Connect to Salesforce Data in ACL Analytics


Connect to Salesforce data via CData Connect Cloud in ACL Analytics to run your data analysis workflows with real-time access to Salesforce data.

ACL Analytics, part of Diligent HighBond, is a powerful data analysis software primarily used for audit, risk management, and compliance. It enables professionals to examine and analyze large volumes of data to identify anomalies, trends, and potential risks or fraudulent activities.

CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Salesforce, enabling analytics directly from live Salesforce data within ACL Analytics, all without the need for data replication to a native database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect Cloud efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Salesforce. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Salesforce data.

About Salesforce Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Salesforce has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

  • Access to custom entities and fields means Salesforce users get access to all of Salesforce.
  • Create atomic and batch update operations.
  • Read, write, update, and delete their Salesforce data.
  • Leverage the latest Salesforce features and functionalities with support for SOAP API versions 30.0.
  • See improved performance based on SOQL support to push complex queries down to Salesforce servers.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to perform actions like creating, retrieving, aborting, and deleting jobs, uploading and downloading attachments and documents, and more.

Users frequently integrate Salesforce data with:

  • other ERPs, marketing automation, HCMs, and more.
  • preferred data tools like Power BI, Tableau, Looker, and more.
  • databases and data warehouses.

For more information on how CData solutions work with Salesforce, check out our Salesforce integration page.


Getting Started


Configure Salesforce Connectivity for ACL Analytics

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

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
  2. Select "Salesforce" from the Add Connection panel
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Salesforce. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Salesforce.

    There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: Login, OAuth, and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

    If you do not have access to the username and password or do not wish to require them, you can use OAuth authentication.

    SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and TokenUrl connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for more information.

  4. Click Create & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Salesforce 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.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Salesforce data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to Salesforce from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from ACL Analytics to create a new Salesforce data source. The CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server allows you to establish a connection to your data from integration tools that support connections to SQL servers. The Virtual SQL Server mimics the behavior of a traditional SQL server, and it supports a range of query options.

  1. With your Analytics File open, select 'Import' --> 'Database and application'
  2. Create a new SQL Server connection
  3. Set the connection information
    • Server: tds.cdata.com
    • Port: 14333
    • Auth Scheme: Password
    • Username: a Connect Cloud user, for example, [email protected]
    • Password: the PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
    • Database: the name of your Salesforce connection, for example, Salesforce1
  4. Click "Test Connection"
  5. Click "OK"
  6. You are now ready to work with your Salesforce data in ACL Analytics!

Live connections to Salesforce data from your applications

ACL Analytics can now connect to live Salesforce data directly through Connect Cloud, allowing you to analyze Salesforce data without duplicating it.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, try CData Connect Cloud today!

Ready to get started?

Learn more about CData Connect Cloud or sign up for free trial access:

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