This article outlines the benefits and provides instructions for configuring the Udemy Business and SAP SuccessFactors Learning Management System (LMS) integration.
Please note: Udemy Business LMS/LXP integrations are only available with the Enterprise Plan.
Table of contents
SuccessFactors OCN configuration
- Provider label
- Enabling OCN provider
- Configure Provider logo
- Create OCN Admin role
- Create OCN Admin user
- Create OCN OAuth credentials
- Open Content Network Synchronization
- Prerequisites
- Instructions to obtain the base URL for SuccessFactors
- Activating Catalog Integration in Udemy Business
Enabling Course Completion sync
Managing SuccessFactors Locales
Overview
Integration capabilities
- Catalog Sync:
- Learners can search, discover, and launch Udemy Business courses directly from SuccessFactors.
- SuccessFactors admins can assign curriculum directly in SuccessFactors.
- Reporting Sync:
- Upload Udemy Business learner completions into SuccessFactors.
- Please note: You will need to send the SuccessFactors BizX User ID to Udemy for this to work. See Enabling Course Completion sync below.
- Demonstration Video
Integration process overview
The Udemy Business and SuccessFactors integration requires both systems to be configured.
- In SuccessFactors- Configure OCN for Udemy Business:
- Configure OCN Provider Label for Udemy Business
- Enable OCN Provider for Udemy Business
- Configure Provider Logo for Udemy Business
- Create OCN Admin Role
- Create OCN Admin User
- Create OCN OAuth Credentials
- In Udemy Business - Activate LMS/LXP Integration. You will need the API parameters from SuccessFactors.
- Enable Completion Sync by mapping SuccessFactors BizX UserID to Udemy Business lmsUserID
SuccessFactors OCN configuration
Provider label
For every OCN Provider, it is recommended to attach a label to the ProviderID. The ProviderID is a fixed text identifier for content providers, whereas the label is more human-readable.
Successfactors reference on creating OCN provider labels
The “label.u.UdemyForBusiness” is created in SuccessFactors under References > Manage Labels > Labels
Enabling OCN provider
The ProviderID is fixed text that is set in the Learning Administration > System Administration > Configuration > System Configuration > Open Content Network settings. The label is as follows:
|
providers[UDEMY].enabled=true providers[UDEMY].name=Udemy Business providers[UDEMY].label=label.u.UdemyForBusiness providers[UDEMY].baseLaunchUrl=https://<udemy portal>.udemy.com providers[UDEMY].pricingModel= defaultValues.markCompleteOnLaunch[UDEMY]=false |
Please note:
- The “providers[UDEMY].baseLaunchUrl=https://<udemy portal>.udemy.com” should be your organization’s specific Udemy (UB) domain.
- Setting providers[UDEMY].enabled=true enables the provider.
- If Udemy Business is your first OCN integration, you will need to configure three additional parameters. To find the possible values for these parameters, follow the paths below:
- defaultValues.itemType[default]: References > Learning > Item Types > Do a blank search > choose the necessary item type and add it to the value parameter in the OCN property file.
- defaultValues.itemCompletionStatus[default]: References > Learning > Item Completions > Do a blank search > choose the necessary item completion and add it to the value parameter in the OCN property file.
- defaultValues.domainID[default]: System Admin > Security > Domains > Do a blank search > choose the default domain where the item would be created and add it to the parameter in the OCN property file.
These values vary per SuccessFactors deployment. Udemy Business can’t provide guidance regarding which values to use. If you have questions, direct them to SAP SuccessFactors support.
Configure Provider logo
A Udemy Business thumbnail image can be uploaded in SuccessFactors via in Learning Administration > System Administration > Configuration > System Configuration > Open Content Network > Logos.
Create OCN Admin role
This is configured in Learning Administration > System Administration > Configuration > System Administration > Security > Role Management. The required permissions (or workflows in older versions) are:
- Add History Record (or Add Learning Events in older version)
- Please note: If you opt-in for OData API for BizX User ID sync (see Enabling Course Completion sync section below), Udemy Business needs permission to query users via Search Successfactors OData API service.
Create OCN Admin user
An Admin user is required to make API calls; the user must be associated with the previously created OCN Admin role. The user can be created in Learning Administration > Configuration> System Administration > System Configuration > Security > Administrators.
Create OCN OAuth credentials
This step creates the SuccessFactors OAuth Client ID and Client Secret. It can be issued in SuccessFactors via Learning Administration > System Administration > System Configuration > Configuration > OAuth Token Server.
Please note: Issuing a new secret invalidates all existing ones. If other OCN providers are enabled, you can use the same token or re-issue a new token to all providers.
Open Content Network Synchronization
There is an automatic process (Learning Administration > Automatic Processes > Open Content Network Content Synchronization) in SuccessFactors that can be configured to update the OCN content. This will sync course metadata and clean up inactive courses. Inactive courses can still receive completion records if they remain in the OCN with the Import Status: “Imported”.
You will need to proceed to the configuration steps within Udemy Business below before you can sync Udemy Business content through the OCN.
