How to use Mailchimp bulk email service SMTP with Qlik Cloud Services and Qlik Application Automation

[Umberto]

With Microsoft and Google terminating support for Basic Authentication, Qlik suggests using a dedicated tool (such as Sendgrid, Mailchimp, or Mailgun) for bulk emails. While Qlik does not specifically endorse any of these services over the others, here's an example of how to set up Qlik Cloud Services SMTP settings with Sendgrid, taking advantage of their free tier. Going beyond that tier might require adopting a paying subscription from either Mailchimp or any of their competitors.

Environment

Qlik Cloud 
Qlik Application Automation 

The information in this article is provided as-is and to be used at own discretion. Depending on tool(s) used, customization(s), and/or other factors ongoing support on the solution below may not be provided by Qlik Support.

Steps 

1. To successfully set up an SMTP connectivity from Qlik Cloud, it is necessary to configure your sending domain with the SPF and DKIM records as described in the following MailChimp article Configure your DNS | Mailchimp.
   
   
2. After this, you will have to verify your domain in the domains tab of  the mandrillapp portal (you will need to have previously created an account to complete the operation): https://mandrillapp.com/settings/sending-domains
   
   The result should be as follows:
   
   
   
   
3. Once the above has been completed is now time to set up an API key in the SMPT & API info tab; it will be used as password in the credentials provided in Qlik Cloud.
   
   This is an important detail which sometimes result in oversight by the user. The password we will be using in Qlik Cloud is actually the API Key provided by mandrillapp.
   
   
   
   
4. Lastly, we add the credentials in the Qlik Cloud Management Console. Go to (A) Settings, (B) Email server. Complete the configuration and (C) Test the connection. 
   
   
   
   The same settings can be applied in the Send Mail block in Qlik Application Automation, under the Connection tab:
   
   
   

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