Acumatica will be retiring the ODBC database access for all of their SaaS customers effective March 31, 2019, unless you have paid for a private cloud instance through Acumatica. Many people rely on this type of connection for reporting and integrations with legacy systems. Crestwood has options if you’re dependent on ODBC, read on.
Why is ODBC being retired?
Acumatica is phasing out ODBC due to the fact that it is older technology, and by using modern alternatives, you are not as prone to security vulnerabilities since your data is stored in the application database.
Alternatives to ODBC
The most common use of ODBC is for pulling Acumatica data into reporting tools such as SQL Server Reporting Services and Microsoft Power BI. The table below lists some alternative options for retrieving Acumatica data.
| Method | Comments |
| OData | The Open Data Protocol (OData) provides a secure way to expose Acumatica through a set of RESTful APIs. By using generic inquiries, you can expose specific data to external systems and assign specific security permissions to the consumers of this data. ODBC does not provide this level of security which is often required for compliance standards. |
| APIs | Acumatica APIs allow external applications to securely retrieve Acumatica data. Unlike ODBC, APIs require Acumatica login credentials so specific access permissions can be granted and revoked from inside the application – a key requirement for many compliance standards. Acumatica contract APIs provide versioning so you can more quickly adapt data consumption to application changes. |
| Internal Reporting | Acumatica provides internal reporting tools (generic inquiries, pivot tables, analytical report writer) to analyze data directly within the application. Generic Inquiries (GIs) feed data to dashboards, business events, external systems via OData, and pivot tables for immediate action, notification, or data analysis. External data can be made available to GIs using simple customization techniques. |
| Private Cloud | Both Crestwood Associates and Acumatica offer a private cloud for customers who require ODBC access. There are a couple options available for private hosting: Crestwood Cloud vs. Acumatica Saas. |
For more information, contact one of our Acumatica experts at sales@crestwood.com.
