Configure External Action from Gainsight
The Call External API allows you to establish a connection with external systems from within Gainsight and request action from the external system via an API. In this case, Gainsight is the source system and the external application to which you connect, is the target system.
You can use the External Actions while creating a Rules Engine Action and while configuring a Program from Journey Orchestrator.
Business Use Cases:
- You can create a rule which posts messages to Slack when an opportunity is won. This message helps teams know the details of a newly won opportunity. In this case, Gainsight is the source application and Slack is the target application. The method used is POST (posting a new message to Slack).
- You can create a rule which fetches all of your escalations from a CSV file or from an S3 bucket and creates JIRA tickets for each of the escalations. In this case, Gainsight is the source application and JIRA is the target application. The method used is POST (creating new JIRA tickets).
Configure Custom Connectors
Gainsight has introduced custom connectors in the Connectors 2.0 page. You can use a custom Connector to establish a connection to an external application. Once the connection is established, you can create actions for the external application on the External Actions page.
When you create a connection to an external application, you must specify the Authorization method used to establish the connection and then setup parameters for this authorization mechanism. Gainsight recommends you to create only a single connection to an external system. You can then create multiple actions on the connection, as needed.
To create custom Connections:
- Navigate to Administration > Connectors 2.0
- Click Create Connection. The Create Connection window appears.
- Search and select for the Custom Connector in the dropdown menu.
- Enter the following details:
- Connection Name: Enter a name for the Connection in this field.
- From the Authorization Type drop-down menu, select either Basic or Token Based or OAuth 2.0 authorization.
- Basic: This authorization method uses the traditional User Name and Password to authenticate the connection. Enter the following details:
- User Name: Enter the username of the target application in this field.
- Password: Enter the password of the target application in this field.
- Headers: Provide the Key and Value pair(s) in the Headers field. If required, you can provide multiple headers by clicking the + icon. Click the X icon to delete a header.
- (Optional) Description: Enter a description for the connection.
- GET URL: Specify the GET URL of the target application in this field.
- Click Test Connection to verify your connection to the target application.
- Click Save.
- Token Based: This authorization method uses a header based key value pair to perform authorization. Enter the following details:
- Headers: Provide the Key and Value pair(s) in the Headers field. If required, you can provide multiple headers by clicking the + icon. Click the X icon to delete a header.
- (Optional) Description: Enter a description for the connection.
- GET URL: Specify the GET URL of the target application in this field.
- Click Test Connection to verify your connection to the target application.
- Click Save.
- OAuth 2.0: This authorization method uses Access Tokens. An Access Token is a string representing the granted permissions. Enter the following details:
- Content Type: Select the content type that is compatible with the external authorization provider.
- Redirect URL: This is the callback URL that you will be redirected to, after your application is authorized. It is used to extract the authorization code or access token. The callback URL should match the one you use during the application registration process. The URL is present by default and if required, you can copy it using the copy icon.
- Authorization URL: Provide the authorization URL that is given in the external API documentation.
- Access Token URL: Provide the access token that is given in the external service API documentation.
- Client ID: Provide the Client ID from the external application.
- Client Secret: Provide the client secret from the external application.
- Scope: Provide the permission scopes of the connection.
Note: The permissions represented by the Access Token, in OAuth 2.0 terms are known as scopes. When an application authenticates with Auth0, it specifies the scopes it wants. If those scopes are authorized by the user, then the Access Token will represent these authorized scopes. - (Optional) Description: Enter a description for the connection.
- Click Authorize, to validate the connection.
- Basic: This authorization method uses the traditional User Name and Password to authenticate the connection. Enter the following details:
Admins can also use the Edit option to edit the custom connectors configured if required
Additional Resources
For more information about Gainsight APIs, refer to the following articles: