Process & Analyze UKG Pro WFM Data in Databricks (AWS)

Databricks is a cloud-based service that provides data processing capabilities through Apache Spark. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver, customers can use Databricks to perform data engineering and data science on live UKG Pro WFM data. This article explains how to host the CData JDBC Driver in AWS, as well as connect to and process live UKG Pro WFM data in Databricks.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live UKG Pro WFM data. When you issue complex SQL queries to UKG Pro WFM, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to UKG Pro WFM 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 UKG Pro WFM data using native data types.

Install the CData JDBC Driver in Databricks

To work with live UKG Pro WFM data in Databricks, install the driver on your Databricks cluster.

1. Navigate to your Databricks administration screen and select the target cluster.
2. On the Libraries tab, click "Install New."
3. Select "Upload" as the Library Source and "Jar" as the Library Type.
4. Upload the JDBC JAR file (cdata.jdbc.api.jar) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData API Driver for JDBC\lib).

Access UKG Pro WFM Data in your Notebook: Python

With the JAR file installed, we are ready to work with live UKG Pro WFM data in Databricks. Start by creating a new notebook in your workspace. Name the notebook, select Python as the language (though Scala is available as well), and choose the cluster where you installed the JDBC driver. When the notebook launches, we can configure the connection, query UKG Pro WFM, and create a basic report.

Configure the Connection to UKG Pro WFM

Connect to UKG Pro WFM by referencing the JDBC Driver class and constructing a connection string to use in the JDBC URL. Additionally, you will need to set the RTK property in the JDBC URL (unless you are using a Beta driver). You can view the licensing file included in the installation for information on how to set this property.

Step 1: Connection Information

driver = "cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver"
url = "jdbc:api:RTK=5246...;Profile=C:\profiles\UKGProWFM.apip;AuthScheme=OAuthPassword;ProfileSettings='Host=yourcompany.mykronos.com;User=your_username;Password=your_password;';OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;"

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar

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

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the UKGProWFM Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\UKGProWFM.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for UKGProWFM (see below).

UKGProWFM API Profile Settings

UKG Pro Workforce Management uses OAuth 2.0 with the Resource Owner Password Credentials grant (grant_type=password) to authorize access to the API. Unlike most OAuth-based profiles, this does not use a browser redirect/authorization-code step: the driver exchanges your UKG Pro WFM username, password, client ID, and client secret directly for an access token.

Set the following connection properties to authenticate:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuthPassword.
• Host: Set this to the hostname of your UKG Pro Workforce Management datacenter/tenant (for example, yourcompany.mykronos.com). Do not include the protocol (https://) or a trailing slash.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the client ID issued for your UKG Pro Workforce Management OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client secret issued for your UKG Pro Workforce Management OAuth application.
• User: Set this to your UKG Pro Workforce Management username.
• Password: Set this to your UKG Pro Workforce Management password.

Access tokens are obtained from https://{Host}/api/authentication/access_token. Refresh tokens issued by UKG Pro Workforce Management expire after 7 days; if a refresh attempt fails because the refresh token itself has expired, the driver must re-authenticate with your User/Password credentials to obtain a new access token.

Load UKG Pro WFM Data

Once you configure the connection, you can load UKG Pro WFM data as a dataframe using the CData JDBC Driver and the connection information.

Step 2: Reading the data

remote_table = spark.read.format ( "jdbc" ) \
	.option ( "driver" , driver) \
	.option ( "url" , url) \
	.option ( "dbtable" , "Employees") \
	.load ()

Display UKG Pro WFM Data

Check the loaded UKG Pro WFM data by calling the display function.

Step 3: Checking the result

display (remote_table.select ("PersonNumber"))

Analyze UKG Pro WFM Data in Databricks

If you want to process data with Databricks SparkSQL, register the loaded data as a Temp View.

Step 4: Create a view or table

remote_table.createOrReplaceTempView ( "SAMPLE_VIEW" )

With the Temp View created, you can use SparkSQL to retrieve the UKG Pro WFM data for reporting, visualization, and analysis.

% sql

SELECT PersonNumber, UserName FROM SAMPLE_VIEW ORDER BY UserName DESC LIMIT 5

The data from UKG Pro WFM is only available in the target notebook. If you want to use it with other users, save it as a table.

remote_table.write.format ( "parquet" ) .saveAsTable ( "SAMPLE_TABLE" )

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live UKG Pro WFM data in Databricks. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.