How to integrate Metabase with Marketo Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Marketo data. This article describes how to connect to Marketo and build a simple visualization using Marketo data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Marketo, allowing you to easily integrate with live Marketo data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Marketo, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Marketo data.

Configure Marketo Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

   Both the REST and SOAP APIs are supported and can be chosen by using the Schema property.

   For the REST API: The OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and RESTEndpoint properties, under the OAuth and REST Connection sections, must be set to valid Marketo user credentials.

   For the SOAP API: The UserId, EncryptionKey, and SOAPEndpoint properties, under the SOAP Connection section, must be set to valid Marketo user credentials.

   See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to obtaining these values.

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

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Marketo data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Marketo (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. Marketo1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Marketo Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Marketo and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Marketo data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Marketo connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Email, AnnualRevenue FROM Leads

3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Marketo data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Marketo data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Marketo (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Marketo data in Metabase today.