Zendesk Connector for SSIS

Zendesk Connector can be used to integrate Zendesk REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Tickets, Activity, Users, Organizations and more.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Zendesk data in SSIS without coding. We will use high-performance Zendesk Connector to easily connect to Zendesk and then access the data inside SSIS.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Zendesk Connector for SSIS is based on ZappySys API Connector Framework which is a part of SSIS PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance SSIS connectors that enable you to integrate data with virtually any data provider supported by SSIS, including SQL Server. SSIS PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few (if you are new to SSIS and SSIS PowerPack, find out more on how to use them).

Connect to Zendesk in other apps

Connect to Zendesk in SQL Server

Connect to Zendesk in Power BI

Connect to Zendesk in SSRS

Connect to Zendesk in Informatica

Connect to Zendesk in MS Access

Connect to Zendesk in MS Excel

Connect to Zendesk in SSAS

Connect to Zendesk in C#

Connect to Zendesk in Python

Connect to Zendesk in JAVA

Connect to Zendesk in Tableau

Connect to Zendesk in SAP Crystal Reports

Connect to Zendesk in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Connect to Zendesk in Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Connect to Zendesk in Talend Studio

Connect to Zendesk in UiPath

Connect to Zendesk in PowerShell

Connect to Zendesk in ODBC

Video Tutorial - Integrate Zendesk data in SSIS

This video covers the following topics and more, so please watch carefully. After watching the video, follow the steps outlined in this article:

How to download and install the required PowerPack for Zendesk integration in SSIS
How to configure the connection for Zendesk
Features of the ZappySys API Source (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
How to use the Zendesk in SSIS

Watch this video on YouTube

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

SSIS designer installed. Sometimes it is referred as BIDS or SSDT (download it from Microsoft).
Basic knowledge of SSIS package development using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services.
SSIS PowerPack is installed (if you are new to SSIS PowerPack, then get started!).

Read data from Zendesk in SSIS (Export data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Zendesk Connector in API Source to extract data from Zendesk.

Begin with opening Visual Studio and Create a New Project.
Select Integration Service Project and in new project window set the appropriate name and location for project. And click OK.

In the new SSIS project screen you will find the following:
- SSIS ToolBox on left side bar
- Solution Explorer and Property Window on right bar
- Control flow, data flow, event Handlers, Package Explorer in tab windows
- Connection Manager Window in the bottom
Note: If you don't see ZappySys SSIS PowerPack Task or Components in SSIS Toolbox, please refer to this help link.
Now, Drag and Drop SSIS Data Flow Task from SSIS Toolbox. Double click on the Data Flow Task to see Data Flow designer.
From the SSIS toolbox drag and API Source (Predefined Templates) on the data flow designer surface, and double click on it to edit it:
Select New Connection to create a new connection:
Use a preinstalled Zendesk Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Zendesk Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

Zendesk

Now it's time to configure authentication. Firstly, configure authentication settings in Zendesk service and then proceed by configuring API Connection Manager. Start by expanding an authentication type:

Token Authentication

Zendesk authentication

Authenticate using Static Token instead of userid / password ([Token Access] option must be enabled under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings and then Click [ADD API Token] to generate new token. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/settings [API reference]

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Token Authentication [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

Token Authentication [Http]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
UserId	Fill-in the parameter...
Token	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

OAuth Authentication

Zendesk authentication

OAuth App must be created under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/oauth_clients [API reference]

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth Authentication [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

OAuth Authentication [OAuth]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientId	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientSecret	Fill-in the parameter...
Permissions	Fill-in the parameter...
RedirectUrl	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF)

Zendesk authentication

Authenticate using your userid / password (2FA must be OFF and [Password Access] option must be enabled under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/settings [API reference]

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
UserName (2FA Must be OFF)	Fill-in the parameter...
Password	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and click on Preview Data button to make the API call.

API Source - Zendesk

Zendesk Connector can be used to integrate Zendesk REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Tickets, Activity, Users, Organizations and more.
That's it! We are done! Just in a few clicks we configured the call to Zendesk using Zendesk Connector.

