Create Datasets from Act CRM in Domo Workbench and Build Visualizations of Act CRM Data in Domo

Domo helps you manage, analyze, and share data across your entire organization, enabling decision makers to identify and act on strategic opportunities. Domo Workbench provides a secure, client-side solution for uploading your on-premise data to Domo. The CData ODBC Driver for Act CRM links Domo Workbench to operational Act CRM data. You can build datasets from Act CRM data using standard SQL queries in Workbench and then create real-time visualizations of Act CRM data in the Domo service.

The CData ODBC Drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Act CRM data in Domo due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from Domo to Act CRM, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Act CRM and utilizes the embedded SQL Engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Act CRM data using native Domo data types.

Connect to Act CRM as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

• Connecting to Act! Premium

  In addition to the authentication values, the URL to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

  Additionally, you must specify the ActDatabase you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

• Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

  To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the ActCloudName property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the CacheMetadata property to store the metadata locally.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

After creating a DSN, you will need to create a dataset for Act CRM in Domo Workbench using the Act CRM DSN and build a visualization in the Domo service based on the dataset.

Build a Dataset for Act CRM Data

You can follow the steps below to build a dataset based on a table in Act CRM in Domo Workbench using the CData ODBC Driver for Act CRM.

1. Open Domo Workbench and, if you have not already, add your Domo service server to Workbench. In the Accounts submenu, click Add New, type in the server address (i.e., domain.domo.com) and click through the wizard to authenticate.
2. In the DataSet Jobs submenu, click Add New.
3. Name the dataset job (i.e., ODBC Act CRM Activities), select ODBC Connection Provider as the transport method, and click through the wizard.
4. In the newly created DataSet Job, navigate to Source and click to configure the settings.
5. Select System DSN for the Connection Type.
6. Select the previously configured DSN (CData ActCRM Sys) for the System DSN.
7. Click to validate the configuration.
8. Below the settings, set the Query to a SQL query: SELECT * FROM Activities NOTE: By connecting to Act CRM data using an ODBC driver, you simply need to know SQL in order to get your data, circumventing the need to know Act CRM-specific APIs or protocols.
9. Click preview.
10. Check over the generated schema, add any transformations, then save and run the dataset job.

With the dataset job run, the dataset will be accessible from the Domo service, allowing you to build visualizations, reports, and more based on Act CRM data.

Create Data Visualizations

With the DataSet Job saved and run in Domo Workbench, we are ready to build visualizations of the Act CRM data in the Domo service.

1. Navigate to the Data Center.
2. In the data warehouse, select the ODBC data source and drill down to our new dataset.
3. With the dataset selected, choose to create a visualization.
4. In the new card:
   • Drag a Dimension to the X Value.
   • Drag a Measure to the Y Value.
   • Choose a Visualization.

With the CData ODBC Driver for Act CRM, you can build custom datasets based on Act CRM data using only SQL in Domo Workbench and then build and share visualizations and reports through the Domo service.