How to Connect to Live IBM Cloud Object Storage Data from OpenAI Python Applications (via CData Connect AI)

Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism

Leverage the CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server to enable OpenAI-powered Python applications to securely read and take actions on your IBM Cloud Object Storage data through natural language.

OpenAI's Python SDK provides powerful capabilities for building AI applications that can interact with various data sources. When combined with CData Connect AI Remote MCP, you can build intelligent chat applications that interact with your IBM Cloud Object Storage data in real-time through natural language queries. This article outlines the process of connecting to IBM Cloud Object Storage using Connect AI Remote MCP and configuring an OpenAI-powered Python application to interact with your IBM Cloud Object Storage data through conversational AI.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for connecting to IBM Cloud Object Storage data. The CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server enables secure communication between OpenAI applications and IBM Cloud Object Storage. This allows your AI assistants to read from and take actions on your live IBM Cloud Object Storage data. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to IBM Cloud Object Storage. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested IBM Cloud Object Storage data.

In this article, we show how to configure an OpenAI-powered Python application to conversationally explore (or Vibe Query) your data using natural language. With Connect AI you can build AI assistants with access to live IBM Cloud Object Storage data, plus hundreds of other sources.

Step 1: Configure IBM Cloud Object Storage Connectivity for OpenAI Applications

Connectivity to IBM Cloud Object Storage from OpenAI applications is made possible through CData Connect AI Remote MCP. To interact with IBM Cloud Object Storage data from your OpenAI assistant, we start by creating and configuring a IBM Cloud Object Storage connection in CData Connect AI.

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

Select "IBM Cloud Object Storage" from the Add Connection panel

Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage.
Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:
1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.
Connecting using OAuth Authentication

There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

API Key

To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:
1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.
Cloud Object Storage CRN

If you have multiple accounts, specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:
- Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
- Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.
Connecting to Data

You can now set the following to connect to data:
- InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
- CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.
When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.
1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
Click Save & Test
Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add IBM Cloud Object Storage Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI from your OpenAI application. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
Give the PAT a name and click Create.
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 and a PAT generated, we are ready to connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage data from your OpenAI application.

Step 2: Configure Your OpenAI Python Application for CData Connect AI

Follow these steps to configure your OpenAI Python application to connect to CData Connect AI. You can use our pre-built client as a starting point, available at https://github.com/CDataSoftware/openai-mcp-client, or follow the instructions below to create your own.

Ensure you have Python 3.8+ installed and install the required dependencies:
```
pip install openai python-dotenv httpx
```

Clone or download the OpenAI MCP client from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/CDataSoftware/openai-mcp-client.git
cd openai-mcp-client

Set up your environment variables. Create a .env file in your project root with the following variables:
```
OPENAI_API_KEY=YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY
MCP_SERVER_URL=https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp
MCP_USERNAME=YOUR_EMAIL
MCP_PASSWORD=YOUR_PAT
OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4
    
```
Replace YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY with your OpenAI API key, YOUR_EMAIL with your Connect AI email address, and YOUR_PAT with the Personal Access Token created in Step 1.

If creating your own application, here's the core implementation for connecting to CData Connect AI MCP Server:

import os
import asyncio
import base64
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from mcp_client import MCPServerStreamableHttp, MCPAgent

# Load environment variables
load_dotenv()

async def main():
    """Main chat loop for interacting with IBM Cloud Object Storage data."""
    # Get configuration
    api_key = os.getenv('OPENAI_API_KEY')
    mcp_url = os.getenv('MCP_SERVER_URL', 'https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp')
    username = os.getenv('MCP_USERNAME', '')
    password = os.getenv('MCP_PASSWORD', '')
    model = os.getenv('OPENAI_MODEL', 'gpt-4')

    # Create auth header for MCP server
    headers = {}
    if username and password:
        auth = base64.b64encode(f"{username}:{password}".encode()).decode()
        headers = {"Authorization": f"Basic {auth}"}

    # Connect to CData MCP Server
    async with MCPServerStreamableHttp(
        name="CData MCP Server",
        params={
            "url": mcp_url,
            "headers": headers,
            "timeout": 30,
            "verify_ssl": True
        }
    ) as mcp_server:

        # Create AI agent with access to IBM Cloud Object Storage data
        agent = MCPAgent(
            name="data_assistant",
            model=model,
            mcp_servers=[mcp_server],
            instructions="""You are a data query assistant with access to IBM Cloud Object Storage data through CData Connect AI.

