Create Reports from Cosmos DB Data in Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) allows you to create branded reports with data visualizations to share with your clients. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Cosmos DB data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Cosmos DB and build reports from Cosmos DB data in Looker Studio.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Cosmos DB, allowing you to easily build reports from live Cosmos DB data in Looker Studio — without replicating the data. As you build visualizations, Looker Studio generates queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported query operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Cosmos DB, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Cosmos DB data.

Connect to Cosmos DB in Connect Cloud

CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

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

   To obtain the connection string needed to connect to a Cosmos DB account using the SQL API, log in to the Azure Portal, select Azure Cosmos DB, and select your account. In the Settings section, click Connection String and set the following values:

   • AccountEndpoint: The Cosmos DB account URL from the Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account
   • AccountKey: In the Azure portal, navigate to the Cosmos DB service and select your Azure Cosmos DB account. From the resource menu, go to the Keys page. Find the PRIMARY KEY value and set AccountKey to this value.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Cosmos DB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Cosmos DB data from Looker Studio.

Visualize Live Cosmos DB Data in Looker Studio

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Looker Studio to create a new Cosmos DB data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Looker Studio, click data sources, create a new data source, and choose CData Connect Cloud Connector.
2. Click Authorize and allow access to your Google account.
3. Click Authorize to authenticate with your CData Connect Cloud instance
4. In the CData Connect Cloud Connector in Looker Studio select a Connection (e.g. CosmosDB1) and click Next
5. Select a Table (e.g. Customers) or use a Custom Query and click Connect to continue
6. If needed, modify columns, click Create Report, and add the data source to the report.
7. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
8. Select Dimensions and Measures to customize your visualization.

Live Access to Cosmos DB Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Cosmos DB data from your Looker Studio workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Cosmos DB data.

Try CData Connect Cloud and get real-time data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications.