Connect SQL Server to clariBI
Ask plain-English questions of your Microsoft SQL Server data. clariBI's AI engine turns your enterprise databases into interactive dashboards in minutes.
No SQL knowledge required. No ETL pipelines to build. Just connect, ask, and understand.
No credit card required. Available on all paid plans from $99/month.
What is Microsoft SQL Server?
Microsoft SQL Server is one of the world's most widely deployed relational database management systems (RDBMS). Developed by Microsoft, it is purpose-built for enterprise workloads: transactional processing, data warehousing, reporting, and analytics at scale. SQL Server runs on Windows and Linux, supports on-premises and cloud deployments (including Azure SQL and Amazon RDS for SQL Server), and is trusted by organisations ranging from mid-market businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises.
SQL Server stores data in structured tables, enforces referential integrity through foreign keys, and supports stored procedures, views, triggers, and a rich set of T-SQL extensions. Its broad ecosystem, including SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), makes it a central hub for enterprise data operations.
clariBI connects to SQL Server using pyodbc via SQLAlchemy (connection string: mssql+pyodbc). This is the industry-standard Python driver for SQL Server and supports all editions from SQL Server 2012 through the latest releases, as well as Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. Once connected, clariBI introspects your schema automatically and lets your team query data in plain English without needing SQL expertise.
Quick facts
- Vendor: Microsoft
- Type: Relational DBMS (RDBMS)
- Default port: 1433 (TCP)
- Query language: T-SQL
- Platforms: On-premises, Azure, AWS RDS
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clariBI driver: pyodbc via SQLAlchemy (
mssql+pyodbc)
How to connect SQL Server to clariBI
Getting from zero to live dashboards takes under five minutes. Follow these steps to connect your database securely.
Open Data Sources in your workspace
Log in to clariBI and navigate to Data Sources in the left-hand sidebar. Click the "Add Data Source" button in the top-right corner of the panel. A connection wizard will appear.
Select "Microsoft SQL Server" from the connector list
Browse or search the connector catalogue. Click the SQL Server tile. clariBI will confirm that you are about to configure a native SQL Server connection using the mssql+pyodbc driver.
Enter your connection credentials
Fill in the six required fields:
- Host - the hostname or IP address of your SQL Server instance (e.g.
db.example.comor10.0.0.5) - Port - TCP port, default
1433 - Database - the name of the specific database (catalog) to connect to
- Username - a SQL Server login with SELECT permissions on the target tables
- Password - encrypted at rest using Fernet symmetric encryption immediately on save
- Driver name - the ODBC driver installed on clariBI's backend server (e.g.
ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server)
We recommend creating a dedicated read-only SQL login for clariBI. This limits exposure and follows the principle of least privilege.
Test the connection and select your tables
Click "Test Connection". clariBI opens a pooled connection (pool size 5, max overflow 10, 1-hour recycle interval) and verifies your credentials. On success, clariBI introspects your schema and displays all available tables and views. Choose which ones you want to make available for analysis. You can always add or remove tables later.
Start asking questions
Once connected, head to Conversational Analytics or open any dashboard and select your SQL Server source. Type a question in plain English - "What were our top 10 products by revenue last quarter?" - and clariBI's AI engine generates the query, fetches the data, and renders a chart instantly. Your first insight is seconds away.
What you can analyze
clariBI gives your entire team access to the data locked inside SQL Server without requiring anyone to write a line of T-SQL. Here is what becomes possible the moment you connect.
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Any table or view in plain English
Ask questions like "Show me monthly sales by region" and clariBI's AI engine translates them directly into T-SQL, executes the query, and presents the result as a chart or table.
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Sales and revenue performance
Track pipeline value, close rates, quota attainment, average deal size, and month-over-month revenue trends pulled directly from your CRM or ERP tables in SQL Server.
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Inventory and supply chain metrics
Monitor stock levels, reorder points, supplier lead times, and warehouse utilisation by querying your operations database in seconds.
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Customer and cohort analysis
Segment customers by lifetime value, churn risk, or purchase frequency. clariBI can join multiple tables automatically to produce cohort charts and retention curves.
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Financial reporting and KPIs
Generate P&L summaries, budget vs. actual comparisons, and cash flow snapshots from your finance tables without exporting to spreadsheets first.
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Operational and HR data
Analyse headcount, employee tenure, time-to-hire, absence rates, and productivity metrics stored in your HR or ERP database.
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Multi-table joins without writing SQL
clariBI understands your schema's foreign key relationships and can automatically join orders to customers, products, and regions to answer complex cross-table questions.
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440+ pre-built analysis templates
Instantly apply any of clariBI's 440+ templates across 30 business categories (e-commerce, SaaS metrics, supply chain, financial analytics, and more) directly on your SQL Server data.
