How to integrate Metabase with Dynamics CRM Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Dynamics CRM data. This article describes how to connect to Dynamics CRM and build a simple visualization using Dynamics CRM data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Dynamics CRM, allowing you to easily integrate with live Dynamics CRM 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 CRM, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Dynamics CRM data.

Configure Dynamics CRM Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Dynamics CRM from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Dynamics CRM data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics CRM connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Dynamics CRM" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics CRM.

   The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

   Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics CRM Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. 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, you are ready to connect to Dynamics CRM data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Dynamics CRM (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. DynamicsCRM1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Dynamics CRM Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Dynamics CRM and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Dynamics CRM data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Dynamics CRM connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Contact.FirstName, SUM(Account.NumberOfEmployees) FROM Contact, Account GROUP BY Contact.FirstName

3. 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 CRM data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Dynamics CRM data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Dynamics CRM (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Dynamics CRM data in Metabase today.