Visualize Live SparkPost Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

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 SparkPost data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to SparkPost, connect to SparkPost data from Power BI and then create reports on SparkPost data in Power BI.

Configure SparkPost Connectivity for Power BI

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

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

2. Select "SparkPost" from the Add Connection panel

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

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

   SparkPost API Profile Settings

   Generate an API key by navigating to Configuration > API Keys > Create API Key in your SparkPost account.

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

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

Query SparkPost Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull SparkPost data into the report:

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 SparkPost data from Power BI

Create SparkPost Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to SparkPost Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to SparkPost data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating SparkPost data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including SparkPost) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.