This page provides you with instructions on how to extract data from Referral SaaSquatch and load it into Panoply. (If this manual process sounds onerous, check out Stitch, which can do all the heavy lifting for you in just a few clicks.)
What is Referral SaaSquatch?
Referral SaaSquatch hosts a cloud-based customer referral marketing platform for small and medium-sized businesses.
What is Panoply?
Panoply provides a managed data warehouse platform that lets users quickly set up a new Amazon Redshift instance. It uses machine learning algorithms to handle complex tasks like schema building, data mining, modeling, scaling, performance tuning, security, and backup. Panoply can import data with no schema, no modeling, and no configuration, and you can work with the analysis, SQL, and visualization tools you already know on data in Panoply just as you would if you were creating a Redshift data warehouse manually.
Getting data out of Referral SaaSquatch
Referral SaaSquatch supports a REST API that exposes data stored in its system about accounts, users, referrals, rewards, and more. For example, to get a list of referrals for a given tenant, you would call GET /api/v1/[tenant_alias]/referrals. This call accepts any of eight optional arguments that let you filter the results it delivers.
Sample Referral SaaSquatch data
The Referral SaaSquatch API returns JSON-format data. The data returned for a "list referrals" request might look like this:
{
"count": 2,
"totalCount": 4,
"referrals": [
{
"id": "5462600de4b09b1c41108f28",
"referredUser": {
"id": "898746321",
"accountId": "987321",
"email": "hello@example.com",
"firstName": "Henk",
"lastName": "Thompson",
"referralCode": "HENKTHOMPSON",
"imageUrl": "",
"firstSeenIP": "10.230.163.157",
"lastSeenIP": "184.66.242.57",
"dateCreated": 1467222395030,
"emailHash": "180bc1412a038746af9b37fb782724a2",
"referralSource": "http://unifiedtestapp.herokuapp.com/",
"locale": null,
"shareLinks": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mvbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mmbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mRbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"mobileShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"mobileFacebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"mobileTwitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"mobileEmailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"EMBED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mQbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mwbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mcbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mJbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mHbcF5"
},
"POPUP": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m5bcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m9bcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mMbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mobcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m7bcF5"
},
"HOSTED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mtbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mubcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mSbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mlbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mYbcF5"
},
"MOBILE": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m3bcF5"
},
"EMAIL": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mPbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mTbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mGbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mbbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m1bcF5"
}
}
},
"referrerUser": {
"id": "898746321",
"accountId": "987321",
"email": "hello@example.com",
"firstName": "Henk",
"lastName": "Thompson",
"referralCode": "HENKTHOMPSON",
"imageUrl": "",
"firstSeenIP": "10.230.163.157",
"lastSeenIP": "184.66.242.57",
"dateCreated": 1467222395030,
"emailHash": "180bc1412a038746af9b37fb782724a2",
"referralSource": "http://unifiedtestapp.herokuapp.com/",
"locale": null,
"shareLinks": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mvbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mmbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mRbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"mobileShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"mobileFacebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"mobileTwitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"mobileEmailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"EMBED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mQbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mwbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mcbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mJbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mHbcF5"
},
"POPUP": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m5bcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m9bcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mMbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mobcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m7bcF5"
},
"HOSTED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mtbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mubcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mSbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mlbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mYbcF5"
},
"MOBILE": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m3bcF5"
},
"EMAIL": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mPbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mTbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mGbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mbbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m1bcF5"
}
}
},
"referredReward": {
"id": "5462600de4b09b1c41108f2e",
"type": "PCT_DISCOUNT",
"dateGiven": 1415733261275,
"dateExpires": null,
"dateCancelled": null,
"accountId": "613611",
"userId": "876343",
"cancellable": true,
"rewardSource": "REFERRED",
"discountPercent": 20,
"unit": "%"
},
"referrerReward": null,
"moderationStatus": "ACTIONED",
"dateReferralStarted": 1415733261238,
"dateReferralPaid": null,
"dateReferralEnded": null,
"dateModerated": 1427410131006,
"referredModerationStatus": "APPROVED",
"referrerModerationStatus": "APPROVED"
},
{
"id": "546270a6e4b0c1871186a920",
"referredUser": {
"id": "898746321",
"accountId": "987321",
"email": "hello@example.com",
"firstName": "Henk",
"lastName": "Thompson",
"referralCode": "HENKTHOMPSON",
"imageUrl": "",
"firstSeenIP": "10.230.163.157",
"lastSeenIP": "184.66.242.57",
"dateCreated": 1467222395030,
"emailHash": "180bc1412a038746af9b37fb782724a2",
"referralSource": "http://unifiedtestapp.herokuapp.com/",
"locale": null,
"shareLinks": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mvbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mmbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mRbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"mobileShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"mobileFacebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"mobileTwitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"mobileEmailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"EMBED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mQbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mwbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mcbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mJbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mHbcF5"
},
