Last month I listened to several discussions about the importance of choosing the right reporting tool when installing a business intelligence (BI) solution. Here are some questions that were raised: Is the reporting tool really relevant when deploying a complete BI solution? Which type of reporting tool should I choose when deploying a BI system? Choosing the right reporting tool may not be as easy and simple as it appears.
Some BI system consultants and developers consider that when all the basic pieces-data warehouse, data flow, and analysis services-are in place, the reporting tool can be considered secondary and has less relevance in the information cycle. With all the background set up, you can work with a standard reporting tool and generate all the necessary reporting with reliable information. Personally, I don't agree with this idea. Many times I have experienced the pain-and sometimes even the failure-in a project due to the fact that during its planning, the reporting tool was not considered as important as the rest of the other BI system components.
