Visualize Live Azure Data Catalog Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to Azure Data Catalog data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to Azure Data Catalog, connect to Azure Data Catalog data from Power BI and then create reports on Azure Data Catalog data in Power BI.

Configure Azure Data Catalog Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to Azure Data Catalog from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Azure Data Catalog data from Power BI, we start by creating and configuring a Azure Data Catalog connection.

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

2. Select "Azure Data Catalog" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Azure Data Catalog.

   You can optionally set the following to read the different catalog data returned from Azure Data Catalog.

   CatalogName: Set this to the CatalogName associated with your Azure Data Catalog. To get your Catalog name, navigate to your Azure Portal home page > Data Catalog > Catalog Name

   Connect Using OAuth Authentication

   You must use OAuth to authenticate with Azure Data Catalog. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with Azure Data Catalog using the browser. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the help documentation.

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

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Azure Data Catalog data from Power BI.

Query Azure Data Catalog Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull Azure Data Catalog data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Azure Data Catalog data from Power BI

Create Azure Data Catalog Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to Azure Data Catalog Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to Azure Data Catalog data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Azure Data Catalog data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Azure Data Catalog) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.