Getting data out of Mendix apps into Azure and Power BI
Data from Mendix apps
Yres has no separate Mendix source type. A Mendix app exposes its data as a published OData service, which you create in Studio Pro; Yres reads that service through the generic OData connection, or through the REST connection if the app offers its own REST API. Sign-in usually uses the username and password of a Mendix user role. The OData feed is read page by page through the nextLink and ends up in an Azure SQL database in your own Azure tenant.
At a glance
- Connection
- An OData service published in Mendix at https://<app-host>/<location>/, read through the generic OData source; or a custom REST API through the generic REST source
- Sign-in
- Usually Basic with a Mendix user role (username and password). Anonymous for a public service; extra headers such as an API key are possible
- OAuth
- If the Mendix service requires OAuth, you use the OData OAuth source instead of the plain OData source
- Paging
- For OData through the @odata.nextLink; the path to that link can be adjusted if the service differs
- Network
- Cloud integration runtime if the app is reachable over the internet. If the app sits behind a firewall or in a closed network, you select a self-hosted integration runtime
- What is stored
- The service address and credentials sit in the Key Vault of your own Azure environment
What you arrange yourself
- 1Have a Published OData service added to the app in Studio Pro with the entities you want to expose. The configured location determines the path in the address, for example svc/products/v1/.
- 2Configure the service to require sign-in, and create a user role (or API key) that Yres may read with.
- 3Check the address: https://<app-host>/odata-doc/ lists the published services; the service itself lives at https://<app-host>/<location>/.
- 4Add a source of type OData (or RestService) in Yres with that address and the credentials.
When you need this — and when you don't
A standalone connector is enough if…
If the data is only used inside the Mendix app itself, or you want a single Power BI report straight on the published OData service, a data warehouse is not needed.
Yres adds value if…
Yres earns its place when data that exists only in a custom-built app has to count in reporting next to ERP, CRM or financial sources, or when you want to build history the app itself does not keep. Because the route is standard OData, nothing vendor-specific has to be built into the app.
Frequently asked questions: Mendix
Does Yres have a Mendix connector?
No, and none is needed. Mendix has no form of its own in Yres: you pick the source type OData or RestService and enter your app's address and credentials. The app publishes the data through a standard OData service, and Yres reads it like any other OData feed.
Do I choose source type OData or RestService for Mendix?
That depends on how the app publishes the data. A Published OData service is connected as OData; if the team built its own REST API, you use RestService. Mind one difference: with OData, Yres adds a trailing slash to the address itself, whereas with RestService the base address must not end in one.
What does our Mendix developer need to do before Yres can load?
Add a Published OData service in Studio Pro, include the required entities, choose a location and make sign-in mandatory. The developer then passes on the service address and the user or key.
Our Mendix app is not reachable from the internet. Can Yres still get to it?
Yes. On the source you select an Azure Data Factory self-hosted integration runtime that sits in the app's network. If the app is publicly reachable, the default cloud runtime is enough and there is nothing to install.
Full technical description in the knowledge base →·Last reviewed:
Data warehouse automation that runs in your own Azure
Built for organisations on Azure and Power BI. Yres connects your sources, keeps the history and promotes changes in a controlled way, without manual work.