Integrations: Workday Core Connector

There are various options for building and interfacing data to and from Workday:  EIB, Workday Studio, Cloud Connect.  Keep in mind that I'm usually defining interface specs based on business requirements rather than getting my hands into coding, so the more technically astute may want to go and take a coffee break and come back tomorrow...

I was recently discussing integration options with my WD coding friends and they were explaining the Core Connector functionality, which comes under the Cloud Connect heading.  The delivered, pre-built interfaces come under Cloud Connect, but you can also build here, using Core Connector.

It sounded quite interesting, so I did a bit more research on this one.  Core Connector is perfect for 'changes only' files.  Wow.  In our PeopleSoft world, I tend to push full files as I know they're easier to build.  In our current world, to get a changes file, our developers use a 2 table method, with various temp tables being created and dropped when a job is run, after comparing the two tables. 

Core Connector seems to have been created just for this purpose.  It enables you to output a changes file, based on the transactions that you select to be one the file.  So on the front end you're defining the type of changes (hires, promotions, terms, etc.)  Then, when these things happen, WD writes them to a transaction table, after comparing the before and after.

Of course you still need to do all the other things you'd do in an interface (defining selection of employees, define fields to include/order, output format, destination etc.).  As well, it enables you to use your calculated fields, so your outgoing file can include whatever codes and such that you need.

Realizing this is simplifying the topic considerably.  I wait for my colleagues to actually build one of these change files via Connector, to get to a true opinion, but will keep my ears open to hear more on this topic...