Connecting Power BI Desktop to ODBC Driver

Connect Power BI Desktop to your ServiceNow instance using the ODBC driver to access and analyze ServiceNow data.

Before you begin

Before you begin, ensure the following prerequisites are in place:

• The SQL API plugin is installed on your ServiceNow instance.
• The ServiceNow ODBC driver is installed and configured on your client machine.
• You have a Service Account with the sn_odbc_rest_access role assigned.
• Access Control Lists (ACLs) are configured for the tables you need to query.
• IP filter criteria are configured to allow connections from your client machine.
• Power BI Desktop is installed on your client machine.

Role required: admin

About this task

By connecting Power BI Desktop to ServiceNow through the ODBC driver, you can create dashboards and reports that visualize your ServiceNow data. This connection enables you to query ServiceNow data directly without requiring data export or replication, and allows you to combine ServiceNow data with other data sources in your analysis.

Procedure

1. Open Power BI Desktop on your client machine.
2. Navigate to the Home ribbon and select Get Data.
3. In the Get Data dialog, search for and select ODBC from the list of available data sources.
4. Select Connect.
5. In the From ODBC dialog, select your configured ServiceNow ODBC data source name (DSN) from the Data source name (DSN) dropdown list.

   If you configured the ODBC driver without creating a DSN, select Advanced options and enter the connection string manually.

6. Select OK.
7. When prompted for credentials, enter your ServiceNow Service Account credentials:
   1. In the User name field, enter the User ID of your Service Account.
   2. In the Password field, enter the password for your Service Account.
8. Select Connect.
9. In the Navigator window, browse the available ServiceNow tables and select the tables you want to import or query.

   Only tables for which you have configured egress_sql and read ACLs will be visible and accessible.

10. Do one of the following:
    • Select Load to import the data directly into Power BI.
    • Select Transform Data to open the Power Query Editor and modify the data before loading.

Result

Power BI Desktop is now connected to your ServiceNow instance via the ODBC driver. You can create visualizations, reports, and dashboards using your ServiceNow data. The connection respects all ServiceNow security controls, including ACLs and role-based access restrictions.