Use the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM, you gain database-like access to live Sugar CRM data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Sugar CRM in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Sugar CRM data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Sugar CRM data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Sugar CRM, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Sugar CRM and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Sugar CRM data in SAS.

Connect to Sugar CRM as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Sugar CRM follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid SugarCRM user credentials. This will use the default OAuth token created to allow client logins. OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret are required if you do not wish to use the default OAuth token.

You can generate a new OAuth consumer key and consumer secret in Admin -> OAuth Keys. Set the OAuthClientId to the OAuth consumer key. Set the OAuthClientSecret to the consumer secret.

Additionally, specify the URL to the SugarCRM account.

Note that retrieving SugarCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you store the metadata locally as described in the "Caching Metadata" chapter of the help documentation.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData SugarCRM Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM
Description = My Description
User = MyUser
Password = MyPassword
URL = MySugarCRMAccountURL
CacheMetadata = True

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Sugar CRM Library in SAS

Connect to Sugar CRM in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for Sugar CRM in SAS.
   

Create a View from a Sugar CRM Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Sugar CRM data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with Sugar CRM data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view accounts_view as
    select 
    name, 
    annualrevenue 
    from 
    odbclib.accounts 
    where 
    Name = 'Bob';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Sugar CRM Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Sugar CRM data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Sugar CRM Accounts data.

   proc print data=accounts;
    title "Sugar CRM Accounts Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Sugar CRM data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the Accounts data.

   proc gchart data=accounts;
    pie name / sumvar=annualrevenue
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='AccountsChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Sugar CRM data chart.