Using SAP SuccessFactors with IBM App Connect Enterprise

SAP SuccessFactors is cloud-based talent management and human capital management software. Organizations can manage many HR operations by using SAP SuccessFactors, including hiring, employee performance, HR analytics, payroll, and learning initiatives. IBM® App Connect Enterprise provides a SAP SuccessFactors Request node, which you can use to connect to SAP SuccessFactors and issue requests to perform actions on objects such as job applications, job application interviews, job requisitions, candidates, and onboarding candidate information.

The following steps show you how to connect to a SAP SuccessFactors account and configure a SAP SuccessFactors Request node by using connector discovery. You can follow a similar procedure to configure a SAP SuccessFactors Input node to monitor SAP SuccessFactors for input, by creating a flow containing a SAP SuccessFactors Input node and configuring it through connector discovery.

1. In the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit, create a flow containing a SAP SuccessFactors Request node.
2. Select the SAP SuccessFactors Request node in the flow to show the node properties in the editor.
3. On the Basic tab, click Launch Connector Discovery.
   A panel is displayed in which you specify the name of the policy project and vault details to be used during connector discovery.
4. Specify the details of the policy project and vault to be used during connector discovery:
   1. In the Policy Project field, specify the policy project that is used to store the policies that are created during connector discovery.
      Alternatively, you can create a new policy project by clicking New and then specifying the name of the new policy project. Then click Finish.
   2. Specify the vault to be used during connector discovery. By default, credentials that are used during connector discovery are stored in an external directory vault, which is an App Connect Enterprise vault that can be used by any integration server. Alternatively, you can store the credentials in an integration server vault, which is created in the integration server's work directory and can be used only by that specific integration server.
      To specify the vault to be used for storing the credentials, complete the steps in the Using the Connector Discovery wizard section of one of the following topics:

      • Configuring an external directory vault
      • Configuring an integration server vault
   3. In the Vault key field, enter the vault key that is used to access the credentials stored in the vault. The vault key must be at least 8 characters in length.
   4. Optional: By default, the specified vault location and vault key are saved as preferences in the Toolkit so that the values are preset when you launch Connector Discovery. If you do not want the preferences to be saved, deselect Save in vault preferences.
5. Click Launch Discovery to start the Connector Discovery wizard for the SAP SuccessFactors connector.
   The Connector Discovery window is displayed. If existing SAP SuccessFactors connections (accounts) are available, a list of those connections is displayed. If there are no existing connections, the status of the SAP SuccessFactors connector is shown as Not connected.
   • If one or more SAP SuccessFactors connections are available, complete the following steps:
     1. Select the connection that you want to use, by clicking on it.
     2. Click the required object type and then select the action that you want to perform on the object. For example, to retrieve job applications from SAP SuccessFactors, click Job applications and then Retrieve job applications.
   • If there are no existing connections, complete the following steps:
     1. Click the required object type and then select the action that you want to perform on that object. For example, to retrieve job applications from SAP SuccessFactors, click Job applications and then Retrieve job applications.
     2. Click Connect.
     3. Select the authorization type that you want to use for the connection to SAP SuccessFactors, by clicking one of the following options from the drop-down list:
        • Provide a username, password, and client credentials (OAUTH 2.0 PASSWORD)
        • Provide credentials for App Connect to use (BASIC)
     4. Enter the connection details for your SAP SuccessFactors account, according to the authorization type that you selected in the previous step (OAUTH 2.0 PASSWORD or BASIC):
        • If you selected OAUTH 2.0 PASSWORD authentication, enter the following details:
          • Server URL: The URL of the API server that makes runtime calls.
          • Company ID: The character string that identifies an SAP SuccessFactors system, such as a username for your organization.
          • SAML assertion: The Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) assertion for requesting an OAUTH token. SAML assertions are Base64-encoded. To view the detailed information in XML format, decode the assertion using a Base64 decode tool.
          • Application client ID: The unique client identifier that you obtained when you registered the client application.
          • Allow self-signed certificates (optional): Select true to allow self-signed certificates. The default is false.
          • Override server URL (optional): Specify an override value for the host and port in the OpenAPI definition, in the format <http or https>://<host_name>:<port>. This field is required if you want to connect to an endpoint in a private network by using the private network client, or if you want to override the server URL. If you are not using the private network client or do not require an override, leave this field blank to use the host name and port in the OpenAPI definition.
        • If you selected BASIC authentication, enter the following details:
          • Server URL: The URL of the API server that makes runtime calls.
          • Username: The username for your SAP SuccessFactors account.
          • Password: The password to access your SAP SuccessFactors account.
          • Allow self-signed certificates (optional): Select true to allow self-signed certificates. The default is false.
          • Override server URL (optional): Specify an override value for the host and port in the OpenAPI definition, in the format <http or https>://<host_name>:<port>. This field is required if you want to connect to an endpoint in a private network by using the private network client, or if you want to override the server URL. If you are not using the private network client or do not require an override, leave this field blank to use the host name and port in the OpenAPI definition.

