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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/dynamicscrm-cloud-power-pivot.rst

⇱ Use CData Connect AI to Access Dynamics CRM Data in Microsoft Power Pivot

Use CData Connect AI to Access Dynamics CRM Data in Microsoft Power Pivot

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData Connect AI to connect to live Dynamics CRM data in the Power Pivot business intelligence tool.

This article will explain how to use CData Connect AI to present Dynamics CRM data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's Power Pivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve and edit Dynamics CRM data in Power Pivot.

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


Connect to Dynamics CRM from Power Pivot

To work with Dynamics CRM data from Power Pivot, we need to connect to Dynamics CRM from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Dynamics CRM data.

Connect to Dynamics CRM from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. 👁 Adding a Connection
  2. Select "Dynamics CRM" from the Add Connection panel
    3. 👁 Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics CRM.

    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.

    👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics 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.

Configure Dynamics CRM Endpoints for Power Pivot

After connecting to Dynamics CRM, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

  1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace). 👁 The Workspaces page.
    👁 Adding a new Workspace.
  2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
  3. Select the Dynamics CRM connection (e.g. DynamicsCRM1) and click Next. 👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
  4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm. 👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
  5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Dynamics CRM data from Power Pivot.

Import Dynamics CRM Tables in Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:

  1. In Excel, click Data -> Get Data -> From Other Sources -> From OData Feed 👁 Starting the OData connection.
  2. Fill out the OData feed URL (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}) 👁 The URL of the OData endpoint for Connect AI.
  3. On the next screen, select Basic and configure the username and password. Password will be your PAT. 👁 Authenticating with Connect AI

  4. Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel 👁 Selecting tables (Salesforce is shown.)

  5. After selecting your table(s) and clicking Load, you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet 👁 Loading tables (Salesforce is shown.)

  6. Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model. 👁 Loading data into Power Pivot (Salesforce is shown.)
    This can now work with your Dynamics CRM data in Power Pivot.

    👁 The Pivot Table that is consuming OData feeds from Connect AI. (Salesforce is shown.)

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your Dynamics CRM data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Pivot, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI today! For more information on Connect AI and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect AI page.