Data connector

What it is#

A data connector is an integration that links a reporting tool to an external platform — Google Analytics, an ad platform, a CRM, a billing system — so that data flows in automatically rather than being exported and pasted by hand. The connector handles authentication, knows the platform's API, and keeps a live channel open between that source and the report.

A connector is the difference between a metric that is fetched and a metric that is typed.

Why it matters for agencies#

The connector set is what determines whether a reporting tool can actually eliminate manual work, or only reduce it. A tool with a connector for every source an agency uses can render a complete brief untouched. A tool missing one connector forces the agency back into the export-and-paste loop for that one source — and one manual source can re-introduce most of the cycle time the automation was meant to remove.

Two practical things matter when evaluating connectors:

• Coverage. Does the tool connect to the specific sources this client roster actually uses?
• The fallback. For any long-tail source with no native connector, is there a generic path — usually a webhook — so that source can still feed the report?

In SendBriefs specifically#

SendBriefs ships native connectors for the common agency stack — analytics, search, CRM, ad platforms, billing, project tools — plus a webhook connector as the fallback for anything without a native integration. A live data token placed in a template draws from whichever connector supplies that metric.