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 Intercom as a source connector (using Auth, or usually an API key)
2. set up MySQL 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 Intercom

What is MySQL

Prerequisites

1. A Intercom account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
2. A MySQL 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 Intercom and MySQL, for seamless data migration.

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

Step 1: Set up Intercom as a source connector

Step 2: Set up MySQL as a destination connector

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your Intercom data to MySQL

Once you've successfully connected Intercom as a data source and MySQL 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 Intercom from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
3. Select your destination: Choose MySQL 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 Intercom objects you want to import data from towards MySQL. 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 Intercom to MySQL according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your MySQL data warehouse is always up-to-date with your Intercom data.

Use Cases to transfer your Intercom data to MySQL

Integrating data from Intercom to MySQL provides several benefits. Here are a few use cases:

1. Advanced Analytics: MySQL’s powerful data processing capabilities enable you to perform complex queries and data analysis on your Intercom data, extracting insights that wouldn't be possible within Intercom alone.
2. Data Consolidation: If you're using multiple other sources along with Intercom, syncing to MySQL 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: Intercom has limits on historical data. Syncing data to MySQL allows for long-term data retention and analysis of historical trends over time.
4. Data Security and Compliance: MySQL provides robust data security features. Syncing Intercom data to MySQL ensures your data is secured and allows for advanced data governance and compliance management.
5. Scalability: MySQL can handle large volumes of data without affecting performance, providing an ideal solution for growing businesses with expanding Intercom data.
6. Data Science and Machine Learning: By having Intercom data in MySQL, you can apply machine learning models to your data for predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and more.
7. Reporting and Visualization: While Intercom provides reporting tools, data visualization tools like Tableau, PowerBI, Looker (Google Data Studio) can connect to MySQL, providing more advanced business intelligence options. If you have a Intercom table that needs to be converted to a MySQL table, Airbyte can do that automatically.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

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