Reveal, an offering from Infragistics, serves as a data visualization tool that seamlessly integrates with CData Connect AI. Together, they empower users to deliver dynamic dashboards using real-time data from a diverse range of data sources, including ServiceNow data. In this article, we will guide you through the process of connecting to ServiceNow via Connect AI and subsequently linking Connect AI with Infragistics Reveal to construct a straightforward dashboard.
About ServiceNow Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live ServiceNow data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Get optimized performance since CData uses the REST API for data and the SOAP API for schema.
- Read, write, update, and delete ServiceNow objects like Schedules, Timelines, Questions, Syslogs and more.
- Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
- Securely authenticate with ServiceNow, including basic (username and password), OKTA, ADFS, OneLogin, and PingFederate authentication schemes.
Many users access live ServiceNow data from preferred analytics tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and use CData solutions to integrate ServiceNow data with their database or data warehouse.
Getting Started
Connect to ServiceNow from Infragistics Reveal
To work with live ServiceNow data in Infragistics Reveal, we need to connect to ServiceNow from Connect AI, provide user access to
the connection, and create a Workspace for the ServiceNow data.
Connect to ServiceNow from Connect AI
CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
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Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection
- Select "ServiceNow" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to ServiceNow.
ServiceNow uses the OAuth 2.0 authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, register an OAuth app with ServiceNow to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret connection properties. In addition to the OAuth values, specify the Instance, Username, and Password connection properties.
See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide on connecting to ServiceNow.
👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
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Click Save & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add ServiceNow 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.
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Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
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On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
👁 Creating a new PAT
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The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Configure ServiceNow Endpoints for Infragistics Reveal
After connecting to ServiceNow, create a workspace for your desired table(s).
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Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
👁 The Workspaces page.
👁 Adding a new Workspace.
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Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
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Select the ServiceNow connection (e.g. ServiceNow1) and click Next.
👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
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Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
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Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to ServiceNow data from Infragistics Reveal.
Create a Dashboard in Reveal
With Connect AI configured, we can visualize ServiceNow data in Reveal.
- Log into Reveal and click Dashboards -> New
👁 Adding a new dashboard
- Click Data Sources -> OData Feed
👁 Adding a new OData data source
- Specify the Connect AI OData API endpoint URL (found on the OData page): https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
👁 Configuring the OData URL
- Select Generic Credentials and
- Set Username to a Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
- Set Password to the PAT for the user
👁 Configuring the credentials
- Select the entity you wish to visualize
👁 Selecting an entity to visualize (Salesforce is shown.)
- Select fields and choose a chart type
👁 Visualizing data in Reveal (Salesforce is shown.)
More Information & Free Trial
At this point, you have created a simple dashboard from live ServiceNow data. For more information on creating OData feeds from ServiceNow (and more than 100 other sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working live ServiceNow data in tools that consume OData APIs.
