SQL Server Reporting Services as a Business Intelligence Platform

Abstract

Not a month goes by without some shiny, new, all-singing, all-dancing business intelligence product being announced as the Next Big Thing. A few months later, no one can remember it ever existed, except your CEO, who wants to know what her organization is using to deliver corporate business intelligence (BI). She wants a solid, stable, and mature platform that can deliver flawless reports to users automatically and regularly. She does not want her staff wasting time developing their own reports and learning corporate data structures. Secretly, many users agree with her. She does, however, want a certain level of interactivity. Of course, she expects BI on mobile devices and a tangible level of "wow factor." At least, that is what you thought she said, before your eyes glazed over in fear as you wondered which product was going to be forced on your lovingly engineered SQL Server universe.