Categories   >   Automated Reporting Tools
Last Reviewed: November 27th, 2024

Best Automated Reporting Tools Of 2024

What are Automated Reporting Tools?

Automated reporting tools are the report-generating workhorses, freeing you from manual data crunching. Imagine a system that pulls data from various sources, builds reports automatically, and delivers them to stakeholders on a regular schedule. They tackle the challenges of time-consuming report creation, ensuring data accuracy and consistency across reports, and keeping everyone informed with timely updates. Benefits include increased efficiency by automating repetitive tasks, improved data quality through standardized reports, and better communication through clear and consistent data visualization. Core functionalities encompass data extraction and aggregation from various sources, report generation using templates or drag-and-drop interfaces, and automated report scheduling and distribution. Emerging features leverage artificial intelligence for data anomaly detection and offer real-time data dashboards for continuous insights. Businesses of all sizes and industries benefit from automated reporting tools, especially those juggling multiple data sources or high reporting volumes. While some tools require upfront costs, they empower businesses to streamline reporting processes, gain data-driven insights faster, and ultimately, focus on strategic decision-making. In essence, they're the tireless assistants that keep everyone on the same page with fresh reports, automatically.

What Are The Key Benefits of Automated Reporting Tools?

  • Increased Efficiency & Saved Time
  • Improved Data Accuracy & Consistency
  • Automated Report Generation & Delivery
  • Enhanced Communication & Stakeholder Visibility
  • Standardized Reporting & Reduced Errors
  • Clear Data Visualization & Actionable Insights
  • Real-Time Data Monitoring & Anomaly Detection (AI)
  • Focus on Strategic Analysis & Decision-Making
  • Scalability for Growing Reporting Needs
Read more

Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 29 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Automated Reporting Tools overall:

JReport
JReport
Start Price
$10,000
One-Time
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked JReport

JReport is an embedded reporting and business intelligence solution that drives self-service analytics, helps users to customize interactive data dashboards and adds value to business applications via report creation and sharing. Mentioning its data connectivity capabilities, both as an embedded and a standalone solution, many users said that it integrated well with a range of data sources and embedded seamlessly into any application on any platform. Many users who discussed its functionality said that the solution was feature-rich, with intuitive capabilities such as drag-and-drop, and that it was highly scalable in implementing domain-specific features with server clustering. All users who discussed support said that they were proactive and responsive in ensuring that feature requests were added to upcoming releases.
Though the platform did not seem to have any tangible limitations at the time of publishing this synopsis, some users said that there is definite room for improvement in regards to clarity of the product roadmap. Reviewing reporting, quite a few users said that the multitude of options was overwhelming and reporting features were not ubiquitous between the two modules - on the web and in the JReport desktop application.
Overall, JReport embeds smoothly into business applications to enable self-service and interactive data analysis via impressive features like visualizations and report scheduling that power decision-making processes.

Pros & Cons

  • Data Integration: All users who mentioned the platform’s data accessibility capabilities said that it connected seamlessly to a wide range of data sources and embedded equally easily into business applications.
  • Functionality: Around 74% of users who reflected on its functionality said that, coupled with rich features, the platform was highly scalable in implementing industry-specific reporting and advanced data analysis.
  • Ease of Use: In terms of ease of use, approximately 74% of users said that the platform was generally intuitive to navigate, with a modern-looking GUI.
  • Reporting: Around 67% of users who mentioned reporting said that the platform offered custom reporting to the desired level of granularity and report scheduling for sharing insights with departments and teams.
  • Service and Support: All users who mentioned support said that they were responsive and proactive, especially in responding to requests for new features.
  • At the time of publishing this synopsis, there were no tangible limitations of this platform as per available user sentiment online.

