Import Front Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations

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 Front data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Front in CData Connect AI, publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and then create reports on Front data in the Power BI service.

Configure Front Connectivity for Power BI Service

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

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

2. Select Front from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Front.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Front Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Front.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Front (see below).

   Front API Profile Settings

   Generate an API key in Front by navigating to Settings > Plugins & API > API.

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

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Front data from the Power BI service.

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

Once you connect to Front in Connect AI, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.

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 Front data from Power BI

6. Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
7. Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.

Build Reports and Dashboards on Front 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:

1. Log in to PowerBI.com.
2. Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
3. Click Create and select Report.
4. Select the published dataset for the report.
5. Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report.

Live Access to Front Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Front data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Front data.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI.