Import Sage 300 Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations

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 Server, you get access to Sage 300 data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use the CData Connect Server to generate an OData feed for Sage 300, import Sage 300 data into Power BI and then create reports on Sage 300 data in the Power BI service.

NOTE: You can also use the on-premise data gateway and the SQL interface in Connect Server to connect to Sage 300 data in real-time (instead of importing the data). Read how in the related Knowledge Base article.

Create a Virtual SQL Database for Sage 300 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 "Sage 300" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Sage 300.

   Sage 300 requires some initial setup in order to communicate over the Sage 300 Web API.

   • Set up the security groups for the Sage 300 user. Give the Sage 300 user access to the option under Security Groups (per each module required).
   • Edit both web.config files in the /Online/Web and /Online/WebApi folders; change the key AllowWebApiAccessForAdmin to true. Restart the webAPI app-pool for the settings to take.
   • Once the user access is configured, click https://server/Sage300WebApi/ to ensure access to the web API.

   Authenticate to Sage 300 using Basic authentication.

   Connect Using Basic Authentication

   You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to Sage 300. Note that the provider reuses the session opened by Sage 300 using cookies. This means that your credentials are used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from Sage 300 are used for authentication.

   • Url: Set this to the url of the server hosting Sage 300. Construct a URL for the Sage 300 Web API as follows: {protocol}://{host-application-path}/v{version}/{tenant}/ For example, http://localhost/Sage300WebApi/v1.0/-/.
   • User: Set this to the username of your account.
   • Password: Set this to the password of your account.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

Connecting to Connect Server from Power BI

To import and visualize your Sage 300 data in the Power BI service, add a Connect Server API user, add Sage 300 OData endpoints in Connect Server, and create & publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the service.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Sage 300 from Power BI through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User.
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user.
4. Click Database and select the Sage 300 virtual database.
5. On the Privileges tab, add the newly created user (with at least SELECT permissions) and click Save Changes.

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

With the Sage 300 connection configured in Connect Server, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop using SQL Server connectivity and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.

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 (Sage3001)
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
6. Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
7. Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.

Build Reports and Dashboards on Sage 300 Data in the Power BI Service

Now that you have published a dataset to the Power BI service, you can create new reports and dashboards based on the published data:

1. Log in to PowerBI.com.
2. Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
3. Click Create and select Report.
4. Select the published dataset for the report.
5. Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report.

SQL Access to Sage 300 Data from Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Sage 300 data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Sage 300 data.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, see the CData Connect Server.