Workiva Support Center

This article provides an overview of the options available when integrating with the Microsoft products we see our customers most commonly enquire about.

Note: There are a lot of Microsoft products; here we will only cover a small selection.

Who Needs to be Involved?

Any integration with a Microsoft product will require someone with access and experience in Azure. In most businesses, this will likely be someone in the IT team, so you should ensure they are involved in all planning and discussions from the very beginning to avoid issues.

The First Decision: The Transporter

The first decision with any integration is what should transport the data between Workiva and the external system (or the Microsoft platform in this particular case). Workiva has chains for carrying this out, while Microsoft has many different platforms (Azure Data Factory, Power Automate, Power Query, plus more). You could also use software or programming code from a third party outside of both firms. As long as whatever you use has the capability to work with APIs, then it should be able to transport data between the platforms.

Note: We generally recommend trying to only use one of these tools. In most use cases, it works better for efficiency, scalability, and maintenance to limit your integration's points of failure and therefore the number of different software packages involved.

Using Workiva's Chains

If you plan to use Workiva's Chains product, please first check you have Wdata active in your workspace.

Dedicated Connectors for Chains

Chains has a number of dedicated connectors which make it easy to connect with certain Microsoft products.

Note: Any premium connectors will require activating and may come with additional costs. Check your contract or contact your CSM for more details.

Microsoft® OneDrive® (also covers SharePoint®)

• OneDrive is a core connector in chains, meaning it's free to use for all with the Wdata license.
• You can copy, delete, and search for files and folders, as well as download and upload files and list available drives.

Power BI®

• A premium connector.
• Great for creating or sending data from Workiva to Power BI datasets and listing items such as reports, gateways, dashboards, and datasets.
• It cannot extract data from Power BI in a format which can then be used within the Workiva platform. If you wish to bring data from Power BI to Workiva, then you will need to seek an alternative method such as the HTTP connector.

Microsoft® SQL Server® (also Azure SQL Database)

• A premium connector.
• Execute SQL commands, retrieve details about a table, or insert records into a database.
• Compatible with Azure SQL Database, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Server 2017-2022.

Azure File Storage

• A premium connector.
• Download a file from your Azure File Storage instance.
• Cannot do anything else.

Microsoft® Dynamics® CRM

• A premium connector.
• Manage entities and queries.

Where No Dedicated Connectors Exist for Chains

If a dedicated connector does not exist for your Microsoft product or a feature you want is not available in the existing connectors, then it's not necessarily the end of the road; it just may mean a bit more work.

The connectors all make it easier to use Microsoft's API, but if you have the technical knowledge, motivation, and willingness to learn Microsoft's API, then you may be able to use it directly through our HTTP Connector.

HTTP Request Connector (uses HTTPS)

• A core connector in chains, meaning it's free to use for all with the Wdata license.
• Able to connect directly to any API including many of Microsoft's, but you will need to learn the API and correct messages and formats that need to be exchanged.
• Example use: Can be used to extract data from Power BI where the dedicated connector does not have this functionality.

Microsoft Fabric®

• Using the HTTP Request connector to download computed ESG metrics from Microsoft Fabric® for sustainability reporting

Microsoft® Sustainability Manager

• Using the HTTP Request connector to download data from external reporting in Microsoft® Sustainability Manager
• Using the HTTP Request connector to download emissions data from Microsoft® Sustainability Manager

Using a Microsoft Option Instead of Chains

Instead of chains, you could use one of the many software platforms Microsoft has that are capable of integrations. All options would require the use and knowledge of Workiva's API.

Azure Data Factory (ADF)

• What it is: A cloud-based ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service designed for large-scale data ingestion and complex data engineering pipelines. It is the "heavy lifter" for moving massive amounts of data between systems.
• Integration with Workiva APIs: The Workflow: you can begin with a two-step pipeline: Step 1 is a "Web Activity" to hit the Workiva authentication endpoint (sending Client ID/Secret) to retrieve an access token. Step 2 is a "Copy Activity" that passes that token dynamically into the Authorization header (Bearer <token>) to pull actual data.
• Typical Use Cases: You need to move high volumes of data or you are building an enterprise-grade "backend" solution that requires monitoring, logging, and error handling.

Power Automate (formerly Flow)

• What it is: A low-code automation tool designed for business logic, notifications, and "if this, then that" workflows.
• Integration with Workiva APIs: You use the HTTP Action (Premium feature) to make raw POST/GET requests or build a Custom Connector where you define the Workiva OAuth2 security settings once. This allows you to drag and drop "Workiva" actions into your flow without worrying about the authentication code every time.
• Typical Use Cases:
  • You are automating business processes rather than just moving data (e.g., "Approve this record," "Send a Teams notification").
  • The volume is low to medium (transactional data).
  • You need near real-time action based on triggers (events) rather than batches.

Azure Logic Apps

• What it is: The "big brother" to Power Automate. It uses the exact same workflow designer and connectors but runs in Azure rather than Microsoft 365. It is designed for mission-critical, enterprise-wide integrations rather than personal or team productivity.
• Integration with Workiva APIs: Identical to Power Automate (HTTP actions or Custom Connectors). The Key Difference is Logic Apps run on Azure’s infrastructure.
• When to choose:
  • You need IT governance, advanced monitoring, and alerting (e.g., "If the Workiva API fails, page the DevOps team").
  • You want a "pay-per-execution" billing model (cheap for low volume) rather than buying user licenses for every person who touches the flow.
  • The workflow involves critical financial data that requires audit logs and security standards higher than a standard Office 365 flow.

Azure Functions

• What it is: "Serverless compute." This is where you write pure code (C#, Python, JavaScript, etc.) that runs on demand. It is the ultimate "fix-all" when out-of-the-box tools aren't flexible enough.
• Integration with Workiva APIs: You write code to request the OAuth token, handle complex pagination (looping through pages of data), or parse messy JSON/XBRL data that standard tools choke on. You then "publish" this code as a simple URL that other tools (like Power BI or ADF) can call.
• When to choose:
  • The Workiva API requires complex logic (e.g., "Loop through these 50 sheets, but only if cell A1 contains 'Active', and then reformat the date string").
  • You need to process data extremely fast or parallelize requests to stay within API rate limits.
  • You want to build a "custom API wrapper" so your internal teams can get or send Workiva data without knowing how OAuth works.

Microsoft Fabric (specifically Data Factory in Fabric)

• What it is: Microsoft's new "all-in-one" analytics platform. It essentially combines Azure Data Factory, Power BI, and a Data Lake (OneLake) into a single SaaS product.
• Integration with Workiva APIs: Very similar to Azure Data Factory (ADF), using pipelines and copy activities.
• When to choose:
  • Your organization is already moving toward Microsoft Fabric as its future data platform.
  • You want to shorten the path from "Raw Workiva Data" to "Power BI Report" (Fabric removes the need to manage a separate SQL database in the middle).
  • You want the power of ADF but with the simplicity of a SaaS interface (no managing Azure resources/subscriptions).

Summary