Use the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan, you gain database-like access to live Anaplan data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding Anaplan as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of Anaplan data.

The CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Anaplan data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Anaplan, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Anaplan 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 use native MicroStrategy data types to visualize and analyze Anaplan data.

Connect to and Visualize Anaplan Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting to Anaplan in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to Anaplan in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add Anaplan data as a dataset using JDBC and create visualizations and reports of Anaplan data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and choose Select a Table as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose the DSN-less data sources option.
4. Choose Generic in the Database menu and Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Click the link to show the connection string and opt to edit the connection string. In the Driver menu, select MicroStrategy Cassandra ODBC Driver. (MicroStrategy requires a certified driver to interface through JDBC; the actual driver will not be used.)
6. Set the connection string as follows and click OK:
   • Add the JDBC keyword to the connection string.
   • Set MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER to the path of the JAR file for the JDBC driver. (C:\Program Files\CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan\lib\ on Windows.)
   • Set DRIVER to cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver, the driver class.
   • Set URL to the JDBC URL for the Anaplan driver, setting the necessary connection properties.

     Authenticating to Anaplan

     The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., , which is the default).

     Using Basic Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to , then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

     Using Certificate Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to , then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

     Using OAuth Authentication

     Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

     • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
     • InitiateOAuth: Set to to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

     See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar
     

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

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     

     When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

   A typical connection string follows:

   JDBC;MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=PATH\TO\JAR\;DRIVER=cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver;URL={jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;};
   

   👁 Creating a new data source for Anaplan.
   
7. Right-click on the new data source, and choose Edit catalog options.
8. Edit the SQL Statement to SELECT * FROM SYS_SCHEMAS to read the metadata from the JDBC Driver.
9. Select the new data source to view the available tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
10. Drag tables into the pane to import them. 👁 Select tables to import.
    Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
11. Click Finish and choose the option to connect Live. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData JDBC Drivers.
12. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display, and apply any filters to create a new visualization of Anaplan data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Anaplan, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver. 👁 Visualize Anaplan data.
    
13. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Anaplan data. Read our other articles for connecting to Anaplan data in MicroStrategy Developer and connecting to Anaplan data in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.