Plan End-to-End Connectors

Overview

This chapter introduces end-to-end connector integrations and their purpose within the Workday integration architecture. Additionally, it outlines how to plan end-to-end connector configuration, including how to select a connector template given requirements.

Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Describe an end-to-end connector's use cases and limitations.

Identify and obtain necessary information for configuring end-to-end connectors.

Research, select, and validate end-to-end connector templates based on requirements.

End-to-End Connectors

End-to-end connectors support a specific third-party application or service, such as a healthcare company's system. End-to-end connectors may also support a specific file type, such as an electronic banking standard. These connectors enable you to align each system's specific business functions with no additional coding or document transformation.

Workday maintains and tests end-to-end connector templates each release, unlike custom integrations. If an external endpoint's requirements change, Workday updates any impacted end-to-end connector templates.

Use end-to-end connector integrations to:

Send benefit elections to a specific provider in the required format.

Retrieve information from government agencies during hiring.

Enact workers' banking transactions on an automatic schedule.

Format and transport tax information in bulk.

Templates

Like other connector integrations, end-to-end connectors use templates to identify, format, and transport data according to the endpoint's requirements. End-to-end connectors use the same components as other connectors, including integration services, attributes, maps, and field overrides.

Given customer and vendor requirements, you can select which end-to-end connector template to use with the following resources:

Connectors by product in the Administrator Guide. Search Reference: Browse Connector Templates

Integration Template Catalog

report in Workday

Connector Catalogs on Workday Community. Search Reference: Connector Catalog

Tip
: The Integration Template Catalog
report is the most complete list of end-to-end connector templates, but it does not provide as much detail as other resources. It is best practice to use the resources together.

Security Note
: Tenant security may prevent you from being able to view and select some templates. Research templates in a Global Modern Services (GMS) tenant to ensure all are available to you.

Deprecated Templates

Do not use integration templates with "deprecated," "do not use," "unsupported," or "DNU" in their name. Workday has identified these templates for deprecation, so no new integration systems should use them.

The integration templates still exist in Workday, despite their deprecation status, because existing customers may still use them. While customers transition to other templates, the deprecated templates need to remain in Workday.

Vendor Data

As end-to-end connectors only integrate with a specific endpoint, you may need to coordinate the following with the vendor:

Vendor specification documents

Integration frequency

Included data

File format

Vendor testing procedures

Specifications that may complicate the integration

Selecting a Template

You can use this framework when selecting an end-to-end connector template:

Gather information on any integration requirements. What do you specifically want to accomplish with this integration?

Research end-to-end connector templates using the available resources. Which seem capable of addressing your needs?

Compare any vendor-specific documents or guides to the options in the end-to-end connector templates. Which template best matches the information and requirements?

Create an integration system using the end-to-end template you select. Does the data match the configurable components?

Configure the integration system and run it to generate a test file. Does the file match the vendor's information?