Connect to Blackbaud FE NXT Data in ACL Analytics

ACL Analytics, part of Diligent HighBond, is a powerful data analysis software primarily used for audit, risk management, and compliance. It enables professionals to examine and analyze large volumes of data to identify anomalies, trends, and potential risks or fraudulent activities.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Blackbaud FE NXT, enabling analytics directly from live Blackbaud FE NXT data within ACL Analytics, all without the need for data replication to a native database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Blackbaud FE NXT. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Blackbaud FE NXT data.

Configure Blackbaud FE NXT Connectivity for ACL Analytics

Connectivity to Blackbaud FE NXT from ACL Analytics is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Blackbaud FE NXT data from ACL Analytics, we start by creating and configuring a Blackbaud FE NXT connection in CData Connect AI.

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

2. Select "Blackbaud FE NXT" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Blackbaud FE NXT. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Blackbaud FE NXT.

   Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, create an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

   See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Blackbaud FE NXT 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 Blackbaud FE NXT data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to Blackbaud FE NXT from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from ACL Analytics to create a new Blackbaud FE NXT data source. The CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server allows you to establish a connection to your data from integration tools that support connections to SQL servers. The Virtual SQL Server mimics the behavior of a traditional SQL server, and it supports a range of query options.

1. With your Analytics File open, select 'Import' --> 'Database and application' 👁 Creating a new data source
   
2. Create a new connection
3. Set the connection information
   • Server: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Auth Scheme: Password
   • Username: a Connect AI user, for example, [email protected]
   • Password: the PAT for the above Connect AI user
   • Database: the name of your Blackbaud FE NXT connection, for example, FinancialEdgeNXT1
   👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Click "Test Connection"
5. Click "OK"
6. You are now ready to work with your Blackbaud FE NXT data in ACL Analytics! 👁 See your data in ACL Analytics
   

Live connections to Blackbaud FE NXT data from your applications

ACL Analytics can now connect to live Blackbaud FE NXT data directly through Connect AI, allowing you to analyze Blackbaud FE NXT data without duplicating it.

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