CData Connect AI offers seamless, real-time connectivity from your enterprise data sources to the places you work in analytics, AI, automations, reporting, and more. For users, that means potentially thousands saved in data integration costs and complexity, and hours of manual data efforts automated every week.
However, it also means needing to connect your actual company data from places you use daily like Salesforce, Sage Intacct, SharePoint, and more. Many users are hesitant to do so, but for a variety of reasons Connect AI is both safe and won’t compromise the security of your customer’s data. Of course, check with your specific IT department’s policies first.
Most of the time, if you already have access to certain data in your company’s systems, you can connect it through Connect AI without any issues. Here’s what makes Connect AI safe, plus an email template you can send for quick approval from your IT team.
Connect Cloud uses the same permissions you already have
When you log into a data source—like Salesforce, Google BigQuery, or a company database — you’re already given certain permissions by your IT team. Connect AI uses those exact same permissions when you connect with your credentials.
If you can view or edit something today, Connect AI will let your connected tools do the same. If you can’t, it won’t. You’re not asking for new access—you’re just using the access you already have in more places.
Your data stays where it is
Connect Cloud doesn’t make or keep copies of your data, and CData never has access to your company or customer data. It connects tools directly to your live systems so they can work with the data in real time.
Think of it like sharing a link to a document to collaborate in. You’re not actually downloading and sending over a copy of the file, but simply connecting another user to the same source you’re work in. By connecting directly, you even reduce exported copies of data floating around on your own machine and cloud storage. Your company’s data never leaves the original system unless it’s part of a query you run yourself.
Built with enterprise-grade security
Security is a top priority at CData—it’s built in from the start. Connect AI meets rigorous standards like SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliance, and it’s regularly audited by independent security firms.
Every connection is encrypted in flight using TLS1.2+, keeping your data protected at every step. Your data stays where it belongs because Connect AI doesn’t store your data, so you aren't adding any exposure for sensitive information or PII.
So far more than 8,000 customers have trusted CData technology, many of whom embed CData technology and connectors for their own customers to use in their own systems. Millions of users use CData connectors each day, so ensuring our customers don’t introduce any new points of vulnerability is very important to us.
Want to be sure? Here’s an email you can send to your IT
If you want to double-check before you start your Connect AI trial, here’s a quick template you can copy, paste, and send to your IT help desk or security team. Adding IT to your Connect AI environment is easy – once you start a trial, just head to Users to send an invite to their email.
Subject: Request for IT Approval to Use CData Connect AI
Hello,
I’ve been exploring software solutions to connect data to AI, analytics, BI, and automations without adding technical overhead or complexity. I’d like to explore using CData Connect AI to connect some of the enterprise data I already have access to in platforms that I frequently work in.
Connect Cloud is trusted by thousands of users to create and manage direct data connections from source to integrated tools and complies with most internal and government data handling policies, even for sensitive data. It’s safe to use for a variety of reasons:
No infrastructure changes needed: Connect Cloud is fully cloud-hosted and accessed through the web, which means there is no install and no additional infrastructure costs needed.
Pass-through data permissions: Connect Cloud passes through permissions already assigned to my user credentials, honoring any privileges I already have in source systems — no new permissions or user management.
No data storage: Queries run live through Connect AI to source systems; no data is stored by CData.
Data governance and security: Connect AI adds a governance platform layer to control role-based access controls and views on data.
Auditing seat for IT: Connect AI offers full auditing capabilities to see complete logs and what data is being accessed where. I can add an IT admin user when I start my trial to monitor data access and ensure adherence to company policies.
Enterprise-grade encryption: All connections are encrypted to the highest standards in flight (TLS1.2+).
Independently audited and certified: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant with regular security audits.
If you’d like to learn more, check out the product documentation, security page where you can download the full security kit, and platform overview here.
Can you confirm if it’s okay for me to use Connect AI with my current access to our data systems?
Send email ask to your IT
Automate hours of manual data import and export with Connect AI
If you can already see or work with certain data in your company systems, chances are you can connect it through Connect AI without a problem—but a quick note to IT can remove any doubt. Most IT teams have no problem approving the tool, especially with the facts laid out in our sample email template above.
Connect Cloud can save you hours and potentially thousands of dollars by giving you the tools and platform to build data connections, select the data you work with frequently, and access it right in the connected tools you use every day. Interested in estimating how much Connect AI can save you? Check out our interactive ROI calculator here.
Start your 14-day free trial to try connecting and invite IT to your company group if needed and see how much more you can do with the access you already have.
Explore CData Connect AI today
Take a test drive to discover how Connect AI excels at streamlining business processes for real-time insights.
