Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Earn the coveted Fabric Analytics Engineer certification. 100% off your exam for a limited time only!

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

Connecting to CRM source systems, and a few other questions.. help please.

Hi,

I have been asked to advise if the following requirements are achievable. I will research this myself but as the understanding is required asap I will reach out to you guys and gals.

 

I am looking to create a Power BI report/dashboard to:
1) Connect to ZenDesk (CRM solution) source data. I understand there is an Content Pack available but as the contents pack's visuals are predefined I will need to connect to the source data (via Get Data) and produce custom visuals. I see there is a ZenDesk 'Get Data' option.

 

2) Connect to 8*8 (CRM solution) source data. I will be looking to create a report/dashboard with custom visuals. Has anyone connected to 8*8 source data before, and how?

 

3) Connections to both ZenDesk and 8*8 will need to be real-time. I understand 'Direct Query' can only connect to a single datasource at a time so I expect to connect to each source per report. Can I create a dashboard combining the ZenDesk and 8*8 reports and have visuals from both in a single dashboard?

 

4) How can I ensure the report(s)/dashboard(s) update whenever there is a data change, or everything period of time (say 5 minutes)? Would a particular type of connection make this possible?

 

5) I need the dashboards to not lock. These dashboards will be shown on big screens around the office so the screens cannot lock through inactivity. Providing the pc/server showing the dashboard(s) has it's configuration to not lock then is there any reason why it would lock?

 

6) The dashboard(s) will need to be shown multiple big screens. Is there a limit on how many screens it can be shown on at any one time?

 

Any there any question I need to be asking on the requirements received to understand if the above is possible.

Thanks in advance.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

@Anonymous,

According to my knowledge and based on my test, as long as the computer screen doesn't work, dashboard will always display.

For your scecond question,you would need to migrate your data from 8* 8 source to Azure Stream Analytics or Pubnub or create a simple console app to send data trough API, then create real-time dashboards in Power BI Service.

Regards,

Community Support Team _ Lydia Zhang
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

5 REPLIES 5
v-yuezhe-msft
Employee
Employee

@Anonymous,

1)You are able to connect to ZenDesk in Power BI Desktop, then create your own reports in Power BI Desktop.

2)There is no built-in connector for 8*8 source in Power BI, you would need to contact 8*8 support to check if it has OData feed available or how to use its API to retrieve data, it is possible to connect straight to the OData feed from Power BI Desktop or use the web entry in Power BI desktop to connect to 8*8.

3) It doesn't support to connect to ZenDesk/8*8 data source using DirectQuery mode. You can review this article to see supported data source in DirectQuery mode. You can create a dashboard in Power BI Service combining ZenDesk and 8*8 visuals.

4) if you need to refresh the dashboard every 5 minutes, you can push the data from current data source to streaming dataset , then create a real-time dashboard in Power BI Service. Another option is to use Power BI gateway to refresh your current datasets, but you would need to purchase Power BI premium in order to refresh the dashboard every 5 minutes.

5) What do you mean that the dashboard should not lock on big screens? If you mean that the dashboard should be automatically updated on the screens if the source data change, for option 1 in step 4, the dashboard can update as expected, for option2 in step 4, you need to reload the page for the dashboard to show updated data on screens.

6) There is no official article stating that there is a limit on how many screens dashboard can be shown at one time.

Regards,

Community Support Team _ Lydia Zhang
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Anonymous
Not applicable

The 3 methods of streaming data is new to me. Reading the link you've provided on streaming datasets, I have a question.

1) If the 8*8 datasource can be connected to using the OData, API, or Web Entry, and only these methods, would this rule out any of the real-time streaming techniques (i.e. Push dataset, Streaming dataset, or PunNub streaming dataset)?

Anonymous
Not applicable

Thanks very much for your response. Its most helpful.

 

In answer to your question:

5) What do you mean that the dashboard should not lock on big screens? If you mean that the dashboard should be automatically updated on the screens if the source data change, for option 1 in step 4, the dashboard can update as expected, for option2 in step 4, you need to reload the page for the dashboard to show updated data on screens.

 

Please find my answer (which poses a question):

On a standard computer when it hasn't been used for a while the screen will lock. This is configured through the computer's settings. If I was to have a number of large monitors around the office that was fed a Power BI dashboard to display, from a single computer, and providing computer has it's settings to not lock after a period of inactivity, is there any reason why the Dashboard would screen would like, or the Dashboard to stop stop displaying in any way?

I have heard the due to the Dashboard being fed from the Power BI Service (Office365 cloud based) it can trigger the Dashboard to lock/switch off. I have heard someone mention this but haven't witnessed it myself.

 

Thanks.

@Anonymous,

According to my knowledge and based on my test, as long as the computer screen doesn't work, dashboard will always display.

For your scecond question,you would need to migrate your data from 8* 8 source to Azure Stream Analytics or Pubnub or create a simple console app to send data trough API, then create real-time dashboards in Power BI Service.

Regards,

Community Support Team _ Lydia Zhang
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Anonymous
Not applicable

Thanks for your reply.

Helpful resources

Announcements
April AMA free

Microsoft Fabric AMA Livestream

Join us Tuesday, April 09, 9:00 – 10:00 AM PST for a live, expert-led Q&A session on all things Microsoft Fabric!

March Fabric Community Update

Fabric Community Update - March 2024

Find out what's new and trending in the Fabric Community.

Top Solution Authors
Top Kudoed Authors