Most projects have a reporting component, but the choice of how information is brought to the surface has significantly changed.

Aside from the traditional hard copy reports, reports are now more interactive where information can be sliced and diced on the fly in real time.

Users can even design their own reports and determine how those reports will be distributed and secured.

OnCALL Micro can provide reporting support using SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Crystal Reports and Microsoft Access.  We can probably figure out how to use reporting tools we've never used before.

If you'd like to allow your staff to design their own reports we can also provide one-on-one training.

Reports:

Most any software application has a reporting component associated with it - after all what good is the information that you have in your system if you can't readily see it, analyze it - and generally allow you to make solid business decisions with it.  And be able to do all this when with information that is up to the minute.

Fortunately reporting has met that challenge.  Reports have gone beyond the days of green bar paper or any kind of paper for that matter.  Reports are now more interactive, allowing users to drill down to the information that is critical to them.  Information can be easily exported to spreadsheets or presentations. They can be made to display on web pages or summarzied on dashboards.  They can be ported to other applications. Reports can be securely distributed to staff or clients, on an predefined automated schedule.  They can be easily archived and stored so that multiple copies do not need to be stored on your system.  And all this can be done so that processing is handled during off hours so as not to disrupt daily business operations.

Cleaning Up Bad Data:

Another reporting consideration is to use reporting to judge the health of your data.  One of the first things that many users find out when a new report is developed is that sometimes their data is incomplete, has invalid values, or may have orphaned and outdated information.  Reporting provides a way to keep a database clean, accurate and useful.

Reporting Tools:

We started out using Crystal Reports as our primary reporting tool and still own the Version 1.0 diskettes to prove it.  We've since migrated to using SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) currently in its third release.  There are also other indirect reporting tools that can also be used such as Microsoft Access, which can be used as a database within its own right, but also has the capabilities to front-end Microsoft SQL Server.  Many of the reporting tools available share a common design paradigm so typically it's not too difficult to even pick up a reporting tool that we haven't used before.  Although we're most familiar with Microsoft products, we've had experience with other databases which reports tap into such as Oracle, MySQL and others.

Designing Reports:

Another bonus is the ability for users to be able to define and design their own reports and be securely limted to only that information that is relevant to their job.  Some of the report design tools, although still a challenge, have become easier to use.

Training:

We can also provide report training showing users how to use the reporting design tools that are available to you.  One word of caution though, reporting is not just about reporting, it's about knowing how to access database structures.  It takes an effort.  The person who writes a report every so often is likely to forget what they've learned.  The person who spends some time each week developing reports is much more likely to get the most from that training.  In other words it may be better to have a central person on your staff in charge of report design.