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

Daniele_Purrone · Nov 8, 2022 7:46:50 AM

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 on how to setup 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 Sendgrid or any of their competitors.

Environment

Qlik Cloud

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.

Go to Sendgrid.com and click on "Try For Free"
Create a free account, by providing your email address and picking a password
After completing a form with the personal/company information, create a Single Sender from the main dashboard
Complete the creation of a sender by adding the details
After verifying the email address, check that the information is correct
In the "Email API" section, select "Integration Guide" and then "SMTP Relay"
Create a key by giving it a name of your choice
Mark down the settings to use for the SMTP config

Server: smtp.sendgrid.net
Port: 465 (SSL)
Username: apikey
Password: Your API Key
Open a new browser tab and, in your Qlik Cloud tenant, go to Management Console --> Settings --> Email Server and enter the information from above
After testing the sending of an email, go back to the Sendgrid page, select the checkbox and Verify integration
Go to the Activity Feed in Sendgrid to check the status of sent emails
The same settings can be applied in the "Send Mail" block in Qlik Application Automation, under the "Connection" tab. This block can also be used with Qlik Reporting Service.