Integrating with Google Analytics

Supported version

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations supports the following versions of Google Analytics for data collection:

• Google Analytics version 4

Task 1: To plan for the connection

Before you configure the connection with Google Analytics, make sure that the following prerequisites are met:

• Obtain the extraction and transformation toolkit from BMC Support. This toolkit is required to extract and transform the funnel exploration report metrics into the JSON format required by BMC Helix Operations Management. It contains the following artifacts:

  • A Phyton script, ga4_runfunnelreport_daily.py

    Important

    The toolkit provided by BMC is coded in Python. However, you can create your own toolkit in any other programming language you want to.

  • ga4config.ini file 
  • credentials.json file 
• Obtain credentials from the Google Analytics service account and store them in a file named credentials.json.

Task 2: To configure the connection with Google Analytics

1. Depending on the deployment mode, perform one of the following steps to access BMC Helix Intelligent
   Integrations:
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS – Log on to BMC Helix Portal, and click Launch on BMC Helix
     Intelligent Integrations.
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway – Use the following URL to access the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway: https://<hostName>:<portNumber>/swpui
2. On the CONNECTORS tab, clickon the SOURCES panel and then click the Google Analytics tile.

3. Specify a unique instance name.

   Best practice

   We recommend that you specify the instance name in the following format:

   <sourceType>_<sourceControllerServerName>_<InstanceQualifier>

   The instance qualifier helps you to distinguish the multiple instances configured from the same source server. For example, you can name your instances as GA_Host_PROD, GA_Host_TEST, and so on.

4. Click VALIDATE AND CREATE.
   The specified connection details are validated and the corresponding source connection is created in the Source Connection list.

5. Select the source connection that you created from the list if it is not selected already.

   Important

   The destination host connection is created and configured automatically when the source connection is created.

6. Make sure that the Generic Metrics option is selected.
7. Expand the Generic Metrics panel.
8. Click CREATE COLLECTORS to create the collector stream for the metrics data type.

9. Configure the distributors for the metrics data type by clicking the data type in the Distributors section and specifying the parameters for the metrics type, as explained in the following table:

   Parameter name	Description
   Max Batching Size	Specify the maximum number of data items to send in a single POST request to the destination API. The batch size depends on the destination’s ability to buffer the incoming data. Default: 250
   Max Batching Delay	Specify the maximum time (in seconds) to wait before building a batch and processing. Default: 3 seconds
   Base Retry Delay	Specify the initial time (in seconds) for which to wait before retrying to build a batch and processing. The waiting time increases in the following sequence: n1, n2, n3, and so on, where n indicates the number of seconds. Default: 2 seconds Example: Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retry is performed after 2, 4, 8, 16, ... seconds.
   Max Intra-Retry Delay	Specify the maximum limit for the base retry delay.  Default: 60 seconds Example: Max Intra-Retry Delay is set to 60 seconds. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retries are performed 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,... seconds later.
   Max Retry Duration	Specify the total time for retrying a delivery. For REST destinations, a delivery is a batch of data items in one POST request.  Default: 5 minutes Example: Max Retry Duration is set to 8 hours. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Requests are sent for 2+4+8+16+32+64+132... until 8 hours in total duration is reached. After that, no subsequent attempts are made to retry the delivery. The assumption here is that if there is an outage or other issue with the destination tool, recovery should take less than the value of the Max Retry Duration parameter to be completed.
   JSLT Mapping	Remove {*:.} and add only a period (.).

10. Click CREATE DISTRIBUTORS to create the distributor stream for the metrics data type.
11. Click VALIDATE AND CREATE and then click SAVE STREAM to save the stream.
    After you save the stream, the connector that you just created is listed on the SOURCES panel.
12. On the SOURCES panel, click Configure Mediator for the source connection that you created and then expand Generic Metrics.
13. Copy the URL and configure the toolkit to forward metrics:
    1. Click copy to copy the auto generated Generic collector URL and save the URL in a temporary file.
       For example, http://dev-pun-domqa:7457/hii/api/mediator/v3/push/c089-befr-4170-977d-aa9b0a544c.
    2. Configure the extraction and transformation toolkit to forward metrics data to BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations and BMC Helix Operations Management.
14. On the SOURCES panel, move the slider to the right to start the data stream for the connector you created in step
    8.

For more information about the data streams, see Starting-or-stopping-data-streams. 

To configure the extraction and transformation toolkit to forward metrics data to BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations andBMC Helix Operations Management

1. Create a temporary directory on the computer where the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway is installed. For example, C:/connectors/GA4.
2. Extract the extraction and transformation toolkit to the GA4 directory.
3. Replace the credentials.json file in the GA4 directory with the credentials.json file in which you have stored the credentials of the Google Analytics service account.
4. Open the ga4config.ini file with a text editor.
5. In the [GA_Auth] section, update the key_file_path parameter with the path of the credentials.json file for the Google Analytics service account.
6. In the [FunnelReport] section, update the property_id parameter with the ID of the Google Analytics 4 property.
7. In the [GA_Connector] section, update the generic_connector_metric_url parameter with the Generic collector URL that you have copied in a temporary file.
8. Save the file.
9. Run the ga4_runfunnelreport_daily.py Python script.

Task 3: To verify the connection

In BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations , on the SOURCES panel, confirm that the data stream for the connection you created is running.

A moving red arrow () indicates that the metric stream is running. 

To view data in BMC Helix Operations Management

You can view metric data for the following parameters of a funnel exploration report in BMC Helix Operations Management:

• Active users
• Completion rate
• Abandonments
• Abandonment rate

To view metric data in BMC Helix Operations Management

1. In BMC Helix Operations Management, select Monitoring > Devices.
2. Click the link for the required device.

3. On the Monitors tab, click the required monitor.
   The Performance Overview tab shows the metrics graph for the funnel exploration report for the Retail_Outlet application.
   
   The following figure shows the funnel exploration report for the Retail_Outlet application in the Google Analytics UI. 
   

   For information about metrics, see Viewing collected data.