Use the CData ODBC Driver for Zuora from SharePoint Excel Services



This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for Zuora to connect to Zuora data from Excel in on-premises editions of SharePoint. This technique allows SharePoint users to create reports, scorecards, and dashboards featuring Zuora data in Excel.

The CData ODBC Driver for Zuora can be accessed using the built-in data access tools in Excel. This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for Zuora to connect to Zuora data from Excel spreadsheets in on-premises editions of SharePoint.

Connect to Zuora as an ODBC Data Source

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.

Zuora uses the OAuth standard to authenticate users. See the online Help documentation for a full OAuth authentication guide.

Configuring Tenant property

In order to create a valid connection with the provider you need to choose one of the Tenant values (USProduction by default) which matches your account configuration. The following is a list with the available options:

  • USProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.zuora.com.
  • USAPISandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.apisandbox.zuora.com"
  • USPerformanceTest: Requests sent to https://rest.pt1.zuora.com"
  • EUProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.eu.zuora.com"
  • EUSandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.sandbox.eu.zuora.com"

Selecting a Zuora Service

Two Zuora services are available: Data Query and AQuA API. By default ZuoraService is set to AQuADataExport.

DataQuery

The Data Query feature enables you to export data from your Zuora tenant by performing asynchronous, read-only SQL queries. We recommend to use this service for quick lightweight SQL queries.

Limitations
  • The maximum number of input records per table after filters have been applied: 1,000,000
  • The maximum number of output records: 100,000
  • The maximum number of simultaneous queries submitted for execution per tenant: 5
  • The maximum number of queued queries submitted for execution after reaching the limitation of simultaneous queries per tenant: 10
  • The maximum processing time for each query in hours: 1
  • The maximum size of memory allocated to each query in GB: 2
  • The maximum number of indices when using Index Join, in other words, the maximum number of records being returned by the left table based on the unique value used in the WHERE clause when using Index Join: 20,000

AQuADataExport

AQuA API export is designed to export all the records for all the objects ( tables ). AQuA query jobs have the following limitations:

Limitations
  • If a query in an AQuA job is executed longer than 8 hours, this job will be killed automatically.
  • The killed AQuA job can be retried three times before returned as failed.

Configure Excel Services

Once the ODBC DSN is configured, you can configure Excel Services to use the DSN to connect. To do this, you will need to set up the OLE DB provider as a trusted data source. You will also want to decide if you want to use a Secure Store Service to enable single sign-on functionality with the ODBC driver. If you prefer, you can use the Excel Services Unattended account and skip to step 3 below.

  1. First, set up a secure store application to use single sign-on. In SharePoint Central Administration, go to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications. Select your secure store service application or create a new one. Click Manage on the Edit menu to begin editing the application.
  2. Create a new target application. You will be able to set the list of users who have access to this application. After the application is created, you will need to set the credentials on the application so that you can use this later for single sign-on.
  3. Navigate to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications in SharePoint Central Administration. Select the Excel Services application used by your organization or create one if it does not already exist. Click Manage. If you create a new app, check the option to add the service application's proxy to the farm's default proxy list.
  4. Click on Trusted Data Providers and add a new trusted provider. Set 'MSDASQL.1' for the Provider ID and leave the type as 'OLE DB'. Click OK to add this new provider to the list of trusted providers.

Connect to and Import Zuora Data in Excel

After you have enabled and secured access to the DSN, you can access the data source from the ribbon in Excel.

  1. In an Excel spreadsheet, open the Data tab and click From Other Sources -> From Data Connection Wizard.
  2. Select 'Other/Advanced' for the type and on the next screen, select the 'Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers'. On the Connection tab, select CData Zuora Sys, the system DSN. The driver installation automatically creates matching user and system DSNs: The system DSN is needed to connect from SharePoint.
  3. Select the table you would like to connect to.
  4. On the last step of the wizard, click the 'Authentication Settings' button. Select the 'Use a stored account' and enter the name of the secure store target application you created earlier. Or, if you want to use the Unattended Service Account, select None.
  5. After you finish the wizard, the data is imported into the spreadsheet. You can now update and save Zuora data directly in SharePoint.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Zuora ODBC Driver to get started:

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Zuora Icon Zuora ODBC Driver

The Zuora ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Zuora, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Zuora data like you would a database - read, write, and update Zuora. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.