Use the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite in MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite, you gain database-like access to live NetSuite data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding NetSuite as external data in MicroStrategy Web and creating a simple visualization of NetSuite data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live NetSuite data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to NetSuite, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to NetSuite 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 visualize and analyze NetSuite data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to NetSuite as an ODBC Data Source

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 (the ODBC Driver for NetSuite must be installed on the machine hosting the connected MicroStrategy Intelligence Server). You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid NetSuite user credentials. In addition, the AccountId must be set to the Id of a company account that can be used by the specified User. The RoleId can be optionally specified to log in the user with limited permissions.

For more information, refer to our Connecting to NetSuite guide in the Getting Started section of the CData driver help.

Connect to and Visualize NetSuite Data using MicroStrategy Web

Once you have created a database instance in MicroStrategy Developer and connected it to a project, you can perform a data import of NetSuite data from MicroStrategy Web. Alternatively, you can create a new data source based on the ODBC Driver.^*

1. Open MicroStrategy Web and select your project.
2. Click Add External Data, select Databases, and choose Select a Table as the Import Option.
3. In the Import from Tables wizard, click to add a new data source.
   • Select DSN Data Sources
   • Set the DSN property to the previously configured DSN (CData NetSuite Sys)
   • Set the Version property to Generic DBMS
   • Set the User and Password properties (or use filler values)
   • Set the Data Source Name
4. Drag a table into the pane. Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
5. Click Finish, choose the option to connect live, save the query, and choose the option to create a new dossier.
6. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display, and apply any filters to create a new visualization of NetSuite data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to NetSuite, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.
7. Once you have finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite in MicroStrategy Web, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on NetSuite data. Read our other articles on connecting to NetSuite in MicroStrategy and connecting to NetSuite in MicroStrategy Desktop for more examples.

Note: connecting using a ODBC driver requires a 3- or 4-tier architecture.