Build Automated Workflows with Live ADP Data in Workato

Workato is a cloud-based automation platform that helps businesses integrate applications and automate workflows. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to ADP data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to ADP and build workflows with live ADP data in Workato.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for ADP, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live ADP data in Workato. As you build automations, Workato generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to ADP, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return ADP data.

Configure ADP Connectivity for Workato

Connectivity to ADP from Workato is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with ADP data from Workato, we start by creating and configuring a ADP connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "ADP" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to ADP.

   Connect to ADP by specifying the following properties:

   • SSLClientCert: Set this to the certificate provided during registration.
   • SSLClientCertPassword: Set this to the password of the certificate.
   • UseUAT: The connector makes requests to the production environment by default. If using a developer account, set UseUAT = true.
   • RowScanDepth: The maximum number of rows to scan for the custom fields columns available in the table. The default value will be set to 100. Setting a high value may decrease performance.

   The connector uses OAuth to authenticate with ADP. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with ADP using the browser. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the Help documentation.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add ADP Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to ADP data from Workato.

Automate ADP Data Workflows in Workato

To establish a connection from Workato to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

1. Log into Workato.
2. In the navigation bar, click Projects.
3. In your new (or existing) project, click Create > Connection.
4. In the search bar, enter "SQL Server" and open the Connect to SQL Server screen.
5. In Connect to SQL Server, enter the connection name and the following connecting settings:
   • Location: enter the name of the project.
   • Connection type: select Cloud.
   • Host: enter tds.cdata.com
   • Port: enter 14333
   • Username: enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you previously generated page.
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, ADP1).
6. Click Connect to see the Connection established message.
7. Next, set up your recipe. In your project, click Create > Recipe.
8. In Set up your recipe, enter the name and location of your recipe.
9. Select Run on a schedule.
10. Select the action to occur on the schedule.
11. Select a table from your Connect Cloud connection and any applicable filters.
12. Click Save to save the recipe.
13. Click Test Jobs to test you recipe.

Real-Time Access to ADP Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live ADP data from Workato for workflows and automations. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Workato, refer to our Connect Cloud page.