Build Data Flows from Outlook to SQL Server using SSIS

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Easily back up Outlook data to SQL Server using the SSIS components for Outlook.

Using SQL Server as a backup for critical business data provides an essential safety net against loss. Backing up data to SQL Server enables business users to more easily connect that data with features like reporting, analytics, and more.

This example demonstrates how to use the CData SSIS Tasks for Outlook inside of a SQL Server SSIS workflow to transfer Outlook data into a Microsoft SQL Server database.

Add the Components

To get started, add a new Outlook source and SQL Server ADO.NET destination to a new data flow task.

Create a New Connection Manager

Follow the steps below to save Outlook connection properties in a connection manager.

  1. In the Connection Manager window, right-click and then click New Connection. The Add SSIS Connection Manager dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Connection Manager type menu, select API. The CData Outlook Connection Manager is displayed.
  3. Configure connection properties.

    Using OAuth Authentication

    Microsoft Graph API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You must register an application in the Microsoft Azure Portal to obtain OAuth credentials (Client ID and Client Secret).

    Obtaining OAuth Credentials

    1. Log in to the Azure Portal.
    2. Navigate to Azure Active Directory > App registrations.
    3. Click New registration to create a new application.
    4. Enter an application name and select the appropriate account types.
    5. Set the Redirect URI to your application's callback URL (e.g., http://localhost:33333 for desktop apps).
    6. Click Register to create the application.
    7. On the application overview page, copy the Application (client) ID - this is your OAuthClientId.
    8. Navigate to Certificates & secrets and create a new client secret.
    9. Copy the client secret value - this is your OAuthClientSecret.
    10. Navigate to API permissions and add the required Microsoft Graph API permissions:
      • Mail.Read - For accessing email messages
      • Contacts.Read - For accessing contacts
      • Calendars.Read - For accessing calendar events
      • Tasks.Read - For accessing To Do tasks
      • offline_access - For obtaining refresh tokens
    11. Click Grant admin consent to grant these permissions.

    Connecting with OAuth

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. The CData API Profile for Outlook will automatically walk through the OAuth process in order to obtain the access token.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to the Application (client) ID from Azure Portal.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client secret value from Azure Portal.
    • TenantId: Set this to your Azure AD tenant identifier (GUID or domain name like 'contoso.onmicrosoft.com').
    • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app registration (e.g., http://localhost:33333 for desktop apps).

    Example connection string

    Profile=C:\profiles\Outlook.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;TenantId=your_tenant_id;CallbackUrl=http://localhost:33333;
    

Configure the Outlook Source

Follow the steps below to specify the query to be used to extract Outlook data.

  1. Double-click the Outlook source to open the source component editor.
  2. In the Connection Manager menu, select the connection manager previously created.
  3. Specify the query to use for the data extraction. For example:
    SELECT ,  FROM CalendarGroupCalendars WHERE CalendarGroupId = 'group_id'
    
  4. Close the Outlook Source control and connect it to the ADO.NET Destination.

Configure the SQL Server Destination

Follow the steps below to specify the SQL server table to load the Outlook data into.

  1. Open the ADO.NET Destination and add a New Connection. Enter your server and database information here.
  2. In the Data access mode menu, select "table or view".
  3. In the Table Or View menu, select the table or view to populate.
  4. Configure any properties you wish to on the Mappings screen.

Run the Project

You can now run the project. After the SSIS Task has finished executing, your database will be populated with Outlook data.

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from Outlook with the API Driver

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