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

⇱ Build Automated Workflows with Live Dynamics CRM Data in Workato

Build Automated Workflows with Live Dynamics CRM Data in Workato

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use CData Connect AI to connect to live Dynamics CRM data and build automated workflows in Workato.

Workato is a cloud-based automation platform that helps businesses integrate applications and automate workflows. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Dynamics CRM data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Dynamics CRM and build workflows with live Dynamics CRM data in Workato.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for Dynamics CRM, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live Dynamics CRM data in Workato. As you build automations, Workato generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Dynamics CRM, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Dynamics CRM data.

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


Configure Dynamics CRM Connectivity for Workato

Connectivity to Dynamics CRM from Workato is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Dynamics CRM data from Workato, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics CRM connection.

  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.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Dynamics CRM data from Workato.

Automate Dynamics CRM Data Workflows in Workato

To establish a connection from Workato to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server, follow these steps.

  1. Log into Workato.
  2. In the navigation bar, click Projects.
  3. In your new (or existing) project, click Create > Connection. 👁 Creating a new Connection.
  4. In the search bar, enter "SQL Server" and open the Connect to SQL Server screen.
  5. In Connect to SQL Server, enter the connection name and the following connecting settings:
    • Location: enter the name of the project.
    • Connection type: select Cloud.
    • Host: enter tds.cdata.com
    • Port: enter 14333
    • 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 previously generated page.
    • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect AI data source you want to connect to (for example, DynamicsCRM1).
    👁 Configuring the connection to CData Connect AI.
  6. Click Connect to see the Connection established message.
  7. Next, set up your recipe. In your project, click Create > Recipe. 👁 Creating a new Recipe.
  8. In Set up your recipe, enter the name and location of your recipe.
  9. Select Run on a schedule.
  10. Select the action to occur on the schedule.
  11. Select a table from your Connect AI connection and any applicable filters. 👁 Selecting tables for the Recipe (Jira is shown).
  12. Click Save to save the recipe.
  13. Click Test Jobs to test you recipe.

Real-Time Access to Dynamics CRM Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Dynamics CRM data from Workato for workflows and automations. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from cloud applications like Workato, refer to our Connect AI page.