Create Data Visualizations Based On SAP Ariba Source Data in Mode

Mode is a collaborative data platform that combines SQL, R, Python, and visual analytics in one place. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to SAP Ariba Source data for use in data visualizations. This article shows how to connect to SAP Ariba Source in Connect AI, connect to SAP Ariba Source data in Mode, and create a simple visualization using that data.

CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for SAP Ariba Source, allowing you to build data visualizations from live SAP Ariba Source data in Mode — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. In order to create visualizations, users write SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to SAP Ariba Source, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested SAP Ariba Source data.

Configure SAP Ariba Source Connectivity for Mode

Connectivity to SAP Ariba Source from Mode is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with SAP Ariba Source data from Mode, we start by creating and configuring a SAP Ariba Source connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "SAP Ariba Source" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP Ariba Source.

   In order to connect with SAP Ariba Source, set the following:

   • API: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Supplier, Sourcing Project Management, or Contract API based on your business role (possible values are SupplierDataAPIWithPaginationV4, SourcingProjectManagementAPIV2, or ContractAPIV1).
   • DataCenter: The data center where your account's data is hosted.
   • Realm: The name of the site you want to access.
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   If you are connecting to the Supplier Data API or the Contract API, additionally set the following:

   • User: Id of the user on whose behalf API calls are invoked.
   • PasswordAdapter: The password associated with the authenticating User.

   If you're connecting to the Supplier API, set ProjectId to the Id of the sourcing project you want to retrieve data from.

   Authenticating with OAuth

   After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

   • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
   • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

     For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

   Automatic OAuth

   After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

   APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

   When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

   1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
   2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
   3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP Ariba Source Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to SAP Ariba Source data from Mode.

Connect to SAP Ariba Source in Mode

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from Mode to create a new SAP Ariba Source data source.

1. Log-in to Mode 👁 Logging In
   
2. In the top-left corner of the screen, click the down-arrow next to your name and select Connect a Database... 👁 Selecting Connect to Database
   
3. On the next screen, select Microsoft SQL Server. 👁 Selecting Microsoft SQL Server
   
4. Enter the Microsoft SQL Server credentials:
   • Display Name: the name for the connection.
   • Host/Port: enter tds.cdata.com in the Host field and 14333 in the Port field.
   • Database name: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, SAPAribaSource1).
   • Username: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected]
   • Password: enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page
   Leave the rest of the connection settings at their default values unless you need to modify them. 👁 Configuring connection settings
   
5. At the bottom of the page, click Connect to ensure that you can connect to CData Connect AI.
6. Upon success, the following screen appears. 👁 New database connection added.
   

Your connection is now available for use in Mode. To connect to additional data sources from your CData Connect AI account, repeat the setup steps above, changing the value for Database for each data source.

Creating A Mode Visualization

To create a visualization in Mode, follow these steps:

1. On the current screen, click New Report. The SQL query text editor appears. Enter the following query:

   			SELECT * FROM [SAPAribaSource].[Vendors];
   		

   Click Run. The app now shows the query result: 👁 Showing SQL query result.
   
2. Running the query activates the New Chart tab. Click this tab and select Pie Chart. 👁 Selecting pie chart.
   
3. Now, drop a dimension in the Color section and a measure in the Angle section. 👁 Creating visualization.
   

   We have now created a visualization of SAP Ariba Source data in Mode using CData Connect AI!

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