Build Automated Workflows with Live Freshdesk Data in Workato

Workato is a cloud-based automation platform that helps businesses integrate applications and automate workflows. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Freshdesk data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Freshdesk and build workflows with live Freshdesk data in Workato.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for Freshdesk, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live Freshdesk data in Workato. As you build automations, Workato generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Freshdesk, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Freshdesk data.

Configure Freshdesk Connectivity for Workato

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

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

   FreshDesk makes use of basic authentication. To connect to data, set the following connection properties:

   • Domain: Set this to the domain associated with your FreshDesk account. For example, in your URL: https://my_domain.freshdesk.com.
   • APIKey: Set this to the API key associated with your FreshDesk account. To retrieve your API key, Log into your support Portal -> Click on profile picture in the top right corner -> profile settings page. The API key will be available below the change password section to the right.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk data from Workato.

Automate Freshdesk Data Workflows in Workato

To establish a connection from Workato to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

1. Log into Workato.
2. In the navigation bar, click Projects.
3. In your new (or existing) project, click Create > Connection.
4. In the search bar, enter "SQL Server" and open the Connect to SQL Server screen.
5. In Connect to SQL Server, enter the connection name and the following connecting settings:
   • Location: enter the name of the project.
   • Connection type: select Cloud.
   • Host: enter tds.cdata.com
   • Port: enter 14333
   • Username: enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you previously generated page.
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, FreshDesk1).
6. Click Connect to see the Connection established message.
7. Next, set up your recipe. In your project, click Create > Recipe.
8. In Set up your recipe, enter the name and location of your recipe.
9. Select Run on a schedule.
10. Select the action to occur on the schedule.
11. Select a table from your Connect Cloud connection and any applicable filters.
12. Click Save to save the recipe.
13. Click Test Jobs to test you recipe.

Real-Time Access to Freshdesk Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Freshdesk data from Workato for workflows and automations. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Workato, refer to our Connect Cloud page.