Visualize Live MongoDB Data in Power BI (via CData Connect Cloud)

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 Cloud, you get access to MongoDB data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to MongoDB, connect to MongoDB data from Power BI and then create reports on MongoDB data in Power BI.

Configure MongoDB Connectivity for Power BI

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

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

   Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.

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

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to MongoDB data from Power BI.

Query MongoDB Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull MongoDB data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect Cloud and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect Cloud account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your MongoDB data from Power BI

Create MongoDB 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.

Live Access to MongoDB Data from Data Applications

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

To get SQL data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including MongoDB) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect page and start a free trial.