Key Features

  • Web Reports: Generate visualizations and create dynamic and interactive web-based reports.
  • Data Visualization: Blend data to generate up to 40 types of visualizations, including charts, scattergrams, crosstabs, tables, maps and more. Pull data from a range of different data sources and blend it into a single dashboard.
  • In-Depth Analytics: Gain more in-depth information by applying filters to sort data or drilling down into specific details. Compare visualizations side by side for big-picture analysis.
  • Page Reports: Deliver detailed data on an organization-wide scale by arranging it into pixel-perfect visualizations on paginated reports that are simple to make, share and understand.
  • Ad-Hoc Reports: Improve data literacy by simplifying platform usage. Easily interact with dynamic data via on-screen sliders, drill-downs and filters. Generate custom, on-demand reports with the drag-and-drop interface.
  • Intuitive UI: Quickly drag and drop to create dynamic visualizations by choosing from an extensive library. Dig deeper into data via simple drill-down, filter and sort capabilities.
  • Scalability: Embeds into other software solutions and grows seamlessly with the business.
Tableau
Tableau
Start Price
$15
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked Tableau

Tableau Desktop is a BI solution for data visualization, dashboarding and location analysis. In online reviews, users said they found its drag-and-drop charting a boon for creating charts and maps. Regarding customization, many users praised the platform for its various labeling and design options.

I recently tried the Tableau Desktop 2024.1.3 version. The trial is only for 14 days and is enough for a sneak peek into Tableau’s dashboarding and data storytelling capabilities. For more straightforward use cases, Tableau is incredibly user-friendly and fast. Creating a new sheet gives you a canvas to create a visualization. Once you have the required sheets, combining them into a dashboard view is straightforward — select and add.

My dataset included healthcare data, including details of patients, their hospital visits and insurance payer details. One use case was to find the total claim settlement amount. I dragged the Total Claims Cost and Payer fields to the column and row shelves, and Tableau gave me a bar graph. The toolbar had single-click options for sorting data from increasing to decreasing values or the other way around.

To view the number of encounters by payer, I dragged the Payer field to the row shelf and used the SUM(ROW_COUNT()) function on the column shelf. The chart popped up with more visualization and layout options.

I wanted an interactive filter to view the average claim cost by birthdate. I dragged the Birthdate field to the Filters shelf and right-clicked on it to set the end date as October 22, 1961. Selecting Show Filter added a slider conveniently to the right of my visualization. I could see the data for people born before October 22, 1961, and if required, I could change the end date.

Another use case would be viewing the data by the type of hospital visits — how many people were inpatients, outpatients or those who needed emergency care. I dragged and dropped the Total Claims Cost and Payer fields into columns and rows, respectively. Similarly, I dropped Encounterclass into the Filters shelf and clicked on Show Filter to enable a checkbox on the screen. It had all the categories of visits, giving users the option to select the desired views.

One-fourth of the users discussing adoption said there was a steep learning curve. Tableau relies on Python and R scripts for statistics in its visualizations. It's where the named licenses can prove to be a blessing, as you can opt to train upcoming Creators and Explorers. We recommend factoring in training if you want to hit the ground running.

Some reviewers felt discounted packages for business editions should be available, similar to the free student licenses. At $70 per user, the Creator license can seem costly when compared to Power BI ($9.99 per user) and Qlik Sense ($30 per user).

Here's the good news, though. Its built-in user management acts as a permissions layer for your organization - users can only access the relevant content. Plus, an organization will have very few Creators and a greater number of Viewers and Explorers, and the license fee reduces from Creator to Explorer to Viewer.

We recommend opting for a wise license combination to get the most out of the product.

On the upside, the vendor constantly releases new features, the latest one being Einstein CoPilot in beta.

Overall, Tableau is a competitive BI solution, but if the pricing seems inflexible, quite a few other solutions offer live insights and advanced analytics out of the box.

Pros & Cons

  • Data Visualization: Almost 98% of users who reviewed its visual capabilities praised the platform for its dashboards and the freedom to play around with data and modify charts as desired.
  • User-Friendly: According to 93% of users who mentioned ease of use, it makes data accessible with its easy user actions and handy tooltips.
  • Data Connectivity: About 92% of users who discussed data sourcing praised its ability to pull data from disparate systems.
  • Pricing: Around 90% of the users citing cost found it expensive.
  • Speed: About 71% of the users who discussed performance found it slow when processing large data volumes.
  • Onboarding Woes: Approximately 67% of the users who reviewed the platform's adoption said there was a steep learning curve.

