Databases
Engineering Analytics

How to load data from Commcare to MS SQL Server

Learn how to use Airbyte to synchronize your Commcare data into MS SQL Server within minutes.

TL;DR

This can be done by building a data pipeline manually, usually a Python script (you can leverage a tool as Apache Airflow for this). This process can take more than a full week of development. Or it can be done in minutes on Airbyte in three easy steps:

  1. set up Commcare as a source connector (using Auth, or usually an API key)
  2. set up MS SQL Server as a destination connector
  3. define which data you want to transfer and how frequently

You can choose to self-host the pipeline using Airbyte Open Source or have it managed for you with Airbyte Cloud.

This tutorial’s purpose is to show you how.

What is Commcare

Commcare is a mobile data collection and management platform designed for frontline workers in low-resource settings. It allows users to create custom mobile applications that can be used to collect data, track progress, and manage workflows. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and accessible, even for users with limited technical skills. Commcare is used by organizations in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, and education, to improve data collection and management, increase efficiency, and improve outcomes. The platform is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their applications to their specific needs and workflows.

What is MS SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management (RDBMS) built by Microsoft. As a database server, its primary function is to store and retrieve data upon the request of other software applications, either from the same computer or a different computer across a network—including the internet. To serve the needs of different audiences and workload sizes, Microsoft offers multiple editions (at least 12) of its Microsoft SQL Server.

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Prerequisites

  1. A Commcare account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
  2. A MS SQL Server account.
  3. An active Airbyte Cloud account, or you can also choose to use Airbyte Open Source locally. You can follow the instructions to set up Airbyte on your system using docker-compose.

Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform that consolidates and streamlines the process of extracting and loading data from multiple data sources to data warehouses. It offers pre-built connectors, including Commcare and MS SQL Server, for seamless data migration.

When using Airbyte to move data from Commcare to MS SQL Server, it extracts data from Commcare using the source connector, converts it into a format MS SQL Server can ingest using the provided schema, and then loads it into MS SQL Server via the destination connector. This allows businesses to leverage their Commcare data for advanced analytics and insights within MS SQL Server, simplifying the ETL process and saving significant time and resources.

Step 1: Set up Commcare as a source connector

1. First, navigate to the Airbyte website and create an account.
2. Once you have logged in, click on the "Sources" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Scroll down until you find the Commcare source connector and click on it.
4. You will be prompted to enter your Commcare API key. If you do not have one, you can generate one by following the instructions on the Commcare website.
5. Once you have entered your API key, you will be asked to provide additional information about your Commcare account, such as the domain name and project name.
6. After you have entered all the necessary information, click on the "Test" button to ensure that the connection is working properly.
7. If the test is successful, click on the "Save" button to save your settings.
8. You can now use the Commcare source connector to import data from your Commcare account into Airbyte.
9. To do this, click on the "Connections" tab on the left-hand side of the screen and create a new connection.
10. Select the Commcare source connector as your source and choose the data you want to import.
11. Follow the prompts to complete the connection and start importing data.

Step 2: Set up MS SQL Server as a destination connector

1. Open the Airbyte platform and navigate to the "Destinations" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
2. Scroll down until you find the "MSSQL - SQL Server" connector and click on it.
3. Click on the "Create new destination" button.
4. Fill in the required information, including the destination name, host, port, database name, username, and password.
5. Click on the "Test connection" button to ensure that the connection is successful.
6. Once the connection is successful, click on the "Save" button to save the destination.
7. Navigate to the "Sources" tab on the left-hand side of the screen and select the source that you want to connect to the MSSQL - SQL Server destination.
8. Click on the "Create new connection" button.
9. Select the MSSQL - SQL Server destination that you just created from the drop-down menu.
10. Fill in the required information for the source, including the source name, host, port, database name, username, and password.
11. Click on the "Test connection" button to ensure that the connection is successful.
12. Once the connection is successful, click on the "Save" button to save the connection.13. You can now start syncing data from your source to your MSSQL - SQL Server destination.

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your Commcare data to MS SQL Server

Once you've successfully connected Commcare as a data source and MS SQL Server as a destination in Airbyte, you can set up a data pipeline between them with the following steps:

  1. Create a new connection: On the Airbyte dashboard, navigate to the 'Connections' tab and click the '+ New Connection' button.
  2. Choose your source: Select Commcare from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
  3. Select your destination: Choose MS SQL Server from the dropdown list of your configured destinations.
  4. Configure your sync: Define the frequency of your data syncs based on your business needs. Airbyte allows both manual and automatic scheduling for your data refreshes.
  5. Select the data to sync: Choose the specific Commcare objects you want to import data from towards MS SQL Server. You can sync all data or select specific tables and fields.
  6. Select the sync mode for your streams: Choose between full refreshes or incremental syncs (with deduplication if you want), and this for all streams or at the stream level. Incremental is only available for streams that have a primary cursor.
  7. Test your connection: Click the 'Test Connection' button to make sure that your setup works. If the connection test is successful, save your configuration.
  8. Start the sync: If the test passes, click 'Set Up Connection'. Airbyte will start moving data from Commcare to MS SQL Server according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your MS SQL Server data warehouse is always up-to-date with your Commcare data.

