Integrate Zendesk Data into Power Automate Desktop using CData Connect

CData Connect enables you to access live Zendesk data in workflow automation tools like Power Automate. This article shows how to integrate Zendesk data into a simple workflow, saving Zendesk data into a CSV file.

CData Connect provides a live interface for Zendesk, allowing you to integrate with live Zendesk data in Power Automate — without replicating the data. Connect uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Zendesk, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Zendesk data.

Configure Zendesk Connectivity for Power Automate

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

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

2. Select "Zendesk" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Zendesk.

   Connecting to Zendesk

   To connect, set the URL and provide authentication. The URL is your Zendesk Support URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com.

   Authenticating to Zendesk

   You can authenticate using the Basic or OAuth methods.

   Using Basic Authentication

   To use Basic authentication, specify your email address and password or your email address and an API token. Set User to your email address and follow the steps below to provide the Password or ApiToken.

   • Enable password access in the Zendesk Support admin interface at Admin > Channels > API.
   • Manage API tokens in the Zendesk Support Admin interface at Admin > Channels > API. More than one token can be active at the same time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

   Using OAuth Authentication

   See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for an authentication guide.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Zendesk 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 Zendesk data from Power Automate Desktop.

Integrate Zendesk Data into Power Automate Workflows

After configuring CData Connect with Zendesk, you are ready to integrate Zendesk data into your Power Automate workflows. Open Microsoft Power Automate, add a new flow, and name the flow.

👁 A new flow in Power Automate

In the flow editor, you can add the options to connect to Zendesk, query Zendesk using SQL, and write the query results to a CSV document.

Add an Open SQL Connection Action

Add an "Open SQL connection" action (Action -> Database) and click the option to build the Connection string. In the Data Link Properties wizard:

1. On the Provider tab: select Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
2. On the Connection tab:
   1. Select or enter a server name: set to tds.cdata.com,14333
   2. Enter information to lag onto the server: select "Use a specific username and password"
      • Set User name to your CData Connect AI user name (e.g. [email protected])
      • Set Password to your PAT
      • Select the database: use the database configured above (e.g. Zendesk1)
3. Click "Test Connection" to ensure the connection is configured properly
4. Click "OK" 👁 A configured connection to CData Connect
   

After building the connection string in the Data Link Properties wizard, save the action.

👁 A configured 'Open SQL connection' action

Add an Execute SQL Statement Action

Add an "Execute SQL statement" action (Action -> Database) and configure the properties.

• Get connection by: SQL connection variable
• SQL connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)
• SQL statement: SELECT * FROM Tickets

After configuring the properties, save the action.

👁 A configured 'Execute SQL statement' action

Add a Write to CSV File Action

Add a "Write to CSV file" action (Action -> File) and configure the properties.

• Variable to write to: %QueryResult% (the variable from the "Execute SQL statement" action above)
• File path: set to a file on disk
• Configure Advanced settings as needed.

After configuring the properties, save the action.

👁 A configured 'Write to CSV file' action

Add a Close SQL Connection Action

Add a "Close SQL connection" action (Action -> Database) and configure the properties.

• SQL Connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)

After configuring the properties, save the action.

👁 A configured 'Close SQL connection' action

Save & Run the Flow

Once you have configured all the options for the flow, click the disk icon to save the flow. Click the play icon to run the flow.

👁 A fully configured workflow

Now you have a workflow to save Zendesk data into a CSV file.

👁 Application data in a CSV file (Salesforce is shown)

With CData Connect AI, you get live connectivity to Zendesk data within your Microsoft Power Automate workflows.

SQL Access to Zendesk Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Zendesk data from Power Automate tasks. You can create more connections and workflows to drive business — all without replicating Zendesk data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI.

Related Power Automate Articles

This article explains how to use CData Connect AI with Power Automate Desktop. Check out our other articles for more ways to work with Power Automate (Desktop & Online):

• Zendesk Data in Power Automate Desktop via ODBC
• Zendesk Data in Power Automate (Online) using CData Connect AI