Visualize Live SAP BusinessObjects BI Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to SAP BusinessObjects BI data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI, connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI data from Power BI and then create reports on SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Power BI.

Configure SAP BusinessObjects BI Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to SAP BusinessObjects BI from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with SAP BusinessObjects BI data from Power BI, 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
   

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI data from Power BI.

Query SAP BusinessObjects BI Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull SAP BusinessObjects BI data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account 👁 Authenticating with Connect AI
   
3. After signing in, click "Connect" 👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog 👁 The available tables. (Salesforce tables are shown)
   
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your SAP BusinessObjects BI data from Power BI

Create SAP BusinessObjects BI Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to SAP BusinessObjects BI Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating SAP BusinessObjects BI data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including SAP BusinessObjects BI) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.