"POPUP": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m5bcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m9bcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mMbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mobcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m7bcF5"
},
"HOSTED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mtbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mubcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mSbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mlbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mYbcF5"
},
"MOBILE": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m3bcF5"
},
"EMAIL": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mPbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mTbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mGbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mbbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m1bcF5"
}
}
},
"referrerUser": {
"id": "898746321",
"accountId": "987321",
"email": "hello@example.com",
"firstName": "Henk",
"lastName": "Thompson",
"referralCode": "HENKTHOMPSON",
"imageUrl": "",
"firstSeenIP": "10.230.163.157",
"lastSeenIP": "184.66.242.57",
"dateCreated": 1467222395030,
"emailHash": "180bc1412a038746af9b37fb782724a2",
"referralSource": "http://unifiedtestapp.herokuapp.com/",
"locale": null,
"shareLinks": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mvbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mmbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mRbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mLbcF5",
"mobileShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"mobileFacebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"mobileTwitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"mobileEmailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"EMBED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mQbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mwbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mcbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mJbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mHbcF5"
},
"POPUP": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m5bcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m9bcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mMbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mobcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m7bcF5"
},
"HOSTED": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mtbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mubcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mSbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mlbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mYbcF5"
},
"MOBILE": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mebcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mnbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mCbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mEbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m3bcF5"
},
"EMAIL": {
"shareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mPbcF5",
"facebookShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mTbcF5",
"twitterShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mGbcF5",
"emailShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/mbbcF5",
"linkedinShareLink": "http://ssqt.co/m1bcF5"
}
}
},
"referredReward": {
"id": "5462600de4b09b1c41108f2e",
"type": "PCT_DISCOUNT",
"dateGiven": 1415733261275,
"dateExpires": null,
"dateCancelled": null,
"accountId": "613611",
"userId": "876343",
"cancellable": true,
"rewardSource": "REFERRED",
"discountPercent": 20,
"unit": "%"
},
"referrerReward": {
"id": "5462600de4b09b1c41108f2e",
"type": "PCT_DISCOUNT",
"dateGiven": 1415733261275,
"dateExpires": null,
"dateCancelled": null,
"accountId": "613611",
"userId": "876343",
"cancellable": true,
"rewardSource": "REFERRED",
"discountPercent": 20,
"unit": "%"
},
"moderationStatus": "ACTIONED",
"dateReferralStarted": 1415737510411,
"dateReferralPaid": 1415737557217,
"dateReferralEnded": null,
"dateModerated": 1427410131029,
"referredModerationStatus": "APPROVED",
"referrerModerationStatus": "APPROVED",
"fraudSignals": {
"ip": {
"message": "Referrer and referred came from the same IP",
"score": 50
}
}
}
]
}Preparing Referral SaaSquatch data
If you don't already have a data structure in which to store the data you retrieve, you'll have to create a schema for your data tables. Then, for each value in the response, you'll need to identify a predefined datatype (INTEGER, DATETIME, etc.) and build a table that can receive them. The source API documentation should tell you what fields are provided by each endpoint, along with their corresponding datatypes.
Complicating things is the fact that the records retrieved from the source may not always be "flat" – some of the objects may actually be lists. This means you'll likely have to create additional tables to capture the unpredictable cardinality in each record.
Loading data into Panoply
Once you know all of the columns you want to insert, use the CREATE TABLE statement in Panoply's Redshift data warehouse to set up a table to receive all the data.
Next, migrate your data. It may seem like the easiest course would be to build INSERT statements to add data to your Redshift table row by row. That would be a mistake; Redshift isn't optimized for inserting data one row at a time. If you have a high volume of data to be inserted, a better approach is to copy the data into Amazon S3 and then use the COPY command to load it into Redshift.
Keeping Referral SaaSquatch data up to date
At this point you've coded up a script or written a program to get the data you want and successfully moved it into your data warehouse. But how will you load new or updated data? It's not a good idea to replicate all of your data each time you have updated records. That process would be painfully slow and resource-intensive.
Instead, identify key fields that your script can use to bookmark its progression through the data and use to pick up where it left off as it looks for updated data. Auto-incrementing fields such as updated_at or created_at work best for this. When you've built in this functionality, you can set up your script as a cron job or continuous loop to get new data as it appears in Referral SaaSquatch.
And remember, as with any code, once you write it, you have to maintain it. If Referral SaaSquatch modifies its API, or the API sends a field with a datatype your code doesn't recognize, you may have to modify the script. If your users want slightly different information, you definitely will have to.
Other data warehouse options
Panoply is great, but sometimes you need to optimize for different things when you're choosing a data warehouse. Some folks choose to go with Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, or Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, which are RDBMSes that use similar SQL syntax. Others choose a data lake, like Amazon S3 or Delta Lake on Databricks. If you're interested in seeing the relevant steps for loading data into one of these platforms, check out To Redshift, To BigQuery, To Postgres, To Snowflake, To Azure SQL Data Warehouse, To S3, and To Delta Lake.
Easier and faster alternatives
If all this sounds a bit overwhelming, don’t be alarmed. If you have all the skills necessary to go through this process, chances are building and maintaining a script like this isn’t a very high-leverage use of your time.
Thankfully, products like Stitch were built to move data from Referral SaaSquatch to Panoply automatically. With just a few clicks, Stitch starts extracting your Referral SaaSquatch data, structuring it in a way that's optimized for analysis, and inserting that data into your Panoply data warehouse.