Hello sspencer,

This is Jason Burnside from Microsoft Office365 SharePoint Support.

Thanks for coming to the communities with your concerns about connecting to an external data source.

Please check out the following community forum posts related to connecting to an external data source:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/146/t/45290.aspx

Please let me know if this resolves your issue.

I will continue to monitor this thread if you have any additional questions.

that just points me back to my own question.

Hello Spencer,

I apologize about the above link.

Please check out this link for more information of using Business Connectivity Services on SharePoint Online:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/b/office_365_technical_blog/archive/2012/03/26/how-to-business-connectivity-services-bcs-in-sharepoint-online.aspx

I will continue to monitor this thread if you have any additional questions.

Hello Spencer,

Did you find the above post helpful?

I will continue to monitor this thread if you have any additional questions.

Jason,  I am not sure if this answers my question or not.  I think it does. But of course it raises many other questions.  I have not finished going thru the details of that post yet i have been traveling for work.   But if I understand correctly,  To present data on site in sharepoint I first have to Import that data into a list in Sharepoint. Is that correct,  Then i can manipulate the list for display as I want.  Is my thought process correct?

Hello Sspencer,

Once you have your data imported into a SharePoint List, you should be able to create custom views to display your data.

I found more information regarding the Business Data Connectivity (BDC) Service:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee231597.aspx

I will continue to monitor this thread if you have any additional questions.

Hello Sspencer,

Did you have any further questions?

I will continue to monitor this thread if you have any additional questions.

I do have more questions.  

I am trying to connect to Sage MAS90 Providex Database thru sharepoint 2010 online BCS.  I have created a Linked Server in MS SQl Server,  Have verified that this connection works.  I can run queries against the database via the SQL Server.   Now I need to connect to the SQL Server i created from Sharepoint BCS External Content.  I click on the add connection under External Content Type. I Choose SQL Server.   I Get the SQl Server Connection Properties window.  I enter the Database server "xxxx\sqlexpress"  I enter the Database Server Name "MAS90MAV". (this is the name i gave the SQL server database).   Then I clock OK.

I get a Login failure that identifies my current login as the failure.  I then tried to change to use Connect with Impersonated Windows Identity.  It then prompts me for a user name and password.   I enter the domain\administrator account and password and i get the same login failure.

Here is the Error.

Cannot Connect to the LOBSystem (External System).

Cannot Open Database "MAS90MAV" requested by the Login. The Login Failed.

Login failed for the user 'domain\user'

What am I doing wrong or what else do i need to do?

Hello Sspencer,

Have you added yourself as an administrator in the Set Metadata Store Permissions option within the Business Data Connectivity section? If not, add yourself to the administrators.

Please let me know if this resolves your issue.

I will continue to monitor this thread for further posts or questions.

i will give this a try next week when i get back in the office.  Thanks

Hello Sspencer,

I will continue to monitor this thread for further posts or questions.