Use the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite 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 NetSuite, you gain database-like access to live NetSuite data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for NetSuite in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time NetSuite data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live NetSuite data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to NetSuite, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to NetSuite 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 NetSuite data in SAS.

Getting Started

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Connect to NetSuite as an ODBC Data Source

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

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid NetSuite user credentials. In addition, the AccountId must be set to the ID of a company account that can be used by the specified User. The RoleId can be optionally specified to log in the user with limited permissions.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for more information on connecting to NetSuite.

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 NetSuite 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 NetSuite Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite
Description = My Description
Account Id = XABC123456
Password = password
User = user
Role Id = 3
Version = 2013_1

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

Create a NetSuite Library in SAS

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

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. 👁 Creating a library for NetSuite in SAS.
   

Create a View from a NetSuite 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 NetSuite 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. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
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. 👁 Create a local view to work with NetSuite data.
   

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 salesorder_view as
    select 
    customername, 
    salesordertotal 
    from 
    odbclib.salesorder 
    where 
    Class_Name = 'Furniture : Office';
   quit;
   

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

Report On or Visualize NetSuite Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze NetSuite 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 NetSuite SalesOrder data.

   proc print data=salesorder;
    title "NetSuite SalesOrder Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple NetSuite data report.
   

Print a Chart

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

   proc gchart data=salesorder;
    pie customername / sumvar=salesordertotal
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='SalesOrderChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple NetSuite data chart.