Azure Blob Storage connection setup guide

You can connect Crisp with Azure Blob Storage to sync your distributor and retailer data securely to the cloud and integrate that data into your internal systems.

To create this connection, you need to have an Azure subscription and create a storage blob container. Once you set up the connection, your data will flow from Crisp to that container.

If you have direct access to the storage blob container, we recommend setting up the connection by OAuth token. If you don't have direct access to the container you can create the connection by SAS token. Whichever method you choose, you need to obtain your container's URL.

Obtaining the container URL from the Azure Storage Explorer

1. Navigate to your blob container and right click on it.
2. Select Properties.

   

3. Copy the URL from the resulting Properties window.

   

Obtaining the container URL from the Azure portal

1. Log in to the Azure portal, from the main menu at the top-left of the screen hover over Storage accounts.
   A panel appears with a list of your storage accounts.
2. From the Recent resources section, select the storage account your container is in.
   Hint: If the storage account does not appear in the recent resources list, you can select the View button to open a list of all your storage accounts.

   

3. Once you are in the appropriate storage account, from the Blob service section, select Containers.

   

4. Right-click the appropriate container name, then select Container properties.

   

5. Copy the container's URL.

   

Adding the Azure Connector in Crisp

1. Log into your Crisp account.
2. From the main menu on the left side of the screen, select Connectors.
   

   

3. Select the Add connector button.

   

4. Select the Azure Blob Storage connector tile.
   Note: Connecting to Azure Synapse/Data Lake utilizes Azure Blob Storage, so you can select either tile in this step and the set up is the same. Crisp offers two connector tiles to make it clear that Crisp integrates with both Azure Blob Storage and Azure Synapse/Data Lake.  

   

5. If you want, update the default name of the connector, then copy and paste your URL into the Container URL field.

   

You can now authorize Crisp to access your account. If you have direct access to your storage blob container, you can authorize the connection by OAuth token by following the instructions below. If you do not have direct access, follow the instructions in the Authorizing the connection by SAS token section. 

Authorizing the connection by OAuth token (recommended)

1. Before you begin, in Azure, make sure the account you will use to generate the OAuth token has both the "Storage Blob Data Reader” and “Storage Blob Data Contributor” roles assigned. For detailed instructions, see Azure Documentation > Assign Azure Roles using the Azure portal.
2. From the Authorization section, select Azure OAuth, then select the Sign in with Microsoft button.
   
3. Select or log into your Microsoft account.
4. To grant the permissions, select the Accept button.

The token is generated, and you can see who created the token and when. You can now follow the instructions in Selecting the Export Format & Settings to finalize your connection. 

Authorizing the connection by SAS token

This secondary method is only recommended if you are setting up the connector but do not have direct access to the container. Otherwise, we advise authenticating via OAuth token. 

Before starting, make sure you've obtained the container URL and begun the setup process in Crisp.

1. Navigate to your blob container and click on it.
2. Select the Actions tab below, then click Get Shared Access Signature...
3. A new window will load. Set your token's expiration date.
4. Select ALL permissions.
5. Click the Create button at the bottom of the window.
6. From the new window that loads, copy the URI field.
7. When adding the connector in Crisp, select "SAS token" under "Authorization" and then paste the URI field below it.

You can now complete the instructions in the following section to finalize your connection. 

Selecting the Export Format & Settings

1. In the Export Format section, select an output format (e.g., CSV), then choose whether you want the files to be delivered compressed or not.
   Hint: If you choose CSV format, we export columns in alphabetical order.
   

   

2. If you selected CSV as your data format, you can apply a delimiter to your export. 

   

3. If you want, enter a destination path and/or blob relative path.

   
   Note: The relative blob path cannot end in a slash (/) or the connection will fail. 

4. In the Connector source data section, select the Select button. 
   
   
5. Select the retailer(s) for which you want to export data (e.g., UNFI), then choose which data tables and columns to include in the export. For detailed instructions on making your data feed selections, see Selecting Destination Data Sources.
   Hint: You can select the book icon to the right of a table name to see its documentation.
   
   
6. To complete your selections, select the Accept button.
   
   The window closes and you return to the connector setup screen.
7. If you want to include a column that identifies which source connector the data came from, select the Include Source Connector Configuration ID option.
   Hint: This is useful if you have multiple connectors for the same retailer, such as one for U.S. sales and one for Canadian sales.
   
8. Select the Save button.

   

   Azure Blob Storage is now connected to the Crisp platform.