Operational Reporting on ServiceNow Data from Spotfire Server



Create and share Spotfire data visualizations with real-time connectivity to remote ServiceNow data.

You can gain real-time access to ServiceNow data from your enterprise reporting solution with the CData JDBC Driver for ServiceNow's drop-in install into your Java reporting server. Use the data source template in this article to expand your Spotfire library to include remote ServiceNow data. You can then create and share real-time data visualizations that reflect any changes to ServiceNow data.

About ServiceNow Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live ServiceNow data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Get optimized performance since CData uses the REST API for data and the SOAP API for schema.
  • Read, write, update, and delete ServiceNow objects like Schedules, Timelines, Questions, Syslogs and more.
  • Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
  • Securely authenticate with ServiceNow, including basic (username and password), OKTA, ADFS, OneLogin, and PingFederate authentication schemes.

Many users access live ServiceNow data from preferred analytics tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and use CData solutions to integrate ServiceNow data with their database or data warehouse.


Getting Started


Connect to ServiceNow as a JDBC Data Source

To install the CData JDBC Driver for ServiceNow on Spotfire Server, drop the driver JAR into the classpath and use the data source template in this section.

  1. To add the driver to Spotfire Server's classpath, copy the driver JAR from the lib subfolder in the driver installation folder to the lib subfolder for your Spotfire Server installation: For example, MySpotfireServerHomeDirectory/tomcat/lib.

    Note that the .lic file must be located in the same folder as the JAR.

  2. In the TIBCO Spotfire Server Configuration Tool, click the Configuration tab and select data source templates in the Configuration Start node.
  3. Create a new data source template with the following:

    
    <jdbc-type-settings>
      <type-name>servicenow</type-name>
      <driver>cdata.jdbc.servicenow.ServiceNowDriver</driver>
      <connection-url-pattern>jdbc:servicenow:</connection-url-pattern>
      <ping-command>SELECT * FROM Projects LIMIT 1</ping-command>
      <connection-properties>
        <connection-property>
          <key>OAuthClientId</key>
          <value>MyOAuthClientId</value>
        </connection-property>
        <connection-property>
          <key>OAuthClientSecret</key>
          <value>MyOAuthClientSecret</value>
        </connection-property>
        <connection-property>
          <key>Username</key>
          <value>MyUsername</value>
        </connection-property>
        <connection-property>
          <key>Password</key>
          <value>MyPassword</value>
        </connection-property>
        <connection-property>
          <key>URL</key>
          <value>https://myinstance12345.service-now-com</value>
        </connection-property>
        <connection-property>
          <key>InitiateOAuth</key>
          <value>GETANDREFRESH</value>
        </connection-property>
      </connection-properties>
      <fetch-size>10000</fetch-size>
      <batch-size>100</batch-size>
      <max-column-name-length>32</max-column-name-length>
      <table-types>TABLE, VIEW</table-types>
      <supports-catalogs>true</supports-catalogs>
      <supports-schemas>true</supports-schemas>
      <supports-procedures>false</supports-procedures>
      <supports-distinct>true</supports-distinct>
      <supports-order-by>true</supports-order-by>
      <column-name-pattern>"$$name$$"</column-name-pattern>
      <table-name-pattern>"$$name$$"</table-name-pattern>
      <schema-name-pattern>"$$name$$"</schema-name-pattern>
      <catalog-name-pattern>"$$name$$"</catalog-name-pattern>
      <procedure-name-pattern>"$$name$$"</procedure-name-pattern>
      <column-alias-pattern>"$$name$$"</column-alias-pattern>
      <string-literal-quote>'</string-literal-quote>
      <max-in-clause-size>1000</max-in-clause-size>
      <condition-list-threshold>10000</condition-list-threshold>
      <expand-in-clause>false</expand-in-clause>
      <table-expression-pattern>[$$catalog$$.][$$schema$$.]$$table$$</table-expression-pattern>
      <procedure-expression-pattern>[$$catalog$$.][$$schema$$.]$$procedure$$</procedure-expression-pattern>
      <procedure-table-jdbc-type>0</procedure-table-jdbc-type>
      <procedure-table-type-name></procedure-table-type-name>
      <date-format-expression>$$value$$</date-format-expression>
      <date-literal-format-expression>'$$value$$'</date-literal-format-expression>
      <time-format-expression>$$value$$</time-format-expression> 
      <time-literal-format-expression>'$$value$$'</time-literal-format-expression>
      <date-time-format-expression>$$value$$</date-time-format-expression>
      <date-time-literal-format-expression>'$$value$$'</date-time-literal-format-expression>
      <java-to-sql-type-conversions>VARCHAR($$value$$) VARCHAR(255) INTEGER BIGINT REAL DOUBLE PRECISION DATE TIME TIMESTAMP</java-to-sql-type-conversions>
      <temp-table-name-pattern>$$name$$#TEMP</temp-table-name-pattern>
      <create-temp-table-command>CREATE TABLE $$name$$#TEMP $$column_list$$</create-temp-table-command>
      <drop-temp-table-command>DROP TABLE $$name$$#TEMP</drop-temp-table-command>
      <data-source-authentication>false</data-source-authentication>
      <lob-threshold>-1</lob-threshold>
      <use-ansii-style-outer-join>false</use-ansii-style-outer-join>
      <credentials-timeout>86400</credentials-timeout>
    </jdbc-type-settings>
    
  4. Restart the Spotfire Server service.

The driver's support for standard SQL integrates real-time connectivity to ServiceNow data into the familiar interfaces of the Spotfire Platform. To access ServiceNow data from Spotfire Professional and other applications, including Jaspersoft Studio, create information links in the Information Designer.

As you select columns and filters, Spotfire Server builds the information link's underlying SQL query. Click Open Data to load the data into Spotfire.

Report authors can then build ServiceNow visualizations based on Spotfire data tables without writing SQL queries by hand. Report viewers can rely on accurate and current ServiceNow data.

Ready to get started?

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