You integrate Kinetic with Grow by first creating a Kinetic user account specifically for Grow. Then log into Grow with this account and create the connection. If you are in a Cloud environment, the Grow team will help you directly connect your Kinetic database to Grow. If you are in an On-Premise environment, you must manually connect your Kinetic database to Grow.
You can then optionally integrate Grow back out to Kinetic so your users can see Grow metrics on their Kinetic Home Pages. Log back into Kinetic, create the Grow token, and then add this token to your Kinetic Cloud or On-Premise environment.
This help article goes through this integration step-by-step. In this article, we will explore:
Adding the Access Scope
Access scopes limit what areas of Kinetic a user can launch and run. Your Cloud or On-Premise environment needs an access scope that only has the services and methods the integrated user account needs to connect Kinetic with Grow. If the GrowKinetic access scope is not yet available in your environment, follow these steps to create it.
Log into Kinetic.
Launch Access Scope Maintenance. Go to System Setup > Security Maintenance > Access Scope.
Select Add New.
Enter an Access Scope ID, such as GrowKinetic.
Enter a Description for the access scope.
Now add the services Kinetic needs to integrate with Grow. Expand the Nav Tree and select the Service List node.
Go to the Service List grid and select Add New.
Find and select the ICE.BO.UserFile service. This service handles the Kinetic user accounts.
Now add the method for this UserFile service. Go to the Methods grid and select Add New.
Find and select the GetCompanyListForUser method. This method pulls in the companies that each user account can access.
Return to the Service List grid and select Add New.
Find and select the ICE.Lib.SessionMod service. This services runs the each Kinetic session.
Add the method for this SessionMod service. Make sure you select this service in the Service List, then go to the Methods grid. Select Add New.
Find and select the GetPatchLevelApp service. This service checks the current Kinetic version.
Save
the GrowKinetic access scope.
Creating the Integrated User Account
Now set up the integration user account for Grow. You only need one user account to manage the Grow integration. To do this, create a new account and assign the Grow access scope to it.
Launch User Account Security Maintenance. Go to System Setup > Security Maintenance > User Account Security Maintenance.
Select the Add New button.
The user account displays in the Detail card. If you are creating a new account, enter the User ID and Name.
Expand the Authentication card.
If the account is not enabled, press the Enable Account button.
Now expand the System Access card.
This user account needs to use the version 1 API keys to integrate with Grow. Select the Allow API V1 check box.
Review the companies that this user account can access. Go to the Nav Tree and select the Authorized Companies node.
Review the companies in the grid.
Optionally add a company by selecting the Add New button.
Now give this user account access to Grow. Scroll down and expand the Security card.
Go to the Access Scope field. Select Search to find and select the GrowKinetic access scope.
Save
the user account. You may see this warning message:
Select Yes.
Log into the account.
Change the password.
This user account is now an Integration account that links with Grow. You next connect Kinetic with (Undefined variable: Variables.Product_Grow). You do this in different ways depending on whether you are in a Cloud or On-Premise environment.
Connecting Kinetic with Grow - Cloud
If you run Kinetic in a Cloud environment do the following to connect Kinetic with Grow:
Log into Grow.
Select the Data tab (top left corner).
Go to the NavTree and select Connections.
Press the Connect + button.
Find and select Kinetic.
Press the Connect to Kinetic button.
The Connect Grow to your Kinetic account dialog box displays. Enter your Kinetic Instance URL.
Now enter the Username and Password for your integration account.
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Select one of the following options:
Database (Cloud) + BAQs - If Epicor has added your database information to Grow, select this option. Both your Kinetic database and your business activity queries (BAQs) connect with Grow.
BAQs Only - If Epicor HAS NOT added your database information or if you are not sure Grow has this information yet, select this option. Only your Kinetic business activity queries (BAQs) connect with Grow.
Press Connect.
Your Kinetic platform connects with Grow.
Connecting Kinetic with Grow - On-Premise
If you run Kinetic in an On-Premise environment, do the following to connect Kinetic with Grow.
Preparing the Connection
Before you set up the connection, do the following set up:
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You MUST go to your database and white list the following Epicor IP addresses:
52.203.193.180
52.0.63.147
18.209.80.4
13.42.173.220
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Collect the following information about your database:
Host -- A valid IP or a Public URL
Port -- This value is typically 1433
Database Name -- The name of your Kinetic database.
After you have both white listed these IP addresses in your database and gathered the database information, you are ready to connect Grow with your on-premise environment.
Creating the On-Premise Connection
Log into Grow.
Select the Data tab (top left corner).
Go to the NavTree and select Connections.
Press the Connect + button.
Find and select Kinetic.
Press the Connect to Kinetic button.
The Connect Grow to your Kinetic account dialog box displays. Enter your Kinetic Instance URL.
Now enter the Username and Password for your integration account.
Select the Database (On Premises) + BAQs option. Both your Kinetic on-premise database and your business activity queries (BAQs) connect with Grow.
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Enter your database information:
Host
Port
Database Name
Press Connect.
Troubleshooting Connection Issues
If you receive a connection error, select the BAQs Only option.
If the BAQs Only option DOES NOT work, you have a problem with the integration account. Contact your consultant for help fixing this account.
If the BAQs Only option DOES work but your Grow connection still DOES NOT work, your database information is not correct. Verify that the Epicor IP addresses are correct, your Host is a valid IP or Public URL, and that the Port number is correct for your database. If you use dynamic ports, make sure you enter the current port number.
Embedding Grow into Kinetic
While Kinetic in now integrated with Grow, you can next optionally integrate Grow so it pushes data back out to Kinetic. Your users can then see Grow metrics on their Kinetic Home Pages.
Do this optional step by adding the Grow public token to your Kinetic environment. You first create the Grow token in Grow. You then log into Kinetic and add the token.
Creating the Grow Token
Log into Grow.
Go to the top right corner and press Settings.
Now select User Settings.
Navigate to the bottom of the page to the Grow API Tokens section.
Press the Add Token button.
Optionally enter a Name for the token. This value can help you identify this token later.
Enter an Expiration Date. Typically you enter a date a year from the current date so that you annually check security.
Press Save.
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Copy the Public Token and Secret Token values and paste these values in a .txt file.
Be sure to store these values in a safe place that you will remember to find later. After you finish creating the Grow token, these values no longer display and Grow removes them from its database. This helps ensure security.
Press Done.
Adding the Grow Token
Complete the integration by adding the Grow public token to your Kinetic environment.
Log into Kinetic with a Security Manager account (one with access to Company Maintenance).
Launch Company Maintenance. Go to System Setup > Company/Site Maintenance > Company Maintenance.
Select the Overflow menu and then Grow Token setup.
The Grow Token panel slides on. Enter the Grow Url: https://app.gogrow.com/api/embed/
Go to the Enter Token field and add the token that will integrate Kinetic with Grow.
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Save
the Grow token. The panel closes and your Kinetic environment integrates with Grow. After you save, the Grow Url and Token are encrypted for security and will no longer display. However you can use this panel to restore the Grow connection. Do this by accessing the Grow Token panel and selecting the Reset button. You can also use this panel to enter a new token.
Now users can add Grow widgets to their homepages. The token you enter in this panel determines what metrics are available for display in each widget. Grow widgets have the same features as other homepage widgets. You can learn more about widgets by reviewing the Personalizing Kinetic Home Page help article.
Using the Grow Integration
Now that Kinetic is integrated with Grow, use existing Grow datasets or create custom business activity queries (BAQs) that pull additional data you want to display into Grow through datasets and metrics. Review the Creating Business Activity Queries (BAQs) for Growhelp article to learn how you create custom queries and integrate them with Grow.