How to Choose an Integration for Live Business Data
This guide helps you decide how to get live business data onto your screens, for example production output and KPIs on a factory floor, figures from an ERP, or dashboards your team already built in a BI tool. It answers three questions:
- How does the data get into Wallboard?
- How is it shown: by Wallboard's own charts, or as the dashboard you already have?
- When is a spreadsheet enough, and when do you need developer help?
Start with what the source system can offer
The right approach depends on what the source system can expose, not on Wallboard.
| Option | How it works | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets / Excel | The system exports to a spreadsheet (or people keep it up to date), and Wallboard refreshes it on a schedule | Google Sheet datasource, Microsoft Excel datasource |
| JSON / REST API | Wallboard calls any HTTP endpoint on a schedule. API keys and tokens go in a custom header; Basic auth is built in | JSON datasource |
| XML | The same as JSON, for systems that return XML; Wallboard converts it to JSON | XML datasource |
| Database (JDBC) | Wallboard runs a SQL query against the database directly | JDBC drivers |
| Webhook into an internal datasource | The source system pushes data to Wallboard every time it changes | Datasource actions |
| Power BI | Embed the report with the Power BI Widget, or show it as an image through the Power BI datasource | Power BI widget, Power BI datasource |
| Screenshot | Wallboard regularly captures any published dashboard URL as an image | Screenshot datasource |
Spreadsheets, JSON, XML, JDBC and Screenshot sources are refreshed on a schedule that you set on the datasource. A webhook is pushed by the source system, so the screen changes as soon as the data does. For data that changes every few seconds, such as a production counter, prefer a webhook.
Decide how the data is shown
| Option | Best for | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Wallboard chart Widgets (Bar, Line, Pie, Gauge, Area, Table and more) | The data is in any Wallboard datasource and you want live, branded charts | Dynamic Charts |
| Power BI Widget | Dashboards already built in Power BI | Power BI widget |
| Excel charts as images | Charts already built in Excel on OneDrive, pulled as images through Microsoft Graph, with no rebuilding | Pull dynamic charts from Excel |
| Google Sheets charts as PDF | Chart-only sheets, exported as PDF from a connected Google Drive folder and shown in a PDF or Gallery Widget. Google has no chart-image export like Excel's | Connect Google Drive folder, PDF widget, Gallery widget |
| Screenshot datasource | Any other BI tool with a shareable URL (Grafana, Tableau, Looker and others) | Screenshot datasource |
Quick decision flow
Is the data already visualized somewhere?
- In Power BI: use the Power BI Widget, or the Power BI datasource with an Image Widget.
- In Excel on OneDrive: pull the charts as images.
- In Google Sheets: export the chart sheets as PDF.
- In any other tool with a URL: use the Screenshot datasource.
Does the data need to feed Wallboard's own charts?
- It is in a spreadsheet: use the Google Sheet or Microsoft Excel datasource.
- It is in a database: use JDBC.
- It is in a modern business system: use the JSON (or XML) datasource.
- It is real-time factory or ERP data: have the system push it to an internal datasource by webhook.
When is a spreadsheet enough?
A spreadsheet is usually enough when:
- the data changes a few times a day rather than every minute,
- people update it by hand, or
- the source system has no API, but can export to a file.
When do you need developer help?
On the source system's side, when:
- the system is closed and has no export or API,
- it uses its own proprietary authentication, or
- you need to combine several sources into one feed.
Some of this can be solved without code by a workflow tool in between, which calls the source, reshapes the data, and hands Wallboard one clean JSON address. Learn more: How to Show Airport Information
On Wallboard's side, when you need:
- interactivity beyond simple page navigation,
- complex Content logic or custom data transformations, or
- a bespoke visualization that no Widget offers.
Those need scripting or a custom Widget. Contact Wallboard for development support.
Related articles
- Learn more: Internal datasource change via webhook event
- Learn more: Refresh and caching