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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/dynamicscrm-ado-spotfire.rst

⇱ Visualize Dynamics CRM Data in TIBCO Spotfire through ADO.NET

Visualize Dynamics CRM Data in TIBCO Spotfire through ADO.NET

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Integrate Dynamics CRM data into dashboards in TIBCO Spotfire.

TIBCO Spotfire is a data visualization and business intelligence software developed by TIBCO Software Inc. It allows users to connect, visualize, and share insights from various data sources in real-time. Spotfire provides interactive dashboards, data analytics, and predictive analytics capabilities, enabling users to explore data, uncover trends, and make data-driven decisions. It is commonly used in businesses and organizations to analyze large datasets, gain valuable insights, and improve decision-making processes. Learn more at https://www.tibco.com/analytics.

In this article, we will guide you through the process of utilizing the CData ADO.NET Provider for Dynamics CRM within TIBCO Spotfire. You will learn how to establish a connection and build a basic dashboard.

About Dynamics CRM Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics CRM data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Read and write data in the Dynamics CRM 2011+ Services and Dynamics CRM Online.
  • Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
  • Authenticate securely with Dynamics CRM in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.

CData customers use our Dynamics CRM connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources) or analyze live Dynamics CRMa data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).


Getting Started


  1. Add the CData ADO.NET data source by clicking Add Data Tables.
  2. Click Add -> Database.
  3. Select the provider and click Configure.
  4. Define the connection settings. Below is a typical connection string:

    User=myuseraccount;Password=mypassword;URL=https://myOrg.crm.dynamics.com/;CRM Version=CRM Online;

    The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

    Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

    When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

    👁 Connection properties in the Configure Data Source Connection dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
  5. Select the tables that you want to add to the dashboard. This example uses Account. You can also specify an SQL query. The driver supports the standard SQL syntax. 👁 Tables and columns selected in the tree or specified by an SQL query. (Salesforce is shown.)
  6. If you want to work with the live data, click the Keep Data Table External option. This option enables your dashboards to reflect changes to the data in real time.

    If you want to load the data into memory and process the data locally, click the Import Data Table option. This option is better for offline use or if a slow network connection is making your dashboard less interactive.

  7. After adding tables, the Recommended Visualizations wizard is displayed. When you select a table, Spotfire uses the column data types to detect number, time, and category columns. This example uses NumberOfEmployees in the Numbers section and FirstName in the Categories section.👁 Recommended visualizations for the imported data table. (Salesforce is shown.)

After adding several visualizations in the Recommended Visualizations wizard, you can make other modifications to the dashboard. For example, you can apply a filter: After clicking the Filter button, the available filters for each query are displayed in the Filters pane.

👁 A simple dashboard with a global filter. (Salesforce is shown.)

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Dynamics CRM Data Provider to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

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Dynamics CRM ADO.NET Provider

Rapidly create and deploy powerful .NET applications that integrate with Microsoft Dynamics CRM account data including Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, Accounts, and more!