Integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including SAP BusinessObjects BI, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP BusinessObjects BI data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to SAP BusinessObjects BI, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP BusinessObjects BI and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with SAP BusinessObjects BI data using native data types.

Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI in SnapLogic

To connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData SAP BusinessObjects BI JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI/lib by default).

Upload the SAP BusinessObjects BI JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer 👁 Adding a Generic JDBC snap onto the designer
   
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.sapbusinessobjectsbi.SAPBusinessObjectsBIDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the SAP BusinessObjects BI JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:sapbusinessobjectsbi:User=username;Password=password;Url=http://myinstance:6405/biprwsRTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information. 👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
     

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the SAP BusinessObjects BI JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.sapbusinessobjectsbi.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     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.
     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read SAP BusinessObjects BI Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "SAPBusinessObjectsBI"
• Set Table name to a table for SAP BusinessObjects BI using the schema name, for example: "SAPBusinessObjectsBI"."MyCustomReport" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your SAP BusinessObjects BI data to another endpoint.

Piping SAP BusinessObjects BI Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets 👁 Connecting to Google
   
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your SAP BusinessObjects BI data to a Google Spreadsheet 👁 Writing to a Google Spreadsheet
   

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from SAP BusinessObjects BI and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating SAP BusinessObjects BI data with external services. For more information about connecting to SAP BusinessObjects BI, check at our CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI and get started today.