Visualize Live Dynamics 365 Business Central Data in Tableau

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can easily get access to live Dynamics 365 Business Central data within Tableau. This article shows how to connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central in Tableau and build a simple chart.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live Dynamics 365 Business Central data in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with Dynamics 365 Business Central and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Dynamics 365 Business Central data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to Dynamics 365 Business Central data.

NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors require Tableau 2020.3 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau, you will need to use the CData Tableau Connector for Dynamics 365 Business Central. If you wish to connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect Cloud.

Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central in Tableau

Open Tableau and click More under Connect -> To a Server. Select "Dynamics 365 Business Central by CData," then configure the connection and click "Sign In."

To authenticate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must provide the User and AccessKey properties.

To obtain the User and AccessKey values, navigate to the Users page in Dynamics 365 Business Central and then click on Edit. The User Name and Web Service Access Key values are what you will enter as the User and AccessKey connection string properties. Note that the User Name is not your email address. It is a shortened user name.

To connect to data, specify OrganizationUrl. If you have multiple companies in your organization, you must also specify the Company to indicate which company you would like to connect to. Company does not need to be specified if you have only one company.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select D365BusinessCentral from the Schema pull-down menu.
3. Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables.
4. Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update automatically reflects the changes in the preview area.
5. Click the tab for your worksheet. Columns are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData Tableau Connector discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
6. Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
7. Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.

Using the CData Tableau Connector for Dynamics 365 Business Central with Tableau, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Dynamics 365 Business Central data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.