Model, Search, and Visualize Live Apollo Data in ThoughtSpot

ThoughtSpot is a cloud-based analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to help users analyze data and make decisions. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Apollo data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Apollo and build visualizations from Apollo data in ThoughtSpot.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for Apollo, allowing you to easily build models and visualizations from live Apollo data in ThoughtSpot. As you build visualizations, ThoughtSpot generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Apollo, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Apollo data.

Configure Apollo Connectivity for ThoughtSpot

Connectivity to Apollo from ThoughtSpot is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Apollo data from ThoughtSpot, we start by creating and configuring a Apollo connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Apollo" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Apollo.

   To connect to Apollo, register an OAuth application in Apollo at Settings > Integrations > API > OAuth Registration. Set the Redirect URI to https://oauth.cdata.com/oauth/. Copy the Client Id and Client Secret (the secret is shown only once). Then set the following:

   • OAuth Client Id: Set this to the Client Id from your Apollo OAuth application.
   • OAuth Client Secret: Set this to the Client Secret from your Apollo OAuth application.

   Click Sign In to complete OAuth authentication.

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

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the 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 and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Apollo data from ThoughtSpot.

Model, Search, and Visualize Live Apollo Data in ThoughtSpot

To establish a connection from ThoughtSpot to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

1. Log into ThoughtSpot
2. On the top navigation bar, click Data.
3. Click Create new > Connection.
4. Name the connection and click "SQL Server" as the data warehouse.
5. Click Continue on the top right.
6. Enter the connection settings:
   • Host: enter the Virtual SQL Server endpoint: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: : enter 14333
   • Username: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, API1).
   
7. Click Continue.
8. After connecting successfully, you will be able to choose which tables to include.
9. Click Create Connection.

After you successfully configure your connection, you can build models, search, and visualize your Apollo data.

Real-Time Access to Apollo Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Apollo data from ThoughtSpot. You can model, search, and visualize your data from ThoughtSpot . For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like ThoughtSpot, refer to our Connect AI page.