Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 - Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services - page 25

Chapter 3 discusses the specific Reporting Services architecture that is used to perform all of this magic.
In brief, functionality is exposed through an XML Web service that may be accessed across a LAN or
across the web. Reports may be rendered in program code or they may be accessed through a simple
web address — like any other web page. Reports may be rendered in several formats. These include dif-
ferent flavors of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to provide compatibility with different browsers
and devices, the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) for uniform presentation and printing,
as a graphic file, and in Microsoft Excel so users can slice, dice, pivot, and reanalyze the data. Content
may also be rendered in XML and CSV (Comma-Separated Values) formats to import and exchange data
with a variety of applications.
Business Intelligence Solutions
Traditionally, BI solutions have been very costly and only accessible to large businesses that could afford
them. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems (or
data warehouses), and analysis solutions have been available for many years from specialized vendors.
However, they require costly deployment, training, and maintenance. By contrast (this is the part I like
the best), Reporting Services is available at no additional cost if you install it on a computer with a
licensed instance of SQL Server. In a single-server installation, you don't need an additional license and
you can use it royalty-free — so long as your database and server products are appropriately licensed.
Comparatively speaking, collecting data is the easy part. Most companies have been doing this for decades,
but how they utilize all of this data is often another story. There is no doubt that effectively collecting data
may not be so easy, but it's something businesses have been doing for quite some time. Most companies
have untold mega-, giga-, or even terabytes of “important” archived data residing in documents, spread-
sheets, and various databases on backup tapes, disks, and folders throughout their enterprise — with no
hope of fully utilizing and gaining significant value from it all.
According to Tommy Joseph of Disney Interactive Group, “BI is about more than just tracking product
sales. It's about measuring performance, discovering patterns and trends, and measurable forecasting
through statistical analysis.”
An effective BI solution provides visibility to important facts at all levels of an organization and gives
people access to uniform data from different sources using familiar and easy-to-use applications. It ties
together applications, documents, and data sources in a manner that lets people collaborate and commu-
nicate effectively.
BI systems are no longer a luxury but a necessity in many business environments. Today, having access
to timely information can make the difference between having a competitive edge and being left in the
dust behind competitors.
Who Uses Reports and Why?
In almost any organization, there is a universal condition that people in different roles and at different
levels have different perspectives on information. This is typically most apparent in large corporations,
where executive leaders who make financial and market-direction decisions have less exposure to the
daily processes of the company than the line-level workers. Ask any executive, and he or she will tell you