How to integrate Metabase with Salesforce CRM Analytics Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect AI, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Salesforce CRM Analytics data. This article describes how to connect to Salesforce CRM Analytics and build a simple visualization using Salesforce CRM Analytics data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Salesforce CRM Analytics, allowing you to easily integrate with live Salesforce CRM Analytics data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Salesforce CRM Analytics, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Salesforce CRM Analytics data.

Configure Salesforce CRM Analytics Connectivity for Metabase

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

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

2. Select "Salesforce CRM Analytics" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Salesforce CRM Analytics.

   Salesforce CRM Analytics uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. Obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret by registering an app with Salesforce CRM Analytics.

   See the Getting Started section of the Help documentation for an authentication guide.

   Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

   If the connected Salesforce org has MFA enforcement enabled, set MFACode to the time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) generated by your authenticator app (such as Salesforce Authenticator or Google Authenticator). MFACode applies alongside the standard OAuth flow.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Salesforce CRM Analytics Connection page and update the User-based 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.
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 Salesforce CRM Analytics data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect AI from Metabase

After creating the connection in Connect AI, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect AI.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect AI and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Salesforce CRM Analytics (Connect AI)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. SalesforceCRMAnalytics1)
   • Username: A Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: The PAT previously created
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)
   

Execute Salesforce CRM Analytics Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect AI, you can query Salesforce CRM Analytics and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Salesforce CRM Analytics data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Salesforce CRM Analytics connection in CData Connect AI, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT Name, CloseDate FROM Dataset_Opportunity

   
3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Salesforce CRM Analytics data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Salesforce CRM Analytics data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Salesforce CRM Analytics (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Salesforce CRM Analytics data in Metabase today.