Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central 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 Dynamics 365 Business Central, enabling analytics directly from live Dynamics 365 Business Central 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 Dynamics 365 Business Central. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Dynamics 365 Business Central data.

Configure Dynamics 365 Business Central Connectivity for ACL Analytics

Connectivity to Dynamics 365 Business Central from ACL Analytics is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Dynamics 365 Business Central data from ACL Analytics, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics 365 Business Central connection in CData Connect AI.

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

2. Select "Dynamics 365 Business Central" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central.

   To authenticate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must select an AuthScheme and provide the required properties (OAuth by default).

   All Methods

   Specify the . If you have multiple companies in your organization, you must also specify the to indicate which company you would like to connect to. does not need to be specified if you have only one company.

   Access Key

   To authenticate with an Access Key, set AuthScheme to "AccessKey" and provide the and properties.

   To obtain the and values, navigate to the Users page in Dynamics 365 Business Central and then click on Edit. The User Name and Web Service Access Key values are what you will enter as the and connection string properties. Note that the User Name is not your email address. It is a shortened user name.

   If you wish to authenticate through other methods, refer to the Help documentation.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics 365 Business Central 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 Dynamics 365 Business Central data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from ACL Analytics to create a new Dynamics 365 Business Central 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 Dynamics 365 Business Central connection, for example, D365BusinessCentral1
   👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Click "Test Connection"
5. Click "OK"
6. You are now ready to work with your Dynamics 365 Business Central data in ACL Analytics! 👁 See your data in ACL Analytics
   

Live connections to Dynamics 365 Business Central data from your applications

ACL Analytics can now connect to live Dynamics 365 Business Central data directly through Connect AI, allowing you to analyze Dynamics 365 Business Central 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!