Crystal Reports versus SQL Server Reporting Services

By Richard L. Whaley Senior Business Consultant

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Microsoft is throwing its weight behind SSRS and has removed Crystal Reports from the Dynamics offerings
Does this mean Microsoft is trying to kill Crystal? Crystal has been around for many years (relatively speaking), is still available from third party sources, and still reads MS-SQL data, meaning that it can still be used to write reports against MS Dynamics databases. But is it the right product? Richard L. Whaley Senior Business Consultant, Author Accolade Publications, Inc.

Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports has been around for a number of years and has been the favorite report writer of many people, myself included. It is a standard product that can report against all of the MS Dynamics products as well as almost any other database/product. Having a common interface/reporting tool makes supporting customized reports easy. As well, there are many texts and training classes available for this product. There are a variety of versions of Crystal Reports available. Single user versions are easy to install on a desk or laptop while web based reporting tools that render reports for deployment to the web are also provided along with several intermediate configurations. The Crystal report designer uses a banded paradigm. This means that there is a band in the designer for the report page header, the report page footer, the body of the report, and each level of grouping in the body. For example, if a report shows sales orders followed by line items, a band includes the order header data and a band within that band holds the line item data. Field are placed in the appropriate band. Crystal also has a full WYSIWYG report designer, allowing report builders to modify the report while examining the data in the reports final form. Crystal has the ability to print a number of charts and graphs from the data. And the information on the report can be exported to a number of different formats

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Sql Server Reporting Services

SSRS reporting tools have been in existence for a few years now. It has grown over the years and is now a robust reporting environment. Developers can use Visual Studio to create projects and reports while others can use the SQL Server Report Builder, an environment that is dedicated to only report writing, to create reports. SSRS consists of three components, a report designer that lets developers and experienced end users create reports, the Report Server that processes the reports and renders them, and the Report Manager that provides a web based interface, allowing users to launch ...a difficult to install but easy to reports and manage subscriptions to reports.

use reporting tool...

With SSRS, reports can be designed using Visual Studio or through a standalone SQL Server Report Builder. The SSRB is a stripped down VS model with only the functions useful in creating reports. There are pros and cons to using either tool: SSRB is more straight forward while VS allows the use of Projects and shared resources. Talk your pick, both work well! The SSRS report designer does not, generally speaking, use the banded report method. Yes, there is a separate section for the report page header and report page footer and report body but these sections are not split into sub-bands. Instead, SSRS allows any object to be placed into any area where ever the user desires. One of the objects is a table. Rows in the table can be grouped. Rows outside of the group could, for example, hold information on a sales order header while rows inside the group would hold information on the line items of the sales order. SSRS lacks a good WYSIWYG designer. Yes, you can design the report, switch to display mode to look at it, then switch back. This provides some difficulty for beginning report designers that like to see their report in its final mode as they design. SSRS contains a number of tools that make the visual representation of data points very easy. These include charts, graphs, gauges, maps, data bars, et cetera. Using these tools is easy and a report plotting the placement of customers on a map of the US can be written in just 3 minutes. There are also significant tools allowing the user to format and customize the look and feel of the reports. This includes not only multiple fonts but patters and fills and gradients for backgrounds.

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Which is Correct for You?

The choice between Crystal Reports and SQL Reporting Services depends on a number of factors. The questions below are some of the most frequent conditions that help make a determination. Do, however, discuss this option with your MS Dynamics consultant before making a decision. Crystal 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Installation and Configuration? Integration with MS Dynamics? Integration via Third Parties? Secure Source Code (Average user cannot accidentally change?) File Format? Shared Data Sources? WYSIWYG Report Designer? Formulas? Parameters? Sub-reports? Charts and Graphs? Gauges and Maps? Multiple Fonts? Fills including Gradients and Patterns? Output Formats Cost? Easy No Yes No Proprietary No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No More $500 per user Other Versions Available SSRS Difficult GP-Yes Yes Yes XML/RDL Yes with VS Preview Only Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Less Included with SQL

There may be other factors that apply to your particular situation. The above questions are the most common factors used to determine which manufacturing system is best for you. Cost should not be a factor.

In Summary... if you are just starting to write reports and have not learned either tool, and if you have an IT department that can install SSRS and configure it properly, use SSRS. Microsoft will continue to push this tool and it is being woven deeper and deeper into the fabric of the MS Dynamics products
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