Coming soon: June 9, 2018 - Anaplan Connector for Informatica Cloud Update

caroboyle

We’re pleased to announce a forthcoming update to the Anaplan Connector for Informatica Cloud, which will be available from June 9, 2018. This update will contain two significant features:

• Support for API-based field mapping as an alternative to the current Anaplan file-based mapping for Anaplan Import actions
• A workaround for column headers starting with numbers

Benefits for users 

• Ability to use same data source / flat file for multiple Import actions
• Ability to run Import actions regardless of modified / deleted Import data source file
• Ability to work with data headers beginning with numbers 

Support for API-based field mapping 

Currently, the Anaplan Connector for Informatica Cloud refers to Anaplan files (the import data source) to retrieve column header information for mapping. This method can affect Informatica import action Data Synchronization tasks (DST), in scenarios where the Anaplan file has been deleted or overwritten. With this update, users can use API-based mapping for imports and the Anaplan Connector for Informatica Cloud will make an API call to determine the headers and remove the dependency on files.

How to use the new feature (enable API-based mapping)

In Informatica Cloud Services (ICS), edit the Anaplan Connections and select the new Use API Based Metadata check box.

After saving, all DSS tasks using this connection will use API-based mapping.

If you don’t want to edit your existing connections, you can copy them to new connections and then edit the new connections. This way, you can switch DSS tasks one-by-one to API-based mapping and test them independently.

Impact on existing integrations

Existing integrations will not be impacted by this change. The Use API Based Metadata check box will be disabled by default and the Anaplan Connector for Informatica Cloud will continue to use file-based mapping. Users must actively enable the Use API Based Metadata check box.

In certain cases, DST mapping (on the Field Mapping tab in the Data Synchronization Task Wizard) may need to be refreshed or manually re-mapped when moving to API-based mapping. This could be import actions where dates are present in column headers, for example.

Support for column headers starting with numbers

Currently, Informatica Cloud (ICS) does not natively support column headers starting with numbers. In this update, we've implemented a workaround in the Anaplan connector to allow numbers in headings for Import actions.

If you use numeric headers such as “1 Jan 2018” in Import actions, the text “_NUMHDR_” will be added to the beginning of the headers on the Field Mapping tab in the Data Synchronization Task Wizard. You can continue with the column mapping and then run the DST. The connector will remove the "_NUMHDR_" reference when writing data to Anaplan and you’ll see original headers in the Anaplan Import Data Source.

Note: If you use numeric headers in Export actions, due to technical limitations, the "_NUMHDR_" text will not be removed from final output. If you proceed with column mapping and run the DST for the export action, the additional text will still be present in the output file.

Look out for the update, which will be available from June 9, 2018.