Build Zendesk-Connected Visualizations in datapine

datapine is a browser-based business intelligence platform. When paired with the CData Connect Cloud, you get access to your Zendesk data directly from your datapine visualizations and dashboards. This article describes connecting to Zendesk in CData Connect Cloud and building a simple Zendesk-connected visualization in datapine.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for Zendesk, allowing you to query data from Zendesk without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Zendesk, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested Zendesk data quickly.

Configure Zendesk Connectivity for datapine

Connectivity to Zendesk from datapine is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Zendesk data from datapine, we start by creating and configuring a Zendesk connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Zendesk" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Zendesk.

   Connecting to Zendesk

   To connect, set the URL and provide authentication. The URL is your Zendesk Support URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com.

   Authenticating to Zendesk

   You can authenticate using the Basic or OAuth methods.

   Using Basic Authentication

   To use Basic authentication, specify your email address and password or your email address and an API token. Set User to your email address and follow the steps below to provide the Password or ApiToken.

   • Enable password access in the Zendesk Support admin interface at Admin > Channels > API.
   • Manage API tokens in the Zendesk Support Admin interface at Admin > Channels > API. More than one token can be active at the same time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

   Using OAuth Authentication

   See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for an authentication guide.

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

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connecting to Zendesk from datapine

Once you configure your connection to Zendesk in Connect Cloud, you are ready to connect to Zendesk from datapine.

1. Log into datapine
2. Click Connect to navigate to the "Connect" page
3. Select MS SQL Server as the data source
4. In the Integration step, fill in the connection properties and click "Save and Proceed"
   • Set the Internal Name
   • Set Database Name to the name of the connection we just configured (e.g. Zendesk1)
   • Set Host / IP to "tds.cdata.com"
   • Set Username to your Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Set Password to the corresponding PAT
   • Set Database Port to "14333"
5. In the Data Schema step, select the tables and fields to visualize and click "Save and Proceed"
6. In the References step, define any relationships between your selected tables and click "Save and Proceed"
7. In the Data Transfer step, click "Go to Analyzer"

Visualize Zendesk Data in datapine

After connecting to CData Connect Cloud, you are ready to visualize your Zendesk data in datapine. Simply select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize!

Having connect to Zendesk from datapine, you are now able to visualize and analyze real-time Zendesk data no matter where you are. To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from datapine, try CData Connect Cloud today!