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Get the Report →Process & Analyze Workday Data in Databricks (AWS)
Use CData, AWS, and Databricks to perform data engineering and data science on live Workday Data.
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 Workday data. This article walks through hosting the CData JDBC Driver in AWS, as well as connecting to and processing live Workday data in Databricks.
With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Workday data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Workday, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Workday 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 Workday data using native data types.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
Install the CData JDBC Driver in Databricks
To work with live Workday data in Databricks, install the driver on your Databricks cluster.
- Navigate to your Databricks administration screen and select the target cluster.
- On the Libraries tab, click "Install New."
- Select "Upload" as the Library Source and "Jar" as the Library Type.
- Upload the JDBC JAR file (cdata.jdbc.workday.jar) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib).

Access Workday Data in your Notebook: Python
With the JAR file installed, we are ready to work with live Workday 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 Workday, and create a basic report.
Configure the Connection to Workday
Connect to Workday 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.workday.WorkdayDriver" url = "jdbc:workday:RTK=5246...;User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Tenant=mycompany_gm1;BaseURL=https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com;ConnectionType=WQL;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH"
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Workday JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.workday.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API | ConnectionType Value |
---|---|
WQL | WQL |
Reports as a Service | Reports |
REST | REST |
SOAP | SOAP |
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.

Load Workday Data
Once you configure the connection, you can load Workday 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" , "Workers") \ .load ()
Display Workday Data
Check the loaded Workday data by calling the display function.
Step 3: Checking the result
display (remote_table.select ("Worker_Reference_WID"))

Analyze Workday 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 Workday data for reporting, visualization, and analysis.
% sql SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM SAMPLE_VIEW ORDER BY Legal_Name_Last_Name DESC LIMIT 5

The data from Workday 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 JDBC Driver for Workday and start working with your live Workday data in Databricks. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.