How to integrate ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) with SSRS

Integrate SSRS and ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
Integrate SSRS and ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) with SSRS for smooth data access.

Read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) ODBC Driver for SSRS (often referred to as the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Connector). We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

Video Tutorial

This video covers the following topics and more, so please watch carefully. After watching the video, follow the steps outlined in this article:

  • How to download and install the required PowerPack for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) integration in SSRS
  • How to configure the connection for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
  • Features of the ZappySys API Driver (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
  • How to use the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) in SSRS

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

  1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).

  2. Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:

    Open ZappySys Data Gateway Service Manager

  3. Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:

    • Click the Add button
    • In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
    • Then enter a Password
    • Check the Is Administrator checkbox
    • Click OK to save
    Data Gateway - Add User

  4. Now we are ready to add a data source:

    • Click the Add button
    • Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
    • Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
    • Finally, click OK
    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    ZappySys API Driver
    Data Gateway - Add data source

  5. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  6. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    OAuth

    ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) authentication

    OAuth Connection for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus API [API reference]

    To register custom App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)
    1. Go to Zoho API Console
    2. Click Add Client link
    3. Select Server-based Applications option
    4. Enter desired client name (Display purpose only)
    5. Enter some URL for Company homepage
    6. For Authorized Redirect URI enter https://zappysys.com/oauth (Or enter your own but we recommend using ZappySys one if possible). This URL must match on Zoho Connector UI.
    7. Click CREATE.
    8. Copy Client ID and Secret and paste on Zoho Connector UI.
    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
    5. Finally, hit OK button:
    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
    OAuth [OAuth]
    https://sdpondemand.manageengine.com/api/v3
    Optional Parameters
    ClientId
    ClientSecret
    Permissions SDPOnDemand.requests.ALL
    AccountUrl https://accounts.zoho.com
    RedirectUrl https://zappysys.com/oauth
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ODBC DSN OAuth Connection Configuration

  7. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

    ZappySys API Driver - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
    Read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required.
    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API

  8. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in SSRS to retrieve data from ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho). Hit OK button to use this query in the next step. 

    SELECT * FROM Requests
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.

  9. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in SSRS:

    ZappySys API Driver - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)
    Read and write ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate requests, tasks, comments, and worklogs — almost no coding required.
    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    SELECT * FROM Requests
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
    A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) servers).

  10. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

  11. Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:

    Data Gateway - Add firewall rule for inbound connections
    • This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
    • Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.

  12. Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:

    • Click the Save button to persist your changes.
    • Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.

    This ensures all changes are properly applied:

    ZappySys Data Gateway - Save Changes
    Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in SSRS from ZappySys Data Gateway

  1. Open Visual Studio and create a new SSRS project.

  2. Then add a new Shared Data Source (you can create a non-shared data source inside report too):

    Adding a Data Source in SSRS project

  3. Continue with creating the Shared Data Source. Select Microsoft SQL Server as Type and hit Build button to proceed further:

    Configuring a Data Source to access API data in SSRS project

  4. Once a window opens, configure it similarly. Configure "ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN" as database name. Finally, hit Test Connection and OK:

    ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    Configuring thoroughly a Data Source to access API data in SSRS project

  5. Another window opens, and it should look similarly to this one below which ends the creation of a Data Source:

    DataSource=localhost,5000;Initial Catalog=ManageengineServicedeskPlusZohoDSN
    How Data Source in SSRS project looks like

  6. Now it's time to create a Dataset. If you don't have a report created, in one of the wizard's steps it will look like this:

    SELECT * FROM Requests
    Specifying a query in SSRS Dataset to access API data #1

  7. Finally, once you complete the report, similar results will show up:

    ZappySys Data Gateway API data source results

Passing Parameters to SSRS Report / Filter data

If you want to parameterize your report, then refer to this article

Supported ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) operations directly in SSRS, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) in SSRS and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho) ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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