Visualize Zendesk Data in Sisense

Sisense lets you join, analyze, and picture data to make more intelligent business decisions and craft effective strategies. The CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk makes it easy to integrate with Zendesk data in Sisense. This article shows how to create an ElastiCube that connects to Zendesk data and use the ElastiCube to visualize Zendesk data in Sisense.

Configure the Connection to Zendesk

Before creating the ElastiCube, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk 20XX\lib) or copy the jar file (cdata.jdbc.zendesk.Zendesk.jar) to a new folder in the Sisense JDBC driver directory (typically C:\ProgramData\Sisense\DataConnectors\jdbcdrivers).

1. In the Data page of the Sisense application, create a new ElastiCube (or open an existing one).
2. In the Model Editor, click "+ Data" to open the Add Data dialog box.
3. Click Generic JDBC to open the JDBC settings. 👁 Connecting via JDBC
   
4. Set the connection string property to the JDBC URL for Zendesk, adding required properties.

   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.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Zendesk JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.zendesk.jar
   

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
   

   When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

   A typical example follows:

   jdbc:zendesk:URL=https://subdomain.zendesk.com;[email protected];Password=test123;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
   

5. Set the JDBC JARs folder property to the location of the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (see above).
6. Set the driver's class name to the class name for the JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.zendesk.ZendeskDriver
7. Leave the username and password properties blank.
8. Click Next. 👁 A configured connection in Sisense (HubSpot is shown).
   

Add Zendesk Data to an ElastiCube

Once you are connected to Zendesk, you can add tables and views to your ElastiCubes.

1. From the Tables list, select the tables and/or views you wish to work with.
2. (Optional) Click "+" to customize the data you want to import with SQL.
3. Click Done. 👁 Selected tables to add to the ElastiCube
   
4. Click Build to build the ElastiCube for analytics.

Visualize Zendesk Data

With Zendesk tables added to your ElastiCube, you can perform analytics on your Zendesk data.

1. Navigate to the Analytics page of the Sisense application
2. Select a Dashboard (or create a new one)
3. Select your Data Source and click Create 👁 Selecting the newly created ElastiCube
   
4. Click "+ Select Data" and choose fields to add to your visualization. 👁 Visualizing data in Sisense (HubSpot is shown).
   

With the CData JDBC Driver for Zendesk, you can access Zendesk data right in Sisense for powerful visualization and analytics. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with Zendesk data in Sisense today!