Using the Process Tempo API Connector to Explore data from Salesforce.com

First, what is our goal?

So why import data from Salesforce.com into Process Tempo? Salesforce has a number of built in reporting capabilities and their recent acquisition of Tableau allows for plenty of opportunities for analysis. So why takes this data and load it into Process Tempo? There are several great reasons for doing this.

Top Five Reasons for Loading Salesforce Data into Process Tempo:

1. Non-Salesforce users can now access Salesforce data. Users such as executives and department heads often do not have Salesforce credentials (or, they lack the inclination to log in and access the information they need). By pulling this data into Process Tempo, non-technical users can easily search, explore and discover Salesforce data. This data can also be presented in a Process Tempo dashboard or report in order to provide summarized metrics along with accompanying visualizations.
2. Consolidated reporting. Organizations that grow via mergers and acquisitions likely find themselves with multiple CRM systems. Since the cost (and the pushback) is often very high to reconcile these platforms into a single instance, these organizations tend to simply live with the problem. This means a lot of manual effort is required to bring this data together for a macro-level perspective of customers, sales and opportunities. Due to this manual effort, the process is slow, costly, error-prone and often done just once a month which prevents up-to-the-minute perspectives. Process Tempo has a number of built-in features (such as our Alias Engine) that makes the process of combing data from multiple systems automated and easy.
3. Customer, product and salesperson analytics. Salesforce data when blended with other data assets can offer composite views of customers, products and/or sales performance. This 'complete' picture can greatly enhance decision making and help the organization to provide a better customer experience. Process Tempo provides the perfect platform to ingest, model, blend and provide insight into this data.
4. Both advanced analytics and self-service reporting. Users of all experience levels will need simple access to data. Process Tempo makes self-service access to Salesforce data a reality. In addition, power users leveraging tools such as Tableau or Power BI can easily access both the Salesforce data and its metadata. By connecting these tools to Process Tempo, we minimize the learning curve required to leverage this data by providing consistency and reuse.
5. The Process Tempo Recommendation Engine. The Process Tempo Recommendation Engine enables advanced scenarios based on Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The capability can assist the sales team in real-time by helping them to pitch the right product to the right customer at the right time. It can also enable the support desk and services teams to provide higher quality services thereby improving customer satisfaction.

Let's now go from concept to production in a few easy steps!

Step 1) Authentication

To connect, we first need to tell Process Tempo how to authenticate with Salesforce.com. We will start by creating a new Data Source in Process Tempo and selecting the API Connector from the list.

For this example, we are using the following URL to authenticate:

https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token

Method = POST

Authentication = OAUTH2

For the Body values (JSON Format) field we need to pass the parameters required to authenticate. In this example, we are using the grant type = "password" approach however there are multiple ways the API could authenticate with Salesforce.

{

"client_id":" client Id goes here ",

"client_secret": " client secret goes here ",

"grant_type":"password",

"username":" user name goes here ",

"password":" password goes here "

}

For more information on how to generate client Ids and client secrets visit this helpful link .

Here is a screenshot of how it should look:

Pro Tip:

By selecting "Create Category" the data source wizard can also create a category in the Process Tempo Data Catalog which makes importing data much easier!

Step 2) The Query API

For this example, we will be using the Salesforce Query API. This allows us to pass a specific query to the API that will meet our needs. This is the second step in the data source creation process and the wizard will prompt the user once the authentication step is successful.

For our example, the URL value:

https:// <<yoursalesforceinstance>> .my.salesforce.com/services/data/v51.0/query

Method = GET

Query Parameters = True

We will add a parameter where the Key = "q" and the Value equals the below query string. Note, you will need to replace any spaces with the "+" character in your query:

SELECT+AccountId,Amount,CampaignId,CloseDate,ContactId,CreatedById,CreatedDate,CurrentGenerators__c,DeliveryInstallationStatus__c,Description,ExpectedRevenue,Fiscal,FiscalQuarter,FiscalYear,ForecastCategory,ForecastCategoryName,HasOpenActivity,HasOpportunityLineItem,HasOverdueTask,Id,IsClosed,IsDeleted,IsPrivate,IsWon,LastActivityDate,LastAmountChangedHistoryId,LastCloseDateChangedHistoryId,LastModifiedById,LastModifiedDate,LastReferencedDate,LastViewedDate,LeadSource,MainCompetitors__c,Name,NextStep,OrderNumber__c,OwnerId,Pricebook2Id,Probability,StageName,SystemModstamp,TotalOpportunityQuantity,TrackingNumber__c,Type+FROM+Opportunity

This query basically brings back all of the opportunity data in SFDC into Process Tempo:

After clicking "Test Connection" if all goes well, the user will be prompted with the Data Mapper. This allows the user to select the parts of the response that should be mapped to Process Tempo. The API returns a JSON file and the mapper allows the user to select the parts of the response they wish to import even if there are multiple nested child elements:

After clicking Save, and if the user checked "Create Category" in the previous step, the Category Editor box will appear. This will give the user the opportunity to edit the metadata which will be stored in Process Tempo. For example, instead of calling it "resultsId" the user can instead relabel it to something simpler or easier to understand such as "Opportunity ID". We can also add a description and change other properties so that future users will know what they are looking at:

Step 3) Import The Data

With the data source and category created, we can now import our data using the Process Tempo Import Modeler. In the below example, I am importing data from three different API calls into a single model that will create relationships between Owners, Accounts, Parent Accounts and Opportunities.

The Import Model works by dragging and dropping the API calls onto the canvas and then mapping them to the appropriate category in Process Tempo. This is achieved by dragging the arrow from the API to the category or vice versa. When done, the user clicks the "Run" button to run the import.

Step 4) Have fun!

The end result is Salesforce data in Process Tempo! In the below diagram, we can see the opportunity owner (the blue node labeled 'Phil Meredith') is connected to three opportunities for the account "United Oil SLA'. By understanding the buying behaviors of the customer, the opportunity owner can better serve their needs. What other patterns can we find?