Model Context Protocol (MCP) finally gives AI models a way to access the business data needed to make them really useful at work. CData MCP Servers have the depth and performance to make sure AI has access to all of the answers.
Try them now for free →Create Informatica Mappings From/To an ODBC Data Source for Workday
Create an ODBC connection to Workday in Informatica and browse and transfer Workday data.
Informatica provides a powerful, elegant means of transporting and transforming your data. By utilizing the CData ODBC Driver for Workday, you are gaining access to a driver based on industry-proven standards that integrates seamlessly with Informatica's powerful data transportation and manipulation features. This tutorial shows how to transfer and browse Workday data in Informatica PowerCenter.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
Connect to Workday as an ODBC Data Source
Information for connecting to Workday follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API | ConnectionType Value |
---|---|
WQL | WQL |
Reports as a Service | Reports |
REST | REST |
SOAP | SOAP |
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.
Windows
If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.
Linux
If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Workday in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.
/etc/odbc.ini
[CData Workday Source]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Workday
Description = My Description
User = myuser
Password = mypassword
Tenant = mycompany_gm1
BaseURL = https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com
ConnectionType = WQL
For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).
Create a Linked Table to Workers Data
Follow the steps below to create a linked table, which enables you to access live Workers data.
Create the ODBC Connection
Follow the steps below to connect to Workday in Informatica PowerCenter:
- In the Informatica Developer tool connect to your repository and create a project.
- In the Connection Explorer pane, right-click and click Create a Connection.
- In the New Database Connection wizard that is displayed, enter a name and Id for the connection and in the Type menu select ODBC.
- In the Connection String property, enter the DSN.
NOTE: If you are working in a Linux operating system, set the Driver Manager for Linux property to unixODBC 2.3.x.
Create the Workday Data Object
After you have created an ODBC connection to Workday, you can now access Workday entities in Informatica. Follow the steps below to add Workers entities to your project.
- In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Data Object.
- In the wizard that is displayed, select the Relational Data Object option.
- Click the Browse button next to the Connection box and select the ODBC connection you created in the previous step.
- Select the option to create a data object from an existing resource and click the Browse button next to the Resource box.
- In the dialog that is displayed, clear the Show Default Schema Only option and expand the node for the ODBC connection. Select the entity that you want.
You can now browse the table in the Data Viewer: Right-click the node for the table and then click Open. On the Data Viewer view, click Run.

Create the Mapping
Follow the steps below to add the Workday source to a mapping:
- In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Mapping.
- Expand the node for the Workday connection and then drag the data object for the table onto the editor.
- In the dialog that appears, select the Read option.

Follow the steps below to map Workday columns to a flat file:
- In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Data Object.
- Select Flat File Data Object -> Create as Empty -> Fixed Width.
- In the properties for the Workday object, select the rows you want, right-click, and then click copy. Paste the rows into the flat file properties.
- Drag the flat file data object onto the mapping. In the dialog that appears, select the Write option.
- Click and drag to connect columns.
To transfer Workday data, right-click in the workspace and then click Run Mapping.
