SQL vs SOQL for Salesforce Analytics

SQL vs SOQL for
Salesforce Analytics
Ani Jain, Senior Product Marketing Manager,
MicroStrategy
Jeff Leinbach, Principal Software Engineer,
Progress DataDirect
Lori Mehen, Product Marketing Manager,
Progress DataDirect

© 2016 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved.2
Audio Bridge Options & Question Submission

Agenda
At a glance
• Contrast SQL vs SOQL queries for analytics
• How to get SQL access to Salesforce data
• MicroStrategy connectivity to Salesforce.com
• Why use MicroStrategy with Salesforce.com for analytics

Contrast SQL vs SOQL queries
for analytics.

SQL is the query language for analytics
What is SOQL?
 SOQL is Salesforce Object Query Language
 Salesforce is a multi-tenant system where many users are sharing
a database
• SOQL provides a means by which Salesforce can prevent queries from
adversely affecting customers who rely on shared resources
 Salesforce has an object based data model
• SOQL provides an object-like manner in which to query for information
easing data access for developers

SOQL capabilities
 SOQL is a SELECT-like query language for
accessing objects
 Field selection
 Filters
 Limited joins
 Limited Group Bys
 Aggregates
 Order By

Field Selection
SQL SOQL
Ability to pick which columns to
use in the select list
wildcards like star to indicate all
columns
SELECT * FROM ACCOUNT SELECT * FROM Account
SELECT Id, Name FROM
Account

Filters
SQL SOQL
Supports filter operations …FROM Account WHERE
Name LIKE ‘ABC%’
…FROM Account WHERE
(Name = ‘Col%’ AND State =
‘NC’) OR Name = ‘Barber’
Similar to SQL
Allows functions in filters …FROM Account WHERE
CALENDAR_YEAR(CreatedD
ate) = 2011
Similar to SQL
Allows specifying timestamps
using escapes
CreatedDate = {ts ‘2010-08-10
09:15:37’}
CreatedDate = {ts ‘2010-08-10
09:15:37’}
CreatedDate = 2010-08-
10T09:15:37

Filters (continued)
SQL SOQL
Supports filter operations …FROM Account WHERE
Name LIKE ‘ABC%’
(Name = ‘Col%’ AND State =
‘NC’) OR Name = ‘Barber’
Similar to SQL
Multi-select picklists
Use equivalent string functions …FROM Account WHERE MenuItem = ‘AAA’
…FROM Account WHERE MenuItem != ‘AAA’
…FROM Account WHERE MenuItem includes
‘AAA’
…FROM Account WHERE MenuItem
excludes ‘AAA’
…FROM Account WHERE MenuItem =
‘AAA;BBB’
Allows filtering on polymorphic
relationships Use equivalent join syntax
SELECT Id, Name FROM
Event WHERE What.Type In
(‘Account’, ‘Opportunity’)

Joins
SQL SOQL
Joins across any tables or objects SQL allows JOINs of all kinds
These examples use a foreign key
SELECT * FROM Account A
INNER JOIN Contacts C on A.ID
= C.AccountID
FULL OUTER JOIN Contacts C
on A.ID = C.AccountID
FULL OUTER JOIN Contacts C
on A.ID = C.AccountID WHERE
A.ID IS NULL or C.AccountID IS
NULL
This example joins on an arbitrary field
INNER JOIN Contacts C ON
A.State AND C.State WHERE
A.ZipCode = C.ZipCode
SOQL only allows joins on foreign
keys through relationship queries
This is achieved through either dot
notation following child-to-parent
relationships:
SELECT Contact.Name,
Contact.Account.Name FROM
Contact WHERE…
Or through sub-queries when following
parent-to-child relationships
SELECT Account.Name,
(SELECT Contact.FirstName,
Contact.LastName FROM
Account.Contacts) FROM
Account WHERE…

Aggregates, Group By, Order By
SQL SOQL
Supports Aggregates, Group By,
Order By
SELECT SUM(Amount),
FiscalQuarter, Probability
FROM Opportunity GROUP
BY FiscalQuarter, Probability
Similar to SQL
Unlimited Aggregation
SELECT SUM(Amount),
FiscalQuarter, Probability
FROM Opportunity GROUP
BY FiscalQuarter, Probability
SOQL does not allow a query
containing a Group By to
return more than 2000
records. Add a Having or
Where clause to limit the
results.
SELECT SUM(Amount),
FiscalQuarter, Probability FROM
Opportunity GROUP BY
FiscalQuarter, Probability HAVING
SUM(Amount) > 10000

Inserts, Updates, Deletes
SQL SOQL
Syntax for DML operations
In Salesforce, Insert, Update
and Delete operations are
performed through APIs
Writes in single operation
SQL simplifies the process as
a single query can modify the
data
For updates and deletes, a
SOQL query must be used to
identify the records to modify,
so it’s a 2 step process

