and create a new workbook.
2. In the new workbook, choose the OData Connector from the data wizard and fill in the values for your Connect AI instance.
   • Set Server to the OData URL for your Workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
   • Set Authentication to Username and Password
   • Set Username to your Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to a PAT for the above user
   
3. Select your newly created database and the table(s) you wish to visualize (defining relationships for JOINad tables as needed).

4. Select Dimensions and Measures and configure your visualization.

Real-Time Access to SAP SuccessFactors LMS Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live SAP SuccessFactors LMS data from your Tableau Cloud workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more, with no need to publish data sources and workbooks from Tableau Desktop. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Tableau Cloud, refer to our Connect AI page.