In the world of interactive reports, it is extremely imperative that you be able to customize them and convert them into other formats. Failure to do so will result in your company falling behind the pack of competitors that have taken the time to make their product more interactive and user-friendly. Crystal Reports is one of those programs that has long been known for making this whole process as smooth and easy as possible. Let’s see how their newest version stacks up.
For many years, Crystal Reports has been licensed out to other companies and included in suites of software designed for use in business. I was pretty impressed by this, so I was looking forward to getting my mitts on this software to put it through its paces.
Getting Crystal Reports going was pretty simple. There wasn’t anything too tricky about it, besides having to enter the product key. It’s a huge program, so make sure that you have a computer that can handle it before loading it up. It takes a bit longer to load up than other software because of this, so just be aware of this fact.
I found Crystal Reports to be pretty easy to use
So, how about interface? While I admit that I’m not the most tech-savvy reviewer out there, I am above most users. I thought I’d throw that out there, as Crystal Reports includes a lot of features that frankly just go over my head. If you know all about creating reports, you probably get most of this, but I was coming in as a novice for some of this stuff. Despite this, I found Crystal Reports to be pretty easy to use.
After tinkering around with it for a bit, I was able to create some interactive charts and what-if scenario models and have some fun with that. To me, this is what it’s all about. If I, as a novice, was able to actually make this program do what it’s supposed to, a skilled user should be able to fly right through the hoops.
In an hour or two, I was able to imbed these reports in .NET and Java applications pretty easily. I was pretty proud of myself! Or rather, it was this software that let me do this, not any ingenuity on my part, I assure you.
The price tag is pretty steep for Crystal Reports, but it is designed for use by businesses that probably won’t bat an eye at the price. If you are in charge of your company’s IT department this might concern you, but it is an integral part of generating customizable interactive reports, so it’s worth it.
Create professional, interactive reports on a regular basis
Overall, I’d say that Crystal Reports is a worthy investment for any business that needs to create professional, interactive reports on a regular basis. It was easy enough for this reviewer to grasp that I firmly believe that anyone that has ever used this kind of software before will be able to get it right off the bat. The price is a bit steep, but it’s not designed for home use and it’s a huge, bulky piece of software with tons of applications. So, suffice to say, it’s well worth it.
Crystal Reports Summary
The newest version of Crystal Reports has come a long way from what it was years ago, and is now sturdy enough to stand on its own as a great piece of software, rather than just as a portion of a software suite. If your company has been struggling with professional-looking interactive reports, this reviewer suggests that you give Crystal Reports a try and see what happens. It might make all the difference!