How to get SQL access to
Salesforce data

First, why SQL access to Salesforce?
• Analytics applications and professionals expect SQL
• Standard SQL access instantly connects thousands of standard
applications to the Salesforce Platform
• [Learn more] DataDirect SQL access featured at Dreamforce in the
Developer Zone

Popular options for SQL access to Salesforce
Direct SQL Access
 Progress DataDirect ODBC and JDBC
drivers for direct SQL connectivity
 [Download] bit.ly/SQL2SF
Indirect SQL Access
 Extract data using Salesforce data loader,
or other third party tools, into an
intermediate RDBMS
app

DataDirect architecture for direct SQL access to Salesforce
Progress DataDirect
ODBC/JDBC
Connectors
Schema Manager
BI Application
Salesforce.com
Schema
User Defined
Schema
Driver uses
 SOAP API
 Bulk API
 Metadata API

Salesforce.com and MicroStrategy
A functional overview and recommendation for analysis
and application development

Agenda
At a glance
• MicroStrategy connectivity to Salesforce.com
• Why use MicroStrategy with Salesforce.com for analytics

A Unified Platform for Enterprise Analytics, Mobility, and Security
Analytics applications
that blend every form of data and
deliver insights to users via reports,
dashboards, and apps.
Mobility applications
that source information from multiple
locations, and submit transactions to
your ERP systems.
Security applications
that secure your most sensitive
information and resources with
digital security badges.

A powerful Business Intelligence solution that meets the needs of Business and IT in a single platform.
Best for ITBest for business
Data Discovery and
Visualization
• Exceptionally Ease of Use
• Schema-free
• Data Preparation + Blending
• Rapid Prototyping
• Agile and Visual Analysis
• Reusable Object Model
• Unified Secure Architecture
• Single Metadata
• Optimized Multi-Source Data Access
• Design Once Deploy Everywhere
• Enterprise Reporting on any Device
• Highest User Scale
• Highest Data Scale
• Fastest Query Performance
• Secure, Personalized Analytics for 10,000s
MicroStrategy Desktop MicroStrategy Analytics Platform
Rapid | Intuitive Powerful | Scalable | Extensible | Governed | Highly Performant | Secure
Geo-Spatial
Analysis
Mobile
Applications
Real-time
Transactions
Interactive
Dashboards
Advanced
Visualizations
Banded
Reports
OLAP
Reports
Data
Discovery
Predictive
Analytics
Alerts &
Distribution
MicroStrategy 10

How MicroStrategy integrates with Salesforce.com
Connectivity options
• Security
• Performance and Scalability
• Administration/Automation
• Distribution and Alerting
• In-Memory
• Adv. Analytics
• Mobile
• Dashboards and Visualizations
• Multi-source
and more….
Report Import
Import Salesforce.com standard and user defined reports
into MicroStrategy.
ODBC
Query Salesforce.com objects like any other relational
source.
Web Services
Connect to Salesforce.com data using a native web
services connector.
ETL
Export Salesforce.com data onto a DWH and use
MicroStrategy with the DWH
MicroStrategy
Architect
Or
MicroStrategy
Data Import
MicroStrategy
Data Import
Benefit from the power
of MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Connectivity
Support Matrix for connectivity options
Live Access In-memory Write-back Data
Dynamic Query
Generation
MicroStrategy
Functionality
Report
Import
No Yes No
Only Salesforce
Reports
No
Some MicroStrategy
functionality not
available like custom
groups, consolidations
ODBC Yes Yes Yes
Some restricted
tables are not
available
Yes All
Web
Services
Yes Yes Yes All SF.com data No
Some MicroStrategy
functionality not
available like custom
groups, consolidations
ETL > DB Yes Yes NA All SF.com data Yes All

Multiple Options to connect to Salesforce data
Considerations for when to use Architect and when to use Data Import when using ODBC
MicroStrategy Architect
Application Level: For access to all MicroStrategy
functionality like Prompts, Hierarchies
Data Level: Allows you to create a enterprise-wide
logical data model and handle more complex
scenarios.
Data Import
Application Level: Some functionality like prompts,
and hierarchies not available
Data Level: Provides much faster turnaround time
(auto metadata detection, auto geo mapping, etc.).
Is suitable for subject-oriented analysis

Wait a minute..
Doesn't Salesforce have its own data analytics capabilities?

