Model, Search, and Visualize Live Dynamics 365 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 Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Dynamics 365 data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Dynamics 365 and build visualizations from Dynamics 365 data in ThoughtSpot.

Getting Started

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CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for Dynamics 365, allowing you to easily build models and visualizations from live Dynamics 365 data in ThoughtSpot. As you build visualizations, ThoughtSpot generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Dynamics 365, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Dynamics 365 data.

Configure Dynamics 365 Connectivity for ThoughtSpot

Connectivity to Dynamics 365 from ThoughtSpot is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Dynamics 365 data from ThoughtSpot, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics 365 connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Dynamics 365" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics 365.

   Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.

   For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.

   OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics 365 Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your 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, you are ready to connect to Dynamics 365 data from ThoughtSpot.

Model, Search, and Visualize Live Dynamics 365 Data in ThoughtSpot

To establish a connection from ThoughtSpot to the CData Connect Cloud 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 Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page.
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, Dynamics3651).
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 Dynamics 365 data.

Real-Time Access to Dynamics 365 Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Dynamics 365 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 Cloud page.