Microsoft is preparing its SQL Server to deliver analytical
reporting capabilities which, it claimed, will help users across a
company make better business decisions.This week Microsoft announced that it would
embed a reporting engine - called Reporting Services - in the
upcoming 64-bit Yukon version of the SQL Server database.
Microsoft software partners and in-house
corporate developers will be able to take the technology and use it
to craft reporting processes.
At present, Microsoft offers only the ability
to launch an online analytical processing query and do analysis.
This change will permit its database users to create, develop and
distribute analytical business reports across an enterprise, said
SQL Server product manager Sheryl Tullis.
While the reporting engine is aimed primarily
at developers, end users will be able set up their own
parameters.
The technology will come with a web services
hook to craft companywide applications using the Microsoft Visual
Studio .net toolkit and .net Framework programming model. The
engine can also work with any data repository that has OLE DB and
Open Database Connectivity interfaces, and it can publish to Web
browser and Microsoft Office desktop applications.
Microsoft executives acknowledged that there
would be some overlap with the Reporting Services engine and
offerings from partners such as Crystal Decisions. However,
Microsoft said it would continue to provide partnership
opportunities for companies such as Crystal Decisions and other
vendors of business intelligence technologies.
"We will provide these partners with a robust,
scalable platform for business intelligence and reporting and, in
many cases, will have complementary technology," Microsoft
said.
Microsoft's move makes sense as reporting
becomes more of a commodity that vendors embed into their product
lineup, said Enterprise Applications Consulting analyst Joshua
Greenbaum. While Microsoft will have no problem convincing users
that it can produce a product that is technically sound, it may be
harder for the company to prove it has "domain expertise with any
individual vertical market" for reporting, he said.
Reporting Services will be out in beta
sometime before June as part of Yukon.