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Get the Report →Extract, Transform, and Load Act CRM Data in Informatica PowerCenter
Create a simple Workflow for Act CRM data in Informatica PowerCenter.
Informatica provides a powerful, elegant means of transporting and transforming your data. By utilizing the CData ODBC Driver for Act CRM, you are gaining access to a driver based on industry-proven standards that integrates seamlessly with Informatica's powerful data transportation and manipulation features. This tutorial shows how to create a simple Workflow in Informatica PowerCenter to extract Act CRM data and load it into a flat file.
Add Act CRM as an ODBC Data Source
If you have not already, install the driver on the PowerCenter server and client machines. On both machines, specify the 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:
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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.
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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.
Create an ETL Workflow in PowerCenter
Follow the steps below to create a workflow in PowerCenter to pull Act CRM data and push it into a flat file.
Create a Source Using the ODBC Driver
- In the powrmart.ini file found in %INFA_HOME%\clients\PowerCenterClient\client\bin, add the following line to the ODBCDLL section:
CData=PMODBC.DLL
- In PowerCenter Workflow Manager, add a new ODBC relational connection, set the user name and password properties to the user for the machine on which the ODBC Driver is installed, and set the connect string to the System DSN for the driver (CData ActCRM Sys).
- In PowerCenter Designer, connect to your repository and open your folder.
- Select the Source Analyzer, click the sources menu, and select Import from Database...
- In the drop-down menu for ODBC data source, select the DSN you previously configured (CData ActCRM Sys).
- Click connect and select the tables and views to include.
- Click OK.
Create a Flat File Target Based on the Source
- Select the Targets Analyzer and drag and drop the previously created source onto the workspace. Using the existing source copies the columns into the target.
- Right-click the new target, click edit, and change the database type to flat file.
Create a Mapping to Between Act CRM Data and a Flat File
- Click on the Mapping Designer.
- Drag the source and target to the workspace (name the new mapping, if prompted).
- Right-click on the workspace and select Autolink by Name.
- Drag the columns from the source qualifier to the target definition.
- Save the folder (Ctrl + S).
Create Workflow Based on the Mapping
With the source, target, and mapping created and saved, you are now ready to create the workflow.
- Right-click the mapping and select generate workflow to open the Workflow Generation wizard.
- Create a workflow with a non-reusable session.
- Ensure that you have properly configured the connection object (to the relational connection we created earlier) and set the prefixes.
- Configure the Connection as needed.
- Review the Workflow and click Finish.
With a workflow created, you can open the PowerCenter Workflow Manager to access and start the workflow, quickly transferring Act CRM data into a flat file. With the ODBC Driver for Act CRM, you can configure sources and targets in PowerCenter to integrate Act CRM data into any of the elegant and powerful features in Informatica PowerCenter.