Connection details
A complete reference for everything clariBI needs to establish and maintain a connection to your SQL Server instance.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Driver | pyodbc via SQLAlchemy; connection string dialect: mssql+pyodbc |
| Default port | 1433 (TCP). Named instances may use dynamic ports; check your SQL Server Configuration Manager. |
| Required fields |
|
| Authentication | SQL Server authentication (username + password). Windows Integrated Authentication is not supported in the hosted environment. |
| Credential storage | All credentials are encrypted at rest using Fernet symmetric encryption (AES-128 in CBC mode with HMAC-SHA256 authentication). Keys are managed in clariBI's secrets manager and are never stored alongside the encrypted values. |
| Connection pooling | Pool size: 5 connections. Max overflow: 10 additional connections. Connection recycle interval: 1 hour. Connections are pre-validated on checkout. |
| Access model | Read-only access strongly recommended. clariBI never writes to your database. You can configure a table allow-list or exclude-list after connection. |
| Supported versions | SQL Server 2012 and later; Azure SQL Database; Azure SQL Managed Instance; Amazon RDS for SQL Server. |
| Network requirements | Port 1433 (or custom port) must be reachable from clariBI's servers. For private networks, consider an IP allowlist or VPN tunnel. Contact support for private link options on Enterprise plans. |
Popular use cases
See how teams across industries use clariBI with SQL Server to make faster, better-informed decisions every day.
Executive sales dashboards
Pull pipeline data, closed deals, and quota attainment from your CRM tables in SQL Server. Build a live executive dashboard that refreshes daily without any manual exports or spreadsheet gymnastics.
Inventory and stock control
Monitor stock-on-hand, days of supply, and supplier fill rates from your ERP database. clariBI's AI engine alerts you to low-stock SKUs and predicts reorder timing based on historical consumption patterns.
Customer segmentation and churn
Segment customers by lifetime value, average order value, or recency using data already stored in SQL Server. Identify at-risk accounts before they churn by spotting declining engagement patterns across your customer tables.
Financial close and reporting
Accelerate month-end close by querying your financial tables directly. Generate budget-vs-actual comparisons, departmental cost breakdowns, and rolling 12-month P&L charts without waiting for the finance team to export data.
HR and workforce analytics
Track headcount trends, time-to-hire, turnover rates, and department growth by querying your HR system's SQL Server database. Surface workforce insights that previously required a dedicated analyst to compile.
Operations and SLA tracking
Monitor service-level agreement compliance, ticket resolution times, and operational throughput by connecting your helpdesk or operations database. Build real-time dashboards that flag breached SLAs before they become escalations.
Security & requirements
clariBI is designed with enterprise security in mind. Here is everything you need to know before connecting your SQL Server instance.
Credential encryption
Your SQL Server password and username are encrypted with Fernet (AES-128-CBC + HMAC-SHA256) immediately upon saving. Encryption keys are stored separately in a secrets manager and are never logged or exposed in API responses.
Read-only access
clariBI never writes to your database. We strongly recommend creating a dedicated SQL Server login with only SELECT permissions on the schemas and tables you want to expose. This follows the principle of least privilege.
Connection pooling
clariBI maintains a managed connection pool per data source: 5 base connections, up to 10 overflow connections, with a 1-hour recycle interval. Stale connections are automatically invalidated and replaced. This avoids connection exhaustion on your SQL Server instance.
Network & firewall requirements
Your SQL Server must be reachable on port 1433 (or your configured custom port) from clariBI's cloud infrastructure. For on-premises instances behind a firewall, you will need to add clariBI's IP ranges to your allowlist. Contact support for the current egress IP list. Enterprise plans can arrange private link connectivity.
ODBC driver requirement
clariBI's backend has ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server installed. If you are connecting to a very new SQL Server feature set, ODBC Driver 18 may be preferable. Contact support to confirm driver availability. You specify the driver name when adding the data source.
Table-level access controls
After connecting, you can configure an explicit allow-list of tables that clariBI is permitted to query, or an exclude-list of sensitive tables to hide. This gives you fine-grained control over what data each workspace can access, independently of the SQL Server permissions granted to the login.
Pricing & availability
Database connections are available on all paid clariBI plans, as well as during the free 14-day trial. No credit card is required to start your trial.
- SQL Server connection included
- 50 AI credits
- Up to 3 data sources
- 440+ analysis templates
- SQL Server connection included
- 500 AI credits/month
- Up to 10 data sources
- 3 team seats
- SQL Server connection included
- 1,500 AI credits/month
- Up to 50 data sources
- 15 team seats + RBAC
Need more than 50 data sources or a private network connection?
Our Enterprise plan ($999/month) supports up to 100 data sources, 100 team seats, RBAC, dedicated support, and custom private link connectivity for on-premises SQL Server instances. View Enterprise details →
Connect SQL Server in under 5 minutes
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