Discover how a bimodal integration strategy can address the major data management challenges facing your organization today.
Get the Report →Import Dynamics NAV Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations
Use CData Connect Server to create an OData feed for Dynamics NAV and create custom reports in the Power BI Service.
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 Server, you get access to Dynamics NAV data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use the CData Connect Server to generate an OData feed for Dynamics NAV, import Dynamics NAV data into Power BI and then create reports on Dynamics NAV data in the Power BI service.
NOTE: You can also use the on-premise data gateway and the SQL interface in Connect Server to connect to Dynamics NAV data in real-time (instead of importing the data). Read how in the related Knowledge Base article.
Create a Virtual SQL Database for Dynamics NAV Data
CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.
- Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
- Select "Dynamics NAV" from Available Data Sources.
-
Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics NAV.
Before you can connect, OData Services will need to be enabled on the server. Once OData Services are enabled, you will be able to query any Services that are published on the server.
The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Dynamics NAV user credentials. In addition, you will need to specify a URL to a valid Dynamics NAV server organization root and a ServerInstance. If there is not a Service Default Company for the server, you will need to set the Company as well.
- Click Save Changes
- Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.
Connecting to Connect Server from Power BI
To import and visualize your Dynamics NAV data in the Power BI service, add a Connect Server API user, add Dynamics NAV OData endpoints in Connect Server, and create & publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the service.
Add a Connect Server User
Create a User to connect to Dynamics NAV from Power BI through Connect Server.
- Click Users -> Add
- Configure a User.
- Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user.
- Click Database and select the Dynamics NAV virtual database.
- On the Privileges tab, add the newly created user (with at least SELECT permissions) and click Save Changes.
Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop
With the Dynamics NAV connection configured in Connect Server, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop using SQL Server connectivity and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.
- Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Other -> SQL Server and click "Connect"
- Set Server to the address and port of your CData Connect instance (localhost:8033 by default) and set Database to the name of the virtual database you just created (DynamicsNAV1)
- Use "Database" authentication, enter the credentials for a CData Connect user and click "Connect"
- Select tables in the Navigator dialog
- Click Load to import the data into Power BI
- Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
- Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.
Build Reports and Dashboards on Dynamics NAV Data in the Power BI Service
Now that you have published a dataset to the Power BI service, you can create new reports and dashboards based on the published data:
- Log in to PowerBI.com.
- Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
- Click Create and select Report.
- Select the published dataset for the report.
- Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report.
SQL Access to Dynamics NAV Data from Applications
Now you have a direct connection to live Dynamics NAV data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Dynamics NAV data.
To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, see the CData Connect Server.