How to integrate Metabase with SAP BusinessObjects BI Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live SAP BusinessObjects BI data. This article describes how to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI and build a simple visualization using SAP BusinessObjects BI data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for SAP BusinessObjects BI, allowing you to easily integrate with live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to SAP BusinessObjects BI, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return SAP BusinessObjects BI data.

Configure SAP BusinessObjects BI Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

2. Select "SAP BusinessObjects BI" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI.

   To connect to your SAP Business Objects BI instance, you must set the following connection properties:

   • Url: set this to the rest API URL. After logging into the Central Management Console, choose 'Applications' from the combo box. Double-click on 'RESTful Web Service' and you'll see the access URL. By default it is, http://{Server-Name}:6405/biprws.
   • User: set this to the username of your instance.
   • Password: set this to the password of your instance.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP BusinessObjects BI 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 BusinessObjects BI data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab 👁 Adding a new database connection to Metabase.
   
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "SAP BusinessObjects BI (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. SAPBusinessObjectsBI1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   👁 Configuring the connection to Connect AI.
   

Execute SAP BusinessObjects BI Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query SAP BusinessObjects BI and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the SAP BusinessObjects BI data 👁 Click the 'Write SQL' button.
   
2. Write a SQL query based on the SAP BusinessObjects BI connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT StoreName, TotalRevenue FROM MyCustomReport WHERE State = 'CA'

   👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization 👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Metabase today.