Use Cases to transfer your Commcare data to MS SQL Server

Integrating data from Commcare to MS SQL Server provides several benefits. Here are a few use cases:

  1. Advanced Analytics: MS SQL Server’s powerful data processing capabilities enable you to perform complex queries and data analysis on your Commcare data, extracting insights that wouldn't be possible within Commcare alone.
  2. Data Consolidation: If you're using multiple other sources along with Commcare, syncing to MS SQL Server allows you to centralize your data for a holistic view of your operations, and to set up a change data capture process so you never have any discrepancies in your data again.
  3. Historical Data Analysis: Commcare has limits on historical data. Syncing data to MS SQL Server allows for long-term data retention and analysis of historical trends over time.
  4. Data Security and Compliance: MS SQL Server provides robust data security features. Syncing Commcare data to MS SQL Server ensures your data is secured and allows for advanced data governance and compliance management.
  5. Scalability: MS SQL Server can handle large volumes of data without affecting performance, providing an ideal solution for growing businesses with expanding Commcare data.
  6. Data Science and Machine Learning: By having Commcare data in MS SQL Server, you can apply machine learning models to your data for predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and more.
  7. Reporting and Visualization: While Commcare provides reporting tools, data visualization tools like Tableau, PowerBI, Looker (Google Data Studio) can connect to MS SQL Server, providing more advanced business intelligence options. If you have a Commcare table that needs to be converted to a MS SQL Server table, Airbyte can do that automatically.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

  1. Configure a Commcare account as an Airbyte data source connector.
  2. Configure MS SQL Server as a data destination connector.
  3. Create an Airbyte data pipeline that will automatically be moving data directly from Commcare to MS SQL Server after you set a schedule

With Airbyte, creating data pipelines take minutes, and the data integration possibilities are endless. Airbyte supports the largest catalog of API tools, databases, and files, among other sources. Airbyte's connectors are open-source, so you can add any custom objects to the connector, or even build a new connector from scratch without any local dev environment or any data engineer within 10 minutes with the no-code connector builder.

We look forward to seeing you make use of it! We invite you to join the conversation on our community Slack Channel, or sign up for our newsletter. You should also check out other Airbyte tutorials, and Airbyte’s content hub!

What should you do next?

Hope you enjoyed the reading. Here are the 3 ways we can help you in your data journey:

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Easily address your data movement needs with Airbyte Cloud
Take the first step towards extensible data movement infrastructure that will give a ton of time back to your data team. 
Get started with Airbyte for free
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Talk to a data infrastructure expert
Get a free consultation with an Airbyte expert to significantly improve your data movement infrastructure. 
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Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and get the community’s new enlightening content along with Airbyte’s progress in their mission to solve data integration once and for all.
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Connectors Used

What should you do next?

Hope you enjoyed the reading. Here are the 3 ways we can help you in your data journey:

flag icon
Easily address your data movement needs with Airbyte Cloud
Take the first step towards extensible data movement infrastructure that will give a ton of time back to your data team. 
Get started with Airbyte for free
high five icon
Talk to a data infrastructure expert
Get a free consultation with an Airbyte expert to significantly improve your data movement infrastructure. 
Talk to sales
stars sparkling
Improve your data infrastructure knowledge
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and get the community’s new enlightening content along with Airbyte’s progress in their mission to solve data integration once and for all.
Subscribe to newsletter

Connectors Used

Frequently Asked Questions

What data can you extract from Commcare?

Commcare's API provides access to a wide range of data related to mobile data collection and management. The following are the categories of data that can be accessed through Commcare's API:
1. Form Data: This includes data collected through mobile forms, such as survey responses, patient information, and other data points.
2. Case Data: This includes data related to cases created in Commcare, such as patient cases, project cases, and other case types.
3. User Data: This includes data related to users of the Commcare platform, such as user profiles, roles, and permissions.
4. Location Data: This includes data related to the location of mobile devices used for data collection, such as GPS coordinates and other location-based data.
5. Analytics Data: This includes data related to the performance of mobile data collection and management, such as usage statistics, form completion rates, and other metrics.
6. Media Data: This includes data related to media files uploaded through Commcare, such as images, videos, and audio recordings.
Overall, Commcare's API provides access to a wide range of data that can be used to improve mobile data collection and management processes.

What data can you transfer to MS SQL Server?

You can transfer a wide variety of data to MS SQL Server. This usually includes structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data like transaction records, log files, JSON data, CSV files, and more, allowing robust, scalable data integration and analysis.

What are top ETL tools to transfer data from Commcare to MS SQL Server?

The most prominent ETL tools to transfer data from Commcare to MS SQL Server include:

  • Airbyte
  • Fivetran
  • Stitch
  • Matillion
  • Talend Data Integration

These tools help in extracting data from Commcare and various sources (APIs, databases, and more), transforming it efficiently, and loading it into MS SQL Server and other databases, data warehouses and data lakes, enhancing data management capabilities.