Key Features

  • Connectors: Combine data from various sources by choosing from a wide range of connectors — no need to spend on expensive third-party data integration tools. Tableau Bridge connects private networks to live data sources via Tableau Cloud.
  • AI: Tableau now offers AI capabilities thanks to Einstein Analytics.
    • Tableau Pulse: Explore data independently and ask questions with AI analytics. Tableau Pulse is available with Tableau Cloud and Embedded Analytics.
    • Explain Data: Understand the displayed insights with natural language explanations of data points.
    • Einstein CoPilot (Beta): Close the gap in understanding data with AI insights. Discover hidden trends by asking follow-up questions without losing context, thanks to generative AI. Einstein CoPilot is available with a Tableau Cloud subscription.
  • Tableau Prep: Clean and transform data of all types, including survey results, feedback data and social media posts. Shape and combine it with Tableau Prep, which is available with the paid edition only.
  • Data Stories: Convey your message with compelling narratives to get stakeholder buy-in. Drag and drop sheets onto the storyboard to show the growth, decline or stability of critical metrics.
  • Animations: Explain how data changes over time with animated charts and customize them to include graphics, labels and colors.
  • Filtering: Focus on the data that matters; it’s as easy as dragging and dropping desired fields to the Filter shelf. Specify a value range, set a condition or choose the top values to display.
  • User-Based Licenses: Explore cost-effective license combinations that work for your team.
    • Creators can build dashboards, permissions, and governance rules, and establish connections to new sources. They’re content authors who transform and analyze data. This license is available at $70 per user monthly, billed annually. However, they can’t control the Tableau Server or Desktop environment.
    • Explorer licenses are suitable for line-of-business users whose role requires independent data exploration. They can author content but within a governed ecosystem. Each Explorer license costs $42 monthly, billed annually. They can’t connect to new sources, modify data, or use the Tableau desktop or custom SQL.
    • Viewers can interact with data, apply filters and follow pre-decided workflows. This license is available for $15 per user monthly, billed annually. Viewers have limited rights and can’t create and edit visualizations and the underlying data.
Power BI
Power BI
Start Price
$10
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked Power BI

Our researchers ranked products on a whole bunch of features. They include data management, querying and visualization, advanced and embedded analytics, mobile BI, and IoT and location analytics.

In our rankings, Power BI scores 87 for connectivity, leaving behind Tableau, Oracle Analytics and Dundas BI. Robust Microsoft technology is one reason, for sure. Besides, intelligent techniques like DirectQuery and easy data modeling make it popular among users.

In product reviews, some users mentioned a lag when sharing reports from the desktop to the cloud. For me, the platform was a tad slow to start, but otherwise, it stayed performant for my average-sized dataset.

When dealing with sales data, total sales, the top-performing products, seasonality and period trends are common queries. Creating a sales KPI report in Power BI was an excellent way for me to answer them. My CSV files included sales, calendar, products and store data.

Connecting to sources is straightforward with Get Data on the home screen and toolbar. Once I had pulled in the data, I clicked on Transform Data and opened the Power Query editor. It automatically detects the data type for strings and numbers but can get confused with dates and currency, which it marks as text. It involved some manual wrangling, but I had it sorted in no time. Read my article on KPI Reports to learn how I did it.

But I wouldn’t call it a deal-breaker as it’s not a tedious task. I had the same experience with Qlik Sense, but Tableau was way better as it recognizes seven data types — string, number, date, date and time, boolean, geographic and cluster values.

Tracking sales over periods required a greater level of detail, so I added new columns to the calendar data — start of month and start of week. Column statistics were immensely helpful in identifying unique, distinct and null values and correcting incomplete records. Clicking on the number of products selling at a particular price allowed me to see which toys sold at that price.

Creating a relational data model by defining primary keys is a manual process and seems dated once you’ve used Qlik Sense. Adding calculated measures is where DAX shows its magic. For data workers well-versed with SQL, DAX is a ready-to-go tool they’ll be glad to have in their corner.

Creating visualizations wasn’t as intuitive as Tableau as it involved drag-and-drop onto the canvas, and frankly, I felt like I was flying blind. I didn’t feel that way with Tableau, and it’s slicker.

Power BI offers a paintbrush tool that lets you define the layout, the card arrangement and the maximum number of cards. You can define the canvas settings, background and headers and determine the filter pane settings. It took me longer to create a dashboard from scratch than it took in Tableau.

Some users found the pricing structure too complex. While using Azure data in Power BI for basic queries is free, costs can add up when you go for text and sentiment analysis. With Microsoft Fabric, the pricing complexity is set to rise. Though Power BI is available separately too, you’ll need to rely on Fabric to manage users, licenses and other administrative tasks.

