How to integrate Metabase with Dynamics 365 Data
Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Dynamics 365 data. This article describes how to connect to Dynamics 365 and build a simple visualization using Dynamics 365 data.
CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Dynamics 365, allowing you to easily integrate with live Dynamics 365 data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Dynamics 365, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Dynamics 365 data.
About Dynamics 365 Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics 365 data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Read and write data in the full Dynamics 365 ecosystem: Sales, Customer Service, Finance & Operations, Marketing, and more.
- Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
- Authenticate securely with Dynamics 365 in a variety of ways, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage their Dynamics 365 entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dynamics 365 connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources) or analyze live Dynamics 365 data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Configure Dynamics 365 Connectivity for Metabase
Connectivity to Dynamics 365 from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Dynamics 365 data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics 365 connection.
- Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "Dynamics 365" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics 365.
Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.
For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.
OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com
- Click Save & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics 365 Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Dynamics 365 data from Metabase.
Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase
After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.
- Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
- Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
- Database type: Select "SQL Server"
- Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Dynamics 365 (Connect AI)")
- Host: tds.cdata.com
- Port: 14333
- Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. Dynamics3651)
- Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
- Password: The PAT previously created
- Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
Execute Dynamics 365 Data with Metabase
Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Dynamics 365 and build visualizations.
- Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Dynamics 365 data
- Write a SQL query based on the Dynamics 365 connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
SELECT GoalHeadingId, Name FROM GoalHeadings WHERE Name = 'MyAccount'
- Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization
More Information & Free Trial
At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Dynamics 365 data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Dynamics 365 data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Dynamics 365 (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Dynamics 365 data in Metabase today.