        For more information about accessing or generating these connection details, see How to use IBM App Connect with SAP SuccessFactors in the IBM App Connect Enterprise as a Service documentation.

     5. Click Connect.
6. Set the required connector properties in the wizard.
   You can add conditions for the retrieval of the data, by clicking Add condition and then selecting the property that you want to filter. For example, you can filter job applications according to whether the applications are from former employees, by clicking Former employee and then setting the property value to True or False. You can also set properties that specify the maximum number of records to retrieve and the action to be taken if that limit is exceeded.
7. When you have finished specifying the properties in the Connector Discovery wizard, click Save.
   The credentials used for connecting to SAP SuccessFactors are stored in the vault, and the other connection details are saved in the SAP SuccessFactors policy. The values of the properties that you set in the wizard are returned to the SAP SuccessFactors Request node in the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit.
8. When you have finished discovery and saved the property values, exit the Connector Discovery wizard by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the window or by pressing Alt+F4.
9. Return to editing the SAP SuccessFactors Request node in the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit.
   The connector properties that were set in the Connector Discovery wizard (in step 6) are now visible on the SAP SuccessFactors Request node in the property editor. The Basic tab shows the values of the Action and Object properties that you set in the wizard. For example, if you selected Job applications > Retrieve job applications in the wizard, the following properties will be visible on the Basic tab of the node:

   • Action - RETRIEVEALL
   • Object - getJobApplication

   The values of the Action and Object properties are displayed in read-only format. If you want to change these values, you can do so by clicking Launch Connector Discovery again and setting new values in the Connector Discovery wizard.

   The Schema base name property specifies the base name of the schema files that describe the format of the request and response messages sent and received from the SAP SuccessFactors connector. The schema base name is set automatically the first time you run discovery for the node, and it is based on the current flow name and node name. If you set this property manually before running discovery for the first time, the value that you set will be used. If you rename the schemas after discovery, you must edit this property so that it matches the schema base name used by the renamed schemas in the project. If you change this property after discovery, you must either rename the schema names to match or run discovery again.

   Depending on the action that was selected during discovery, the Connector Discovery wizard generates either a request schema and a response schema, or a response schema only. A request schema is generated only if the selected action and object require a request message. The generated request schema is used for validation of the request message. If the action was RETRIEVE or DELETE, only the response schema is returned by the connector.

   The generated schema files are added to the project and can be used by a Mapping node for transforming input or output data. The full filename of the schema is derived from the schema base name (such as gen/MyMessageFlow.SAP_SuccessFactors_Request), suffixed with either response.schema.json or request.schema.json. You can open the schema by clicking Open request schema or Open response schema.

10. Check that the property settings on the SAP SuccessFactors Request node are correct and then save the message flow.
11. On the Connection tab of the SAP SuccessFactors Request node, the Policy property shows the name of the policy that contains the details of the security identity to be used for the connection. The policy has a type of SAP SuccessFactors.
    For more information, see SAP SuccessFactors policy.
12. Optional: Set the Timeout property on the Connection tab to specify the time (in seconds) that the node waits for SAP SuccessFactors to process the operation.
13. The Filter tab of the SAP SuccessFactors Request node contains properties that control the way in which the message flow selects data. The initial values of these properties are taken from the property values that were set for the SAP SuccessFactors connector in the Connector Discovery wizard, including the filter options properties and any conditions that were specified (as described in step 6). If you subsequently return to the Connector Discovery wizard and change the values of any properties (by adding new conditions, for example) those updates are reflected in the properties set on the node.

    The Filter Options properties control which objects are to be operated upon when the SAP SuccessFactors Request node executes. The Filter Limit properties control the maximum number of items to be retrieved and the action to be taken if the limit is exceeded.

    You can modify the values by clicking Edit next to the value that you want to modify in the Filter Options section, and by changing the property values that have been set in the Filter Limit section.

    The property values can be either text values or ESQL or XPATH expressions that are resolved from the contents of the message passed to the SAP SuccessFactors Request node as it executes.

14. On the Request tab, set the Data location property to specify the location in the incoming message tree that contains the object data to be created in SAP SuccessFactors. This data forms the request that is sent from the SAP SuccessFactors Request node to SAP SuccessFactors.
15. On the Result tab, set the Output data location property to specify the location in the output message tree that will contain the data of the record that is created in SAP SuccessFactors.
16. By default, request messages are validated against the request schema that was generated during connector discovery. You can turn off request validation or change the validation settings by using the Validation properties of the SAP SuccessFactors Request node.
17. Save the message flow.