Microsoft’s SQL Server Reporting Services tool was introduced in 2005 as an alternative to SAP’s Crystal Reports, which has been available to business intelligence planners since the early 1990s. Companies that once used Crystal Reports but have now migrated to Microsoft’s SQL product report that there are a number of benefits to be realized with the robust reporting services tool in the areas of the variety of formats supported and the ease of publishing and scheduling reports.
While Crystal Reports gets high marks for its long-time pouplarity, which has made it easy to learn and use, SQL Server Reporting Services offers even more features that businesses find beneficial to their daily operations and strategic planning. One of the tool’s more popular features is its web-based server, which provides a fitting backdrop for its file storage methods. The files are stored in the XML (Extensible Markup Language) format with standardized designs, but provide the user the option of customizing reports that can offer even more analysis benefits.
The SQL Server Reporting Services tool allows a user to quickly create simple, one-dimensional types of reports that use charts or graphs to convey information. The reporting services software is at its best, however, when it’s used to create and deliver complex reports that bring together varied data from different sources. The report generating software also provides web-based interactive reports. Unlike some reporting services tools, the SQL reporting services software isn’t tied to just a few well-defined templates. Instead, users are able to create their own “ad hoc” report templates that bring in necessary data from different sources. Users often find that this robust reporting capability eliminates the need for several layers of different reports. Just one or two specially designed reports can take the place of several, freeing up employees’ time and expenses.
Reports can be created and then disbursed to necessary recipients on a timetable set up by the reports’ creators or the system administrator. The reports developed by the SQL Server Reporting Services tool can be tied to an email distribution schedule or embedded in a business application. They can even be accessed on demand via an Internet browser if that’s what is needed. Business owners and employees will find that the reporting services software also provides a necessary layer of security. Permissions to view and change reports and files can be granted according to type of user, type of file or other criteria. Businesses that have been looking for a dynamic report generating tool will find that the SQL reporting services tool meets that need.