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Create SSAS Tabular Models from Dynamics 365 Data
How to build a SQL Server Analysis Service Tabular Model from Dynamics 365 data using CData drivers.
SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is an analytical data engine used in decision support and business analytics. It provides enterprise-grade semantic data models for business reports and client applications, such as Power BI, Excel, Reporting Services reports, and other data visualization tools. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365, you can create a tabular model from Dynamics 365 data for deeper and faster data analysis.
Create a Connection to Dynamics 365 Data
If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.
Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.
For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.
OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com
About Dynamics 365 Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics 365 data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Read and write data in the full Dynamics 365 ecosystem: Sales, Customer Service, Finance & Operations, Marketing, and more.
- Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
- Authenticate securely with Dynamics 365 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.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage their Dynamics 365 entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dynamics 365 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 365 data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Creating a Data Source for Dynamics 365
Start by creating a new Analysis Services Tabular Project in Visual Studio. Next create a Data Source for Dynamics 365 in the project.
- In the Tabular Model Explorer, right-click Data Sources and select "New Data Source"
- Select "ODBC" from the Other tab and click "Connect"
![]( "Selecting ODBC as the connector")
- Select the DSN you previously configured
![]( "Selecting the DSN (Salesforce is shown)")
- Choose "Default or Custom" as the authentication option and click "Connect"
![]( "Connecting to the DSN (Salesforce is shown)")
Add Tables & Relationships
After creating the data source you are ready to import tables and define the relationships between the tables.
- Right-click the new data source, click "Import New Tables" and select the tables to import
![]( "Importing the tables (Salesforce is shown)")
- After importing the tables, right-click "Relationships" and click "Create Relationships"
- Select table(s), and choose the foreign keys, cardinality, and filter direction
![]( "Configuring relationships between tables (Salesforce is shown)")
Create Measures
After importing the tables and defining the relationships, you are ready to create measures.
- Select the column in the table for which you wish to create a measure
- In the Extensions menu -> click "Columns" -> "AutoSum" and select your aggregation method
![]( "Creating measures (Salesforce is shown)")
Deploy the Model
Once you create measures, you are ready to deploy the model. Configure the target server and database by right-clicking the project found in the Solution Explorer and selecting "Properties." Configure the "Deployment Server" properties and click "OK."
After configuring the deployment server, open the "Build" menu and click "Deploy Solution." You now have a tabular model for Dynamics 365 data in your SSAS instance, ready to be analyzed, reported, and viewed. Get started with a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365.
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Dynamics 365 ODBC Driver
The Dynamics 365 ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Dynamics 365, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.
Access Dynamics 365 data like you would a database - read, write, and update Dynamics 365 Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, Accounts, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.