You can load the source data into your desired destination using the Upsert Destination , which supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Amazon Redshift. We also offer other destinations such as CSV , Excel , Azure Table , Salesforce , and more . You can check out our SSIS PowerPack Tasks and components for more options. (*loaded in Trash Destination)

Write data to Zendesk using SSIS (Import data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Zendesk Connector in the API Destination to write data to Zendesk.

Video tutorial

This video covers following and more so watch carefully. After watching this video follow the steps described in this article.

How to download SSIS PowerPack for Zendesk integration in SSIS
How to configure connection for Zendesk
How to write or lookup data to Zendesk
Features about SSIS API Destination
Using Zendesk Connector in SSIS

Watch this video on YouTube

Step-by-step instructions

In upper section we learned how to read data, now in this section we will learn how to configure Zendesk in the API Source to POST data to the Zendesk.

Read the data from the source, being any desired source component. In example we will use ZappySys Dummy Data Source component.
From the SSIS Toolbox drag and drop API Destination (Predefined Templates) on the Data Flow Designer surface and connect source component with it, and double click to edit it.
Select New Connection to create a new connection:

API Destination - Zendesk

Zendesk Connector can be used to integrate Zendesk REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Tickets, Activity, Users, Organizations and more.
Use a preinstalled Zendesk Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Zendesk Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

Zendesk

Proceed with selecting the desired Authentication Type. Then select API Base URL (in most cases default one is the right one). Finally, fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed. You may press a link Steps to Configure which will help set certain parameters. More info is available in Authentication section.

Token Authentication

Zendesk authentication

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Token Authentication [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

Token Authentication [Http]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
UserId	Fill-in the parameter...
Token	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

OAuth Authentication

Zendesk authentication

OAuth App must be created under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/oauth_clients [API reference]

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth Authentication [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

OAuth Authentication [OAuth]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientId	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientSecret	Fill-in the parameter...
Permissions	Fill-in the parameter...
RedirectUrl	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF)

Zendesk authentication

Please refer to external API reference

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Zendesk

UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]

https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2

Required Parameters
Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
UserName (2FA Must be OFF)	Fill-in the parameter...
Password	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and go to the Mappings tab to map the columns.

API Destination - Zendesk

Zendesk Connector can be used to integrate Zendesk REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Tickets, Activity, Users, Organizations and more.
Finally, map the desired columns:

API Destination - Zendesk

Zendesk Connector can be used to integrate Zendesk REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Tickets, Activity, Users, Organizations and more.
That's it; we successfully configured the POST API Call. In a few clicks we configured the Zendesk API call using ZappySys Zendesk Connector

Load Zendesk data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination (Insert or Update)

Once you configured the data source, you can load Zendesk data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination.

Upsert Destination can merge or synchronize source data with the target table. It supports Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Redshift databases as targets. Upsert Destination also supports very fast bulk upsert operation along with bulk delete.

Upsert operation - a database operation which performs INSERT or UPDATE SQL commands based on record's existence condition in the target table. It inserts records that don't have matching records in the target table or updates them, if they do, by matching them by key columns.

Upsert Destination supports INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations, so it is similar to SQL Server's MERGE command, except it can be used directly in SSIS package.

From the SSIS Toolbox drag-and-drop Upsert Destination component onto the Data Flow designer background.
Connect your SSIS source component to Upsert Destination.
Double-click on Upsert Destination component to open configuration window.
Start by selecting the Action from the list.
Next, select the desired target connection or create one by clicking <New [provider] Connection> menu item from the Target Connection dropdown.
Then select a table from the Target Table list or click New button to create a new table based on the source columns.
Continue by checking Insert and Update options according to your scenario (e.g. if Update option is unchecked, no updates will be made).
Finally, click Map All button to map all columns and then select the Key columns to match the columns on:
Click OK to save the configuration.
Run the package and Zendesk data will be merged with the target table in SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Redshift:
Done!

Deploy and schedule SSIS package

After you are done creating SSIS package, most likely, you want to deploy it to SQL Server Catalog and run it periodically. Just follow the instructions in this article: