Connect to Blackbaud FE NXT Data in RunMyProcess through Connect Cloud

Akorbi Digital RunMyProcess makes it easy to create applications for complex business applications, such as budget application and contract management. CData Connect Cloud creates a live connection to Blackbaud FE NXT and can be used to generate an OData API (natively supported in RunMyProcess) for Blackbaud FE NXT. By pairing RunMyProcess with CData Connect Cloud, you get true cloud-to-cloud connectivity to all your SaaS and cloud-based Big Data and NoSQL sources - no need to migrate your data or write your own integrations. Simply connect to Connect Cloud from RunMyProcess as you would any other REST service and get instant, live access to your Blackbaud FE NXT data.

In this article, we walk through connecting to Blackbaud FE NXT from CData Connect Cloud and accessing Blackbaud FE NXT data through an OData feed in RunMyProcess.

Connect to Blackbaud FE NXT from RunMyProcess

To work with live Blackbaud FE NXT data in RunMyProcess, we need to connect to Blackbaud FE NXT from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Blackbaud FE NXT data.

Connect to Blackbaud FE NXT from Connect Cloud

CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

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

2. Select "Blackbaud FE NXT" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Blackbaud FE NXT.

   Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, create an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

   See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.

   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Blackbaud FE NXT Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud 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 Cloud. 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 Cloud 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.

Configure Blackbaud FE NXT Endpoints for RunMyProcess

After connecting to Blackbaud FE NXT, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the Blackbaud FE NXT connection (e.g. FinancialEdgeNXT1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Blackbaud FE NXT data from RunMyProcess.

Retrieve Blackbaud FE NXT Data from RunMyProcess DigitalSuite Studio

With the connection to Blackbaud FE NXT and OData endpoints created, we are ready to add Blackbaud FE NXT data to RunMyProcess for Retrieval.

Create a Provider

1. Log into RunMyProcess and open DigitalSuite Studio.
2. Click Resources to bring up the Resources page, then select then the CONNECTORS tab.
3. Click the + (New Provider) button to create a new provider, choose the account to use, then click Confirm.
4. In the provider settings page, configure the following properties.
   • URL: Set the OData endpoint in the Connect Cloud OData page: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}.
   • Authentication Schema: Select Login/Password.
   • Login: Specify a CData Connect Cloud username (e.g. [email protected]).
   • Password: Specify the PAT of the Connect Cloud user.
   
5. Fill in the same properties in the ACCEPTANCE and TEST tabs. Note: You can copy the configured settings by clicking 'Copy this configuration button,' then pasting the content in the new tab by clicking 'Paste previously copied configuration.'
6. Click Save to save the properties.

Retrieve Blackbaud FE NXT Data by Creating a Connector

1. In the CONNECTORS tab, click the button with three dots to create the provider, then select Add connector from the menu.
2. In the following page, set Connector URL to the OData endpoint configured in Connect Cloud (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name})
3. Click Save then Launch to test the connector execution. Click Launch test to execute. The process is successful if you get the JSON response of your configured table information.

More Information & Free Trial

Now, you have created a provider and connector to retrieve Blackbaud FE NXT data. For more information on creating OData feeds from Blackbaud FE NXT (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Blackbaud FE NXT data in RunMyProcess.