Use the CData ODBC Driver for Talkdesk in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Talkdesk, you gain database-like access to live Talkdesk data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Talkdesk in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Talkdesk data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Talkdesk data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Talkdesk, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Talkdesk and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Talkdesk data in SAS.

Connect to Talkdesk as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Talkdesk follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Talkdesk must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

Talkdesk uses the OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials grant. There is no browser-based authorization step and no callback URL.

Set the following connection properties:

• AccountName: The name of your Talkdesk account.
• Region: The region where your Talkdesk instance is deployed. Supported values are US (default), EU, CA, AU, UK, and FedRamp.
• OAuthClientId: The Client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret assigned to your custom OAuth application.

Creating a Custom OAuth Application

1. Log in to your Talkdesk account and select OAuth Clients from the navigation menu.
2. Click Create OAuth Client and give the client a descriptive name.
3. Set Grant Type to Client Credentials.
4. Click Add scopes and select the scopes for the data you want to access.
5. Click Create and copy the Client Id and Client Secret.

When you connect, the driver automatically requests an access token from Talkdesk, caches it, and refreshes it when it expires. Make sure the scopes selected for the application match the views you plan to query, or the token request can fail.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Talkdesk in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData Talkdesk Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Talkdesk
Description = My Description
AccountName = myAccount
Region = US
OAuthClientId = myClientId
OAuthClientSecret = myClientSecret

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Talkdesk Library in SAS

Connect to Talkdesk in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Talkdesk.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK.

Create a View from a Talkdesk Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Talkdesk data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK.
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc.
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK.

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
     create view users_view as
     select 
       id, 
       name 
     from 
       odbclib.users 
     where 
       Active = 'true';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Talkdesk Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Talkdesk data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Talkdesk Users data.

   proc print data=users;
     title "Talkdesk Users Data";
   run;
   

   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the Users data.

   proc gchart data=users;
     pie id / sumvar=name
         value=arrow
         percent=arrow
         noheading
         percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
         slice=inside value=none
         name='UsersChart';
   run;