How to integrate Metabase with Act CRM Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Act CRM data. This article describes how to connect to Act CRM and build a simple visualization using Act CRM data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Act CRM, allowing you to easily integrate with live Act CRM data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Act CRM, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Act CRM data.

Configure Act CRM Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

2. Select "Act CRM" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Act CRM.

   The and properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

   • Connecting to Act! Premium

     In addition to the authentication values, the to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

     Additionally, you must specify the you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

   • Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

     To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

   Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the property to store the metadata locally.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Act CRM Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. 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, you are ready to connect to Act CRM data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab 👁 Adding a new database connection to Metabase.
   
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Act CRM (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. ActCRM1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   👁 Configuring the connection to Connect AI.
   

Execute Act CRM Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Act CRM and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Act CRM data 👁 Click the 'Write SQL' button.
   
2. Write a SQL query based on the Act CRM connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT ActivityDisplayName, Subject FROM Activities

   👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization 👁 Collected data (Salesforce is shown).
   

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Act CRM data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Act CRM data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Act CRM (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Act CRM data in Metabase today.