but can they replace SSRS?

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but can they replace SSRS?

drew.georgopulos

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February 14, 2013 at 10:22 am

#268650

Do you know of alternatives to row and column quantitative reporting besides Qlikview and Tableau? I think both are smashing alternatives to quantitative row and column reports. Qlikview seems to presume some scripting, Tableau not so much.
i think these two products call into question the value of columnar quantitative reports.
In light of the interactive element introduced by Qlikview and Tableau to encourage data exploration, that effort means rerunning the SSRS report with different arguments, a comparative nonstarter ndjasay?
Writing reports now reminds me of writing forms fifteen years ago.
Do you think the future of reporting favors visualizations instead of tables and therefore depreciates SSRS in favor of Tableau?
Will a page of small multiples replace a 300 page behemoth?
Is it crazy to consider these two products as lightweight replacements for SSRS?
thanks for your consideration
drew

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Daniel Bowlin SSC-Dedicated Points: 34566 More actions · Answer 1

drew.georgopulos (2/14/2013)
Do you know of alternatives to row and column quantitative reporting besides Qlikview and Tableau?

Microsoft introduced PowerView with SQL Server 2012. From what I hear from those that are using it, the product is a strong first release but still a bit immature.

i think these two products call into question the value of columnar quantitative reports.

I disagree. It depends entirely upon the audience. Some users are much more interested in visual and interactive information, some users just need the information they need to do their job. Think executives, and operations personnel.

Do you think the future of reporting favors visualizations instead of tables and therefore depreciates SSRS in favor of Tableau?

Tableau and the data visualization tools entering the market are serving a need. Again depending on the audience I view them much more as an adjunct to existing reporting technologies than a disruptive technology.

christian_t Hall of Fame Points: 3588 More actions · Answer 2

I can say, that we have four kinds of users:

1) number affine users that are happy with their static number graveyards, tables and diagrams etc.

2) users that like to "work" with data, they like to use cubes, as they can move around dimensions.

3) Dataminer, that use tools like SSAS etc. to work on the data given.

4) users that want a much more aggregated view on things. They mainly need short tables, Charts, Gauge, Indicators etc.

Group 3 is looking for tools to visualize their results and often are looking for tools like tableau.

Group 4 tents to favor the tools that a shiny and interactive and can be used on their tablets

As I like to keep low/reduce the "faces" to the customer I would favor a M$ integrated tool like PowerView, to satisfy Group 3/4.

However as PowerView is still depending on SharePoint I might not be that lucky.

drew.georgopulos SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4931 More actions · Answer 3

Thank you both Christian and Daniel.

I admit i may have gone overboard on emphasizing the graphical versus tablular presentaitons!

That was a good report user taxonomy

Thanks very much for the food for thought

drew

davoscollective SSCertifiable Points: 6405 More actions · Answer 4

PowerPivot charts are also great visualisations, and you can use them alongside pivot tables for those who want to see the numbers. It's also just an Excel (or SharePoint) addon, and business people love getting their Data into Excel anyway. For all the reports I've created that people just end up exporting to Excel!

The Data Warehouse Institute http://tdwi.org does a lot of surverys and research around different vendor products. Take a look at some of their reports if you want to see some other competitors to Tableau & Qlikview

Andrew..Peterson SSCertifiable Points: 6838 More actions · Answer 5

SSRS looks like it is making a comeback. And if the MSFT postings are true, Power BI will eventually run on the new 2016 SSRS engine (but when is unknown). You can find an article on Redmond Magazine that goes into detail about the SQL 2016 changes for SSRS.

SSRS Steps up in the Shadow of Power BI

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2016/05/01/ssrs.aspx

The more you are prepared, the less you need it.

drew.georgopulos SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4931 More actions · Answer 6

Thanks very much, that was an excellent read.

Being a one man band now, i find i avoid the SQL Server tools.

I use power query instead of ssis and make tabular models in the data model.

I find myself having moved what i can to PowerBI, learning to transfer and bumping along as i go.

I haven't touched SSRS in a long time.

As a result I picked up just enough R to run ggplot2 & fooled around in shiny (no java needed) because of it!

But its a big pie 🙂

thanks again