sábado, 23 de abril de 2011

Openbravo ERP - Zoho integration module


Today im going to show you a simple module that will integrate Openbravo ERP with Zoho reports. The aim is to set up a background process sending data from the ERP to Zoho. Then, after creating custom reports on Zoho, publish them in your Openbravo ERP workspace so that relevant data for your company is always on hand.

Pre-requisites:
  • Zoho user account (free)
  • Zoho integration module for Openbravo ERP 3.0

Setting up the data transfer

First of all you need to have a new database in Zoho reports.
Then find the Zoho API key for your account. (Mandatory for sending data to your zoho account).

Now lets configure the process in Openbravo ERP. Create a Zoho integration header with the folowing information:
  • Zoho database (the one you created in the previous step)
  • Zoho API key
  • Zoho username
  • Zoho password
Then, configure an HQL for sending data to our Zoho database.
  • Import type: Choose between "Delete all and import data", "Append" or "Update".
  • Zoho Table (this process will create this table in Zoho Reports)
  • HQL query. (In this example I created a simple query for "Sales by Organization"

And last, schedule the process for sending this data to Zoho. In this case, I have configured this process to be run every 1 minute. Then hit "Schedule Process".

From now on, this process will create a new table in your Zoho Reports account, with the data of your ERP.


Report Creation

Time to create a report in Zoho reports with this data.


When done, save the chart and click on Publish and "Embed in Website/Blog".

Copy the HTML snippet and return back to Openbravo ERP to add a widget with this HTML code. Create an "User defined HTML widget".

Then just paste the HTML code from Zoho Reports:

And... Voilá !

Meaningful information for you company updated in real time in your Openbravo ERP workspace. And the best: No need for development skills to do it !

This article shows the power of how different separate parts of Openbravo technology can be combined to create a great solution.
  • Openbravo widgets
  • Openbravo Process Scheduler
  • Openbravo - Hibernate integration
And this is just an example of why web solutions are so powerfull these days. Their ease of integration with other tools make them a must !!

Any doubts or inquiries, I would be glad to answer them :)