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

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

Connect to Salesforce Data Cloud as an ODBC Data Source

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

Salesforce Data Cloud supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

OAuth

Set to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data Cloud console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

Before you connect, set these properties:

• : GETANDREFRESH. You can use to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the .
• (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data Cloud's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

• Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
• Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
• Saves OAuth values in so that they persist across connections.

For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

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 Salesforce Data Cloud 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 SalesforceDataCloud Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data Cloud
Description = My Description
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

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

Create a Salesforce Data Cloud Library in SAS

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

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 Salesforce Data Cloud in SAS.
   

Create a View from a Salesforce Data Cloud 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 Salesforce Data Cloud 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 Salesforce Data Cloud 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 account_view as
    select 
    [account id], 
    [account name] 
    from 
    odbclib.account 
    where 
    EmployeeCount = '250';
   quit;
   

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

Report On or Visualize Salesforce Data Cloud Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Salesforce Data Cloud 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 Salesforce Data Cloud Account data.

   proc print data=account;
    title "Salesforce Data Cloud Account Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Salesforce Data Cloud data report.
   

Print a Chart

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

   proc gchart data=account;
    pie [account id] / sumvar=[account name]
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='AccountChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Salesforce Data Cloud data chart.