Udemy Business Configuration
This section outlines how to enable Udemy Business Integration with SuccessFactors.
Prerequisites
1. Enable the OData APIs in your SuccessFactors environment following the instructions in the “OAuth credentials” section above.
2. Obtain the SuccessFactors environment API parameters:
- base URL
- API Client ID
- Client Secret
Instructions to obtain the base URL for SuccessFactors
1. Identify Your SuccessFactors Login URL: Navigate to your SuccessFactors login page.
2. Locate the Base URL: The base URL is the part of the login URL that ends with "successfactors.com".
For example, if your login page is: https://example_page.successfactors.com/login#/companyEntry
The base URL is:
https://example_page.successfactors.com
Activating Catalog Integration in Udemy Business
1. In Udemy Business Navigate to Manage ->Settings -> LMS/LXP Integrations. Select Start set-up then select SuccessFactors
2. Enter the Base URL Endpoint, Client ID, and Client Secret you retrieved from SuccessFactors. For User ID, enter OCNAdmin.
3. Click Save. Udemy Business will display a confirmation if the SuccessFactors APIs were successfully enabled. Allow 24 hours for the initial Udemy Business Course Catalog to sync into SuccessFactors.
4. Once the Udemy Business Catalog is listed in your SuccessFactors environment, you will need to manually import (approve) the courses for your SuccessFactors catalog via the OCN settings in SuccessFactors. Navigate to Learning Administration > Content > Open Content Network section.
This step is critical to complete the full catalog integration and cannot be skipped.
Please note: This process will not recur automatically. New courses in Udemy Business must be periodically imported into SuccessFactors to keep the catalog up-to-date with what is in Udemy Business.
You can determine the manual import frequency based on your business and learning integration needs. Most learning organizations with the SuccessFactors integration repeat this process on a weekly basis.
Once you import the courses, your SuccessFactors designated users can search, discover the Udemy Business catalog, and launch the course experience in your dedicated Udemy environment.
Enabling Course Completion sync
This integration uses the SuccessFactors BizX UserID as the unique identifier to sync learner completion records from Udemy Business to SuccessFactors. Udemy Business stores this value in the lmsUserID field.
The SuccessFactors BizX UserID must be mapped into the Udemy lmsUserID field for the course completions to sync. There are multiple ways to upload the SuccessFactors BizX UserID into Udemy Business:
Option 1: Via the SuccessFactors OData APIs
For this method, Udemy Business will call the Open Data Protocol (OData) API provided by SuccessFactors to allow third-party access to data stored within SuccessFactors. This enables the user email address and BizX User ID from SuccessFactors to be pulled via this API for any user also in the Udemy Business environment directly. If the user’s email address is found, the BizX UserID is stored as lmsUserID in Udemy.
To enable this method, please follow the OData API configuration steps above and let your Udemy Business representative know to enable OData on the backend as well.
Option 2: Via SSO from your Identity Provider (Azure, Okta, OneLogin, etc…)
For this method, you will need to configure your SSO Identity Provider to map the SuccessFactors BizX UserID as a SAML attribute into the Udemy lmsUserID field.
Please note: For this to work you must also be able to reliably and effectively map the SuccessFactors BizX UserID from SuccessFactors into your Identity Provider.
- Udemy Business cannot oversee this process and you may need to work with IT to configure this.
Option 3: Via SuccessFactors acting as the Identity Provider
SuccessFactors has native capabilities to act as an Identity Provider and can pass the BizX UserID via SSO directly.
Due to its complexity, this method requires consultation with your Udemy Business team.
Option 4: Via CSV Upload
If you do not use SSO or the OData API is not an option you can manually download a CSV file from SuccessFactors with the user emails and BizX User IDs. From there, you will have to send this file to Udemy Business support to have them upload the lmsUserID.
Due to the manual nature of this approach, this method requires consultation with your Udemy Business team.
Please note: Udemy Business can reprocess historical or missed completion events.
Managing SuccessFactors Locales
In SuccessFactors, course titles and descriptions only appear in the locale to which they are populated. If your Udemy Business subscription includes multiple languages, you may notice some Udemy Business content appears in search results without a title and description. This means the locale you are searching in SuccessFactors doesn’t match the locale of the Udemy Business content. The title and description are only returned for courses for the user's designated SuccessFactors locale.
For example, if your SuccessFactors locale is set for English, you will be able to see course titles and descriptions for all English courses.
- SAP support articles:
To request title and description locale defaults, please submit a case to the SuccessFactors support team.
Here you can find a full list of Udemy Business international languages. You will need to enable the locales in SuccessFactors to see the title and descriptions for Udemy Business courses offered in these languages
Test the integration
Once you’ve configured your Udemy and SuccessFactors APIs and SSO you will want to test the integration between Udemy Business and the LMS (Learn how to test your integration).
Questions or support
If you encounter any issues or need help with Udemy Business SSO or LMS/LXP Configuration, please contact our support team. For issues related to SuccessFactors, please contact the designated SuccessFactors support team.