Author: Kira Wagner is a Product Manager at Anaplan. Contributor Kurt Rodegast (@KurtR) is a Sr. Product Manager at Anaplan.
Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) now officially supports bidirectional connectivity for Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage through Pipelines, significantly expanding our enterprise integration ecosystem. This capability enables you to seamlessly import data from files in your cloud storage services into Anaplan, orchestrate data flows, and export planning data processed in Anaplan back to your cloud storage environment. By establishing automated, two-way data interoperability between Anaplan and all three major cloud hyperscalers, this capability makes your Anaplan planning data available for downstream use cases, including analytics, business intelligence, and enterprise-wide data synchronization.
Why this matters?
Bidirectional connectivity between Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) and the major three cloud hyperscalers creates a seamless, connected enterprise data ecosystem. By creating a smooth flow of information between planning processes and enterprise data platforms, you can bring trusted source data from Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, or Google Cloud Storage directly into Anaplan and send transformed and validated planning outputs back to your cloud repositories. This eliminates data silos, improves access to timely insights, and enables downstream analytics and reporting powered by the latest planning models. The result is a more agile, synchronized approach to decision-making across the business.
Prerequisites and setup
To set up bidirectional data exchange between Anaplan and cloud hyperscaler object storage services, on the Anaplan side you need an active workspace and access to Anaplan Data Orchestrator as an Integration Administrator. Additionally, you also need a configured Dataspace. Moreover, each cloud storage service has its own authentication and access requirements which are outlined below.
S3-specific prerequisites
For Amazon S3, you need an S3 bucket and an IAM user with access to the target bucket. To support bidirectional pipelines, ensure the IAM user is granted s3:GetObject to import data from Amazon S3 into Anaplan and s3:PutObject to export planning data from Anaplan back to Amazon S3. To establish the connection, provide the AWS Access Key ID, Secret Access Key and Bucket Name.
Azure Blob Storage-specific prerequisites
For Azure Blob Storage, you need an Azure account with access to the target container. To support bidirectional pipelines, ensure your Azure identity is granted Storage Blob Data Reader to import data into Anaplan and Storage Blob Data Contributor to write validated data back to Azure Blob. You can authenticate your connection via either a Storage Account Key using Azure Blob Storage Account Name and Container Name or via OAuth 2.0, using Client ID, Client Secret, Tenant ID, Refresh Token, Account Name and Container Name.
Google Cloud Storage-specific prerequisites
For Google Cloud Storage, you need a GCS bucket and a dedicated GCP Service Account, with access to this bucket. To support bidirectional pipelines, ensure the Service Account is granted Storage Object Viewer to read data into Anaplan and Storage Object Creator to write data back to the GCS bucket. To establish the connection, provide the GCP Service Account Email, GCP Private Key and Bucket Name.
Bidirectionality via pipelines for cloud hyperscalers
Pipelines provide a standardized, two-way integration engine between Anaplan Data Orchestrator and Amazon, S3, Azure Blob Storage and Google Cloud Storage. Read pipelines enable the direct import of files such a CSVs from your cloud storage buckets and/or containers into Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) datasets. Conversely, Writeback pipelines enable the direct export of transformed and curated data from your ADO datasets back into files within your cloud object storage accounts. The entire data flow is visually mapped within the pipeline designer, providing complete transparency, data lineage, and operational control. Built-in error handling delivers clear, specific error messages to help you quickly identify and resolve any credential, connection, or schema issues, ensuring reliable and efficient data ingestion and export.
Data loading options
The Anaplan pipeline architecture provides flexible loading modes to accommodate varied enterprise integration requirements across all three cloud storage services. For Read pipelines, which is importing to Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) from Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, or Google Cloud Storage, you can choose between Full Replace, Append, and Upsert options to keep your datasets accurate and current. For Writeback pipelines for all three cloud hyperscaler object storage services, Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) provides a Full Replace option to ensure downstream applications always receive a clean, single source of truth.
Configuration and management
The pipeline-driven process allows you to configure both data imports and exports efficiently, avoiding complex custom coding or lengthy implementation cycles. The intuitive interface makes it easy to design, manage, and modify existing pipelines over time across all three cloud hyperscaler object storage services. Whether you need to update connection credentials, adjust field mappings, add or modify data validation rules, or change your data read or write preferences, everything is handled within a unified, user-friendly interface.
Automated data flows
Both Read and Writeback pipelines can be incorporated into scheduled workflows, enabling data movements to run automatically at defined intervals or on demand as part of a larger business process. This helps keep your downstream data warehouses, business intelligence tools, and enterprise systems synchronized with the latest Anaplan data while minimizing manual intervention.
Audit history
Every pipeline across Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) and Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage includes a comprehensive audit trail that records the history of each run. It empowers you to review execution statuses, detailed timestamps, and transferred row counts for every run. This robust record-keeping supports enterprise data governance and simplifies troubleshooting by providing a clear record of data movement between Anaplan and your cloud object storage services.
Documentation and support
To help you get the most from these new capabilities, comprehensive documentation is available on Anapedia. It provides step-by-step guidance for everything from creating your cloud storage connection, through configuring and managing your automated read and writeback pipelines, to defining and managing scheduled workflows, helping you confidently implement and leverage this functionality.
Ready to get started?
Bidirectional connectivity via Pipelines between Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) and Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage is now available. Start using these new capabilities today to simplify data movement between Anaplan and your cloud environments, modernize your data architecture, and unlock more connected, automated integration workflows.
