Active Directory Drivers & Connectors
for Data Integration

The Active Directory driver acts like a bridge that facilitates communication between various applications and Active Directory, allowing the application to read data as if it were a relational database. The Active Directory driver abstracts the complexities of Active Directory APIs, authentication methods, and data types, making it simple for any application to connect to Active Directory data in real-time via standard SQL queries.

Working with a Active Directory Driver is different than connecting with Active Directory through other means. Active Directory API integrations require technical experience from a software developer or IT resources. Additionally, due to the constant evolution of APIs and services, once you build your integration you have to constantly maintain Active Directory integration code moving forward.

By comparison, our Active Directory Drivers offer codeless access to live Active Directory data for both technical and non-technical users alike. Any user can install our drivers and begin working with live Active Directory data from any client application. Because our drivers conform to standard data interfaces like ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET etc. they offer a consistent, maintenance-free interface to Active Directory data. We manage all of the complexities of Active Directory integration within each driver and deploy updated drivers as systems evolve so your applications continue to run seamlessly.

If you need truly zero-maintenance integration, check out connectivity to Active Directory via CData Connect Cloud. With Connect Cloud you can configure all of your data connectivity in one place and connect to Active Directory from any of the available Cloud Drivers and Client Applications. Connectivity to Active Directory is managed in the cloud, and you never have to worry about installing new drivers when Active Directory is updated.

Many organizations draw attention to their library of connectors. After all, data connectivity is a core capability needed for applications to maximize their business value. However, it is essential to understand exactly what you are getting when evaluating connectivity. Some vendors are happy to offer connectors that implement basic proof-of-concept level connectivity. These connectors may highlight the possibilities of working with Active Directory, but often only provide a fraction of capability. Finding real value from these connectors usually requires additional IT or development resources.

Unlike these POC-quality connectors, every CData Active Directory driver offers full-featured Active Directory data connectivity. The CData Active Directory drivers support extensive Active Directory integration, providing access to all of the Active Directory data and meta-data needed by enterprise integration or analytics projects. Each driver contains a powerful embedded SQL engine that offers applications easy and high-performance access to all Active Directory data. In addition, our drivers offer robust authentication and security capabilities, allowing users to connect securely across a wide range of enterprise configurations. Compare drivers and connectors to read more about some of the benefits of CData's driver connectivity.

With our drivers and connectors, every data source is essentially SQL-based. The CData Active Directory driver contains a full SQL-92 compliant engine that translates standard SQL queries into Active Directory API calls dynamically. Queries are parsed and optimized for each data source, pushing down as much of the request to Active Directory as possible. Any logic that can not be pushed to Active Directory is handled transparently client-side by the driver/connector engine. Ultimately, this means that Active Directory looks and acts exactly like a database to any client application or tool. Users can integrate live Active Directory connectivity with ANY software solution that can talk to a standard database.

Using the CData Active Directory drivers and connectors, Active Directory can be easily integrated with almost any application. Any software or technology that can integrate with a database or connect with standards-based drivers like ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, etc., can use our drivers for live Active Directory data connectivity. Explore some of the more popular Active Directory data integrations online.

Additionally, since Active Directory supported by CData Connect Cloud, we enable all kinds of new Active Directory cloud integrations.

Active Directory Analytics and Active Directory Cloud BI integration is universally supported for BI and data science. In addition, CData provides native client connectors for popular analytics applications like Power BI, Tableau, and Excel that simplify Active Directory data integration. Additionally, native Python connectors are widely available for data science and data engineering projects that integrate seamlessly with popular tools like Pandas, SQLAlchemy, Dash, and Petl.

Active Directory data integration is typically enabled with CData Sync, a robust any-to-any data pipeline solution that is easy to set up, runs everywhere, and offers comprehensive enterprise-class features for data engineering. CData Sync makes it easy to replicate Active Directory data any database or data warehouse, and maintain parity between systems with automated incremental Active Directory replication. In addition, our Active Directory drivers and connectors can be easily embedded into a wide range of data integration tools to augment existing solutions.

Absolutely. The best way to integrate Active Directory with Excel is by using the CData Connect Cloud Excel Add-In. The Active Directory Excel Add-In provides easy Active Directory integration directly from Microsoft Excel Desktop, Mac, or Web (Excel 365). Simply configure your connection to Active Directory from the easy-to-use cloud interface, and access Active Directory just like you would another native Excel data source.