Salesforce.com analytics options
Two different options
Salesforce Reports and Dashboards
What it is Operational reporting on Salesforce data to get snapshot of CRM
Used for Basic Metrics and static reporting
Data Salesforce only
Historical 90-days analysis
Cost Free with Salesforce.com

Salesforce Reports have limited capabilities
Basic reporting
Limited interactivity
No multi-source

Salesforce Dashboards have limited capabilities
Basic dashboards
No ad-hoc exploration
Limited mobile functionality
Basic visualizations

Salesforce.com analytics options
Two different options
Salesforce Wave
What it is Launched new capabilities in 2014. Provides pre-built apps
and platform for analytics
Used for More interactive and visual than Salesforce Reports but has
many limitations
Data External data can be used
Cost Additional platform and per user costs

Salesforce.com Wave Analytics
Limitations
New product missing many capabilities commonly available in most BI tools.
Geospatial capabilities; self-service data preparation; internationalization, Dynamic Dashboards, Export to other
formats, administration, limited visualizations, etc.
No support for analytics outside of SFDC users.
All data required for analytics must be loaded into Wave. Cannot report directly on source data.
Struggles to provide more complex analysis
Releases are not staggered
Only option to deploy is through Cloud
Cost are high and require platform costs + per use costs high

Top reasons why customers choose MicroStrategy for Salesforce.com
1. Easier data access from multiple sources
EDW
Access data from where it resides
Connect to all major data sources DBs, Files, Cloud
Sources, Big Data sources
Flexibility to perform enterprise-wide data modeling or
analyst driven data mashups

Top reasons why customers choose MicroStrategy for Salesforce.com
2. Richer dashboards and visualizations
Powerful design surface for
enterprise-grade apps
Extensible visualizations
Geo analysis

Why customers choose MicroStrategy for Salesforce.com
3. Powerful analytical capabilities
34
Industry’s most powerful SQL Engine and 300+ native analytical functions
Projections
Relationship Analysis
Benchmarking
Trend Analysis
Data Summarization
What is likely to happen based on past history?
What factors influence activity or behavior?
How are we doing versus comparables?
What direction are we headed in?
What is happening in the aggregate?
Optimization What do we want to happen?
Specialty Tools
Integration with 3rd
party tools like SAS,
R, and SPSS for
additional capabilities
300+ analytical
functions out-of-
the-box provide
enough capabilities
for most
organizations

4. Superior mobile capabilities to build powerful sales productivity apps
Analytics
• Powerful, advanced
analytics
• Data visualizations
and explorations
• Automatic data
updates
Transactions
• Touch-based inputs
• Offline transactions
• Image capture
Multimedia
• Videos
• PDFs
• Browser
content
Collaboration Geospatial
• ESRI maps
• Google Maps
• Image Layout
Widget
• Data-based team
discussions
• Annotate and share
• Integration with Apple TV

5. Personalized report delivery and proactive notifications help improve business efficiency
Mass distribution of personalized content
Proactive notification and exception based alerting
Event- and time-based delivery

6. Powerful data exploration and preparation for rapid iterative analysis
Best in class data discovery functionality Integrated data cleansing and
preparation capabilities

7. Embedded Analytics
Embed power of MicroStrategy
right within Salesforce.com
Allow single sign-on and fully
leverage the salesforce.com
security model

What can you do with MicroStrategy
Some examples
Multi-source and
easier data
access
Richer
dashboard /
visualizations
capabilities
Advanced
analytics
Stunning mobile
apps that allow
write-back
Distribution and
proactive
notifications
Exploratory data
analysis and
data wrangling
Embedded
analytics
Management looks
at dashboard that
combines
information from
salesforce.com,
marketing
automation system
and homegrown
employee
management
system to provide a
3600 view of
business. The data
resides in their
respective sources
VP of sales starts
with a summary
view of opportunity
data and then drills
into individual
regions. He
compares current
opportunities with
historical data and
gets insights into
how well each
regions is
performing. He then
drills into detailed
sales rep activity.
CXOs looks at
analysis that
provide correlation
of marketing spend
on number of
opportunities and
realized revenue.
They perform what-
if analysis to
determine
marketing spend to
achieve the sales
targets for the next
quarter.
Sales rep reads
from and writes
back to built-in and
custom
Salesforce.com
objects to gain
instant visibility into
Accounts, Leads,
Contracts,
Opportunities, and
more using a single
Mobile App powered
by MicroStrategy.
Competitive
Intelligence team
stays on top of
market dynamics by
automatically
receiving reports
when a deal with a
specific competitor
is closed or lost.
The team sets
criteria like deal size
and competitors
involved for
receiving such
emails.
Data analysts from
across the company
perform ad-hoc data
exploration to gain
and share insights.
They use
slaesforce. .com
data and easily
combine it with
other data sources
like social media,
EDW Big Data
sources or flat files
to perform their
analysis.
Information systems
team embed
MicroStrategy
directly inside
salesforce.com to
provide a seamless
experience to their
salesforce.com
users. The users
can now see deep
and relevant
analytics right within
salesforce.com

Conclusion: Benefit from the best of both worlds
Salesforce is a leader for CRM. MicroStrategy is the leader for Analytics
Analytics Leader in Analytics Space New entrant
Sales
Force
Automatio
n
NA Leader in sales force automation

SQL vs SOQL for Salesforce Analytics

SQL vs SOQL for Salesforce Analytics

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Editor's Notes