Extract, Transform, and Load Microsoft Dataverse Data in Informatica PowerCenter



Create a simple Workflow for Microsoft Dataverse data in Informatica PowerCenter.

Informatica provides a powerful, elegant means of transporting and transforming your data. By utilizing the CData ODBC Driver for Microsoft Dataverse, you are gaining access to a driver based on industry-proven standards that integrates seamlessly with Informatica's powerful data transportation and manipulation features. This tutorial shows how to create a simple Workflow in Informatica PowerCenter to extract Microsoft Dataverse data and load it into a flat file.

About Microsoft Dataverse Data Integration

CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Microsoft Dataverse (formerly the Common Data Service). Customers use CData connectivity to:

  • Access both Dataverse Entities and Dataverse system tables to work with exactly the data they need.
  • Authenticate securely with Microsoft Dataverse in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to manage Microsoft Dataverse entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.

CData customers use our Dataverse connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dataverse data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).


Getting Started


Add Microsoft Dataverse as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, install the driver on the PowerCenter server and client machines. On both machines, specify the connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. Below are the minimum connection properties required to connect.

  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OrganizationUrl: Set this to the organization URL you are connecting to, such as https://myorganization.crm.dynamics.com.
  • Tenant (optional): Set this if you wish to authenticate to a different tenant than your default. This is required to work with an organization not on your default Tenant.

When you connect the Common Data Service OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions. The OAuth process completes automatically.

Create an ETL Workflow in PowerCenter

Follow the steps below to create a workflow in PowerCenter to pull Microsoft Dataverse data and push it into a flat file.

Create a Source Using the ODBC Driver

  1. In the powrmart.ini file found in %INFA_HOME%\clients\PowerCenterClient\client\bin, add the following line to the ODBCDLL section:
    CData=PMODBC.DLL
  2. In PowerCenter Workflow Manager, add a new ODBC relational connection, set the user name and password properties to the user for the machine on which the ODBC Driver is installed, and set the connect string to the System DSN for the driver (CData CDS Sys).
  3. In PowerCenter Designer, connect to your repository and open your folder.
  4. Select the Source Analyzer, click the sources menu, and select Import from Database...
  5. In the drop-down menu for ODBC data source, select the DSN you previously configured (CData CDS Sys).
  6. Click connect and select the tables and views to include.
  7. Click OK.

Create a Flat File Target Based on the Source

  1. Select the Targets Analyzer and drag and drop the previously created source onto the workspace. Using the existing source copies the columns into the target.
  2. Right-click the new target, click edit, and change the database type to flat file.

Create a Mapping to Between Microsoft Dataverse Data and a Flat File

  1. Click on the Mapping Designer.
  2. Drag the source and target to the workspace (name the new mapping, if prompted).
  3. Right-click on the workspace and select Autolink by Name.
  4. Drag the columns from the source qualifier to the target definition.
  5. Save the folder (Ctrl + S).

Create Workflow Based on the Mapping

With the source, target, and mapping created and saved, you are now ready to create the workflow.

  1. Right-click the mapping and select generate workflow to open the Workflow Generation wizard.
  2. Create a workflow with a non-reusable session.
  3. Ensure that you have properly configured the connection object (to the relational connection we created earlier) and set the prefixes.
  4. Configure the Connection as needed.
  5. Review the Workflow and click Finish.

With a workflow created, you can open the PowerCenter Workflow Manager to access and start the workflow, quickly transferring Microsoft Dataverse data into a flat file. With the ODBC Driver for Microsoft Dataverse, you can configure sources and targets in PowerCenter to integrate Microsoft Dataverse data into any of the elegant and powerful features in Informatica PowerCenter.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

Microsoft Dataverse Icon Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver

The Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with Microsoft Dataverse, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Microsoft Dataverse like you would a database - access entities through a standard ODBC Driver interface.