Build Visualizations of Live SharePoint Excel Services Data in Power BI (through CData Connect)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect (on-premise or in the cloud), you get access to SharePoint Excel Services data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a virtual database for SharePoint Excel Services, connect to SharePoint Excel Services data into Power BI and then create reports on SharePoint Excel Services data in Power BI.

Create a Virtual SQL Database for SharePoint Excel Services Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "SharePoint Excel Services" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SharePoint Excel Services.

   The URL, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid credentials for SharePoint Online, SharePoint 2010, or SharePoint 2013. Additionally, the Library property must be set to a valid SharePoint Document Library and the File property must be set to a valid .xlsx file in the indicated Library.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to and visualize SharePoint Excel Services from Power BI.

Query SharePoint Excel Services Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull SharePoint Excel Services data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Other -> SQL Server and click "Connect"
2. Set Server to the address and port of your CData Connect instance (localhost:8033 by default) and set Database to the name of the virtual database you just created (ExcelServices1)
3. Use "Database" authentication, enter the credentials for a CData Connect user and click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to import the data into Power BI

Create SharePoint Excel Services Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

SQL Access to SharePoint Excel Services Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect you have a direct connection to SharePoint Excel Services data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating SharePoint Excel Services data.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including SharePoint Excel Services) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect page and download a free trial.