Integrate with Act CRM Data in SnapLogic

SnapLogic's iPaaS platform helps organizations automate application, data and cloud integrations. When paired with CData Connect AI, SnapLogic gets access to live Act CRM data. This article demonstrates how to connect to Act CRM using Connect AI and integrate with Act CRM data in SnapLogic.

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

Configure Act CRM Connectivity for SnapLogic

Connectivity to Act CRM from SnapLogic is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Act CRM data from SnapLogic, 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 SnapLogic.

Connect to Act CRM from SnapLogic using Connect AI

To establish a connection from SnapLogic to CData Connect AI, you will need to download the CData Connect AI JDBC Driver.

1. Open the Integrations page of CData Connect AI.
2. Search for and select JDBC.
3. Download and run the setup file.
4. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (inside the lib folder).

After copying the JDBC CData Connect AI JAR file, you will need to paste it into the SnapLogic installation location and configure the connection to Connect AI.

1. Log into SnapLogic.
2. Click the Managers tab.
3. Select a folder from the Project Spaces to add the JDBC JAR file to. 👁 Selecting the hosting folder for the JAR file.
   
4. Click the Files tab. 👁 Navigating to the 'Files' tab.
   
5. Click the button in the top right to upload the CData Connect AI JDBC JAR file. It appears as a file once uploaded. 👁 Adding the JDBC Driver JAR
   
6. Click the Designer tab.
7. Click JDBC to expand the options for "snaps."
8. Click and drag a Generic JDBC - Select "snap" onto the designer. 👁 Using a 'Select' snap.
   
9. Click Add Account > Continue.
10. Enter the JDBC connection properties.
    • JDBC driver: add the CData Connect AI JAR file
    • JDBC driver Class: enter cdata.jdbc.connect.ConnectDriver
    • JDBC Url: enter a JDBC connection string for the JDBC driver. For example: jdbc:connect:AuthScheme=Basic;User={username};Password={PAT};
    • Username: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
    • Password: enter the PAT you generated previously.
    👁 Configuring the connection to CData Connect AI.
    
11. Click Validate. If the connection succeeds, the "snap" is ready to use.
12. Click Apply.

You can now create reports with the connected data.

Get CData Connect AI

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from SnapLogic, try CData Connect AI today!