Visualize Live Zendesk Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to Zendesk data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to Zendesk, connect to Zendesk data from Power BI and then create reports on Zendesk data in Power BI.

Configure Zendesk Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to Zendesk from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Zendesk data from Power BI, 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
   

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Zendesk data from Power BI.

Query Zendesk Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull Zendesk data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account 👁 Authenticating with Connect AI
   
3. After signing in, click "Connect" 👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog 👁 The available tables. (Salesforce tables are shown)
   
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Zendesk data from Power BI

Create Zendesk Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to Zendesk Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to Zendesk data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Zendesk data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Zendesk) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.