Connect to and Visualize Live Zuora Data in Tableau Prep

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for Zuora, you can easily get access to live Zuora data within Tableau Prep. This article shows how to connect to Zuora in Tableau Prep and build a simple chart.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live Zuora data in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with Zuora and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Zuora data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to Zuora data.

NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors support Tableau Prep Builder 2020.4.1 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau Prep Builder, you will need to use the CData JDBC Driver. If you wish to connect to Zuora data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect AI.

Install the CData Tableau Connector

When you install the CData Tableau Connector for Zuora, the installer should copy the TACO and JAR files to the appropriate directories. If your data source does not appear in the connection steps below, you will need to copy two files:

1. Copy the TACO file (cdata.zuora.taco) found in the lib folder of the connector's installation location (C:\Program Files\CData\CData Tableau Connector for Zuora 20XX\lib on Windows) to the Tableau Prep Builder repository:
   • Windows: C:\Users\[Windows User]\Documents\My Tableau Prep Repository\Connectors
   • MacOS: /Users//Documents/My Tableau Prep Repository/Connectors
2. Copy the JAR file (cdata.tableau.zuora.jar) found in the same lib folder to the Tableau drivers directory, typically [Tableau installation location]\Drivers.

Connect to Zuora in Tableau Prep Builder

Open Tableau Prep Builder and click "Connect to Data" and search for "Zuora by CData." Configure the connection and click "Sign In."

Zuora uses the OAuth standard to authenticate users. See the online Help documentation for a full OAuth authentication guide.

Configuring Tenant property

In order to create a valid connection with the provider you need to choose one of the Tenant values (USProduction by default) which matches your account configuration. The following is a list with the available options:

• USProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.zuora.com.
• USAPISandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.apisandbox.zuora.com"
• USPerformanceTest: Requests sent to https://rest.pt1.zuora.com"
• EUProduction: Requests sent to https://rest.eu.zuora.com"
• EUSandbox: Requests sent to https://rest.sandbox.eu.zuora.com"

Selecting a Zuora Service

Two Zuora services are available: Data Query and AQuA API. By default ZuoraService is set to AQuADataExport.

DataQuery

The Data Query feature enables you to export data from your Zuora tenant by performing asynchronous, read-only SQL queries. We recommend to use this service for quick lightweight SQL queries.

Limitations

• The maximum number of input records per table after filters have been applied: 1,000,000
• The maximum number of output records: 100,000
• The maximum number of simultaneous queries submitted for execution per tenant: 5
• The maximum number of queued queries submitted for execution after reaching the limitation of simultaneous queries per tenant: 10
• The maximum processing time for each query in hours: 1
• The maximum size of memory allocated to each query in GB: 2
• The maximum number of indices when using Index Join, in other words, the maximum number of records being returned by the left table based on the unique value used in the WHERE clause when using Index Join: 20,000

AQuADataExport

AQuA API export is designed to export all the records for all the objects ( tables ). AQuA query jobs have the following limitations:

Limitations

• If a query in an AQuA job is executed longer than 8 hours, this job will be killed automatically.
• The killed AQuA job can be retried three times before returned as failed.

👁 Configuring the Connector (Sage Intacct is shown)

Discover and Prep Data

Drag the tables and views you wish to work with onto the canvas. You can include multiple tables.

👁 Selecting table(s)

Data Cleansing & Filtering

To further prepare the data, you can implement filters, remove duplicates, modify columns and more.

1. Start by clicking on the plus next to your table and selecting the Clean Step option. 👁 Adding a Clean Step
   
2. Select the field values to filter by. As you select values, you can see how your selections impact other fields. 👁 Selecting test entries (Sage Intacct is shown).
   
3. Opt to "Keep Only" or "Exclude" entries with your select values and the data changes in response. 👁 Excluding selected entries (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Data Joins and Unions

Data joining involves combining data from two or more related tables based on a common field or key.

1. To join multiple tables, drag a related table next to an existing table in the canvas and place it in the Join box. 👁 Joining two tables (Sage Intacct is shown).
   
2. Select the foreign keys that exist in both tables. 👁 Setting the joining fields/columns (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Exporting Prepped Data

After you perform any cleansing, filtering, transformations, and joins, you can export the data for visualization in Tableau.

1. Add any other needed transformations then insert an Output node at the end of the flow.
2. Configure the node to save to a file in the format of your choice. 👁 Saving the results (Sage Intacct is shown).
   

Once the output data is saved, you can work with it in Tableau, just like you would any other file source.

Using the CData Tableau Connector for Zuora with Tableau Prep Builder, you can easily join, cleanse, filter, and aggregate Zuora data for visualizations and reports in Tableau. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.