How to Access Live SAP BusinessObjects BI Data in Power Automate Desktop via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI enables you to access live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in workflow automation tools like Power Automate. This article shows how to integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI data into a simple workflow, moving SAP BusinessObjects BI data into a CSV file.

Through optimized data processing, CData ODBC Drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Microsoft Power Automate. When you issue complex SQL queries from Power Automate to SAP BusinessObjects BI, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP BusinessObjects BI and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (e.g. SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI 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. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

To connect to your SAP Business Objects BI instance, you must set the following connection properties:

• Url: set this to the rest API URL. After logging into the Central Management Console, choose 'Applications' from the combo box. Double-click on 'RESTful Web Service' and you'll see the access URL. By default it is, http://{Server-Name}:6405/biprws.
• User: set this to the username of your instance.
• Password: set this to the password of your instance.

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 workflows.

Integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI Data into Power Automate Workflows

After configuring the DSN for SAP BusinessObjects BI, you are ready to integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI data into your Power Automate workflows. Open Microsoft Power Automate, add a new flow, and name the flow.

In the flow editor, you can add the actions to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI, query SAP BusinessObjects BI using SQL, and write the query results to a CSV document.

Add an Open SQL Connection Action

Add an "Open SQL connection" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.

• Connection string: DSN=CData SAP BusinessObjects BI Source

After configuring the action, click Save.

Add an Execute SQL Statement Action

Add an "Execute SQL statement" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.

• Get connection by: SQL connection variable
• SQL connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)
• SQL statement: SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport

After configuring the action, click Save.

Add a Write to CSV File Action

Add a "Write to CSV file" action (Actions -> File) and configure the properties.

• Variable to write to: %QueryResult% (the variable from the "Execute SQL statement" action above)
• File path: set to a file on disk
• Configure Advanced settings as needed.

After configuring the action, click Save.

Add a Close SQL Connection Action

Add a "Close SQL connection" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.

• SQL Connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)

After configuring the action, click Save.

Save & Run the Flow

Once you have configured all the actions for the flow, click the disk icon to save the flow. Click the play icon to run the flow.

Now you have a workflow to move SAP BusinessObjects BI data into a CSV file.

With the CData ODBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI, you get live connectivity to SAP BusinessObjects BI data within your Microsoft Power Automate workflows.

Related Power Automate Articles

This article walks through using the CData ODBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI with Power Automate Desktop. Check out our other articles for more ways to work with Power Automate (Desktop & Online):

• SAP BusinessObjects BI Data in Power Automate Desktop using CData Connect
• SAP BusinessObjects BI Data in Power Automate (Online) using CData Connect