            You can help users explore and query their IBM Cloud Object Storage data in real-time.
            Use the available MCP tools to:
            - List available databases and schemas
            - Explore table structures
            - Execute SQL queries
            - Provide insights about the data

            Always explain what you're doing and format results clearly.""",
            api_key=api_key
        )

        await agent.initialize()
        print(f"Connected! {len(agent._tools_cache)} tools available.")
        print("
Chat with your IBM Cloud Object Storage data (type 'exit' to quit):
")

        # Interactive chat loop
        conversation = []
        while True:
            user_input = input("You: ")
            if user_input.lower() in ['exit', 'quit']:
                break

            conversation.append({"role": "user", "content": user_input})

            print("Assistant: ", end="", flush=True)
            response = await agent.run(conversation)
            print(response["content"])

            conversation.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response["content"]})

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Run your OpenAI application:
```
python client.py
```
Start interacting with your IBM Cloud Object Storage data through natural language queries. Your OpenAI assistant now has access to your IBM Cloud Object Storage data through the CData Connect AI MCP Server.

Step 3: Build Intelligent Applications with Live IBM Cloud Object Storage Data Access

With your OpenAI Python application configured and connected to CData Connect AI, you can now build sophisticated AI assistants that interact with your IBM Cloud Object Storage data using natural language. The MCP integration provides your applications with powerful data access capabilities through OpenAI's advanced language models.

Available MCP Tools for Your Assistant

Your OpenAI assistant has access to the following CData Connect AI MCP tools:

queryData: Execute SQL queries against connected data sources and retrieve results
getCatalogs: Retrieve a list of available connections from CData Connect AI
getSchemas: Retrieve database schemas for a specific catalog
getTables: Retrieve database tables for a specific catalog and schema
getColumns: Retrieve column metadata for a specific table
getProcedures: Retrieve stored procedures for a specific catalog and schema
getProcedureParameters: Retrieve parameter metadata for stored procedures
executeProcedure: Execute stored procedures with parameters

Example Use Cases

Here are some examples of what your OpenAI-powered applications can do with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data access:

Conversational Analytics: Build chat interfaces that answer complex business questions using natural language
Automated Reporting: Generate dynamic reports and summaries based on real-time data queries
Data Discovery Assistant: Help users explore and understand their data structure without SQL knowledge
Intelligent Data Monitor: Create AI assistants that proactively identify trends and anomalies
Custom Query Builder: Enable users to create complex queries through conversational interactions

Interacting with Your Assistant

Once running, you can interact with your OpenAI assistant through natural language. Example queries include:

"Show me all available databases"
"What tables are in the sales database?"
"List the top 10 customers by revenue"
"Find all orders from the last month"
"Analyze the trend in sales over the past quarter"
"What's the structure of the customer table?"

Your OpenAI assistant will automatically translate these natural language queries into appropriate SQL queries and execute them against your IBM Cloud Object Storage data through the CData Connect AI MCP Server, providing intelligent insights without requiring users to write complex SQL or understand the underlying data structure.

Advanced Features

The OpenAI MCP integration supports advanced capabilities:

Context Awareness: The assistant maintains conversation context for follow-up questions
Multi-turn Conversations: Build complex queries through iterative dialogue
Intelligent Error Handling: Get helpful suggestions when queries encounter issues
Data Insights: Leverage GPT's analytical capabilities to identify patterns and trends
Format Flexibility: Request results in various formats (tables, summaries, JSON, etc.)

Get CData Connect AI

To get live data access to 300+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your OpenAI applications, try CData Connect AI today!

Ready to get started?

Learn more about CData Connect AI or sign up for free trial access:

Free Trial

CData is the data layer that makes AI work in production—live connectivity and replication across 350+ sources, semantic context, and built-in governance. Powering AI for Databricks, Microsoft, Google, Palantir, and 10,000+ customers worldwide.

How to Connect to Live IBM Cloud Object Storage Data from OpenAI Python Applications (via CData Connect AI)

Step 1: Configure IBM Cloud Object Storage Connectivity for OpenAI Applications

Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

Connecting using OAuth Authentication

API Key

Cloud Object Storage CRN

Connecting to Data