About 31% of the users mentioning cost complained about onboarding difficulties, possibly because DAX introduces the complexity of learning syntax. It can daunt non-technical users initially, but guided formulas can make the task easier. That said, I agree with the majority of user reviews that training will speed up onboarding and help your team maximize the investment.

Overall, Power BI has many powerful features and will give you value for your money. If you’re not a Microsoft user yet, it’s worth checking out for the baked-in vendor technologies like Azure and SSAS. If you are an MS user, Power BI might be a no-brainer, though be prepared to shell out a little extra for advanced functionality and additional modules.

Pros & Cons

  • Integrations: Around 95% of users who mentioned data sources said they were satisfied with its flexibility in connecting to sources.
  • Data Visualization: About 93% of the users who discussed visual analysis said they relied on it for daily reporting.
  • Functionality: Over 75% of the users reviewing features said they were impressed with its live queries, DAX calculations and data modeling.
  • Ease of Use: Approximately 72% of the users who mentioned its UI said it was straightforward to use.
  • Speed: About 95% of recent reviews citing performance said the platform lagged when dealing with large data volumes.
  • Adoption: Around 81.5% of the reviewers mentioning adoption said the learning curve was steep.
  • Cost: Approximately 71% of users discussing pricing complained about the platform being expensive.

Key Features

  • Dataflows: Save time with reusable workflows that lock the logic in. While shared datasets are open to interpretation, dataflows will take your users in one direction only, ensuring consistent results. It’s like a written recipe, just follow the steps to get the taste right.
  • Analyze in Excel: Focus on the end game. Give your teams the freedom to analyze their data in Excel and move the results back to Power BI.
  • DAX: Empower your people to go beyond raw data. Derive calculated columns and measures with Data Analysis Expressions. Watch them update as you apply filters and slicers and interact with data in other ways.
  • Data Alerts: Act in time to keep things running smoothly. Stay informed of changes with alerts. Subscribe to receive notifications via email or the Power BI notification center (available only with Power BI Service). Among visualizations, KPI cards, cards and gauges have the alert option. 
  • Data Refreshes: Stay ahead of trends with the latest insight. Update data on demand in Power BI or schedule refreshes with Power Automate. Power BI Pro and Premium allow up to eight and 48 refreshes daily, respectively.
  • Key Influencers Visual: Decide the next steps by spotting the factors affecting a critical metric. As a transporter, does only the terrain impact how consistently your trucks deliver, or is the average age of the fleet vehicles also a factor?
  • Decomposition Tree: Identify which product category or region contributed most to sales increase or decrease. For instance, you can analyze sales trends by channel with the decomposition tree.

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • Based on the number of users for Power BI Pro and capacity-based pricing for Power BI Premium
Maintenance Cost
  • Included in the subscription cost
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • Included in the subscription cost. Additional charges may apply for data migration during implementation of Power BI, maintaining on-premise data sources and building dashboards and reports
Customization Cost
  • Dependent on functional requirements and specific needs of the organization
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Dependent on your current software, amount of data to be migrated, availability of migration tools, complexity of data and gaps between the existing system and the new system.
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • Renewal cost is included in the fees paid monthly or annually
BusinessObjects
BusinessObjects
Start Price
$5,000
Annual
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked BusinessObjects

User reviews for BusinessObjects paint a picture of a powerful BI tool with both strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, users praise its comprehensive features, enabling them to tackle complex data challenges. "It's like a Swiss Army knife for data analysis," one user says, "from basic reports to advanced modeling, it's got it all." This feature depth is often contrasted with simpler competitors, with users appreciating the ability to handle diverse needs without needing multiple tools. However, the learning curve can be steep, especially for non-technical users. "It's not exactly drag-and-drop for beginners," another user admits. This complexity can lead to frustration and require investment in training, which some users find less intuitive compared to competitors. Despite the learning hurdle, many users highlight BusinessObjects' scalability and integration capabilities as its main differentiators. "It seamlessly connects with our existing systems," one user notes, "saving us time and effort." This smooth integration is often lacking in competitors, making BusinessObjects a preferred choice for organizations with complex data ecosystems. Overall, user reviews suggest BusinessObjects is a powerful and versatile BI tool best suited for organizations with complex data needs and the resources to support its learning curve. Its comprehensive features and integration capabilities set it apart, making it a strong contender for those seeking a robust BI solution despite the initial investment required.

Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: It is a straightforward and easy to use platform, as noted by over 65% of reviewers who mention ease of use.
  • Flexible Reporting: Around 84% of the reviewers who specify reporting state that it offers a flexible reporting feature to fit individual needs.
  • Integration: It enables integration with SAP products and third-party software, as observed by 89% of the users referring to integration.
  • Customization: It provides highly customizable tools and options, as noted by 88% of reviewers who specify customization.
  • Learning Curve: It involves a steep learning curve for beginners, as stated by 80% of the users mentioning the learning curve.
  • Implementation: Over 80% of reviewers who discussed implementation report that the process is cumbersome.
  • Pop-ups: Error messages and pop-ups are technical and hard to decipher, as observed by 100% of reviewers who refer to pop-ups.
  • Performance: Around 86% of the users who specify performance report that it becomes slow and crashes at times when multiple prompts are opening.

Key Features

  • Native Mobile Apps: Take visualization features like charts, reports and more on the go with native iOS and Android apps. 
  • Pre-Built Data Connectors: Draw data from over 25 pre-set sources such as SAP HANA, Apache, Hadoop, Hive, Cloudera, Impala, Amazon, IBM and many more. 
  • Integrations: Provides powerful integration capabilities with other applications such as CRM, ERP, web applications and more. Includes SAP tools and others like the Microsoft Suite. 
  • Data Discovery: Collects, cleans and analyzes data from a variety of sources to help users identify trends and patterns. 
  • Data Transformation: Converts data between formats and structures — organizes and structures unstructured data into usable information. 
  • Visualizations: Generates graphical data visualizations such as bar charts, pie graphs, scattergrams, line plots, maps and more. 
  • Secure Collaboration: Users can securely share visualizations with team members, clients and others through email, web embedding and other platforms. 

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • On-Premise: Pricing depends on business size and the CPU/roles/tools required. There is also option of Named User Licenses (a non-shareable license for a single person that provides guaranteed access to the software) and Concurrent User Licenses (a single log-on that can be used by anyone. This is limited by availability of free sessions in the session pool). The Named User license provides access to all desktop software. The Concurrent User Licenses are not supported for most desktop software, except for SAP BusinessObjects Analysis edition for Office.
  • Cloud-based/SaaS: Depends on the number of users
Maintenance Cost
  • On-Premise: Support licenses are charges over and above the license cost
  • Cloud-based/SaaS: Included in license/subscription cost
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • On-Premise: Included in the license cost
  • Cloud-based/SaaS: No installation cost
Customization Cost
  • Will vary depending on the functional requirements such as configurable dashboards, type of data elements required for tracking, complexity of workflows, etc
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Dependent on your current software, amount of data to be migrated, availability of migration tools, complexity of data and gaps between the existing system and the new system
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • On-Premise: Will depend on the type of license purchased – named user or concurrent user, Enterprise or Small Business
  • Cloud-based/SaaS: Renewal cost is equivalent to the fees paid monthly or annually, based on number of users
Domo
Domo
Start Price
$15
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked Domo

Domo has everything data teams could wish for — self-service ETL, advanced analytics and data science. Its rich set of connectors makes users happy as they praise its robust integration APIs. Its scripting language is similar to Power BI, and knowing SQL will shorten your team's learning curve. The vendor offers daily refreshes, currently capping them at 48.

On the flip side, the interface seemed a bit clunky to me. Dashboards don’t display in the edit mode by default, which was a tad annoying. The Getting Started documentation is dated and doesn’t match the new interface. I could find my way around with help from user forums.

While the vendor earns praise for releasing frequent updates, quite a few users say some much-needed features lack depth. According to our research, Domo offers only 64% of the required functionality out of the box, which is much less than what Power BI and Tableau provide. It also underperforms in data querying, scoring only 53 in our analysis.

Some reviews mention bugs and that performance can lag when handling anything complex than simple visualizations. The slowness could be due to the multitenant SaaS model that provides shared computing. As for the mobile app, it didn’t work in the offline mode for me. I should mention here that I had opted for the trial version. A proof-of-concept will help you check if the issue persists in the paid edition.

Domo’s pay-as-you-go model is great for estimating usage but be prepared to pay more for workload spikes. According to our research, about 89% of users who reviewed the price found Domo’s consumption model expensive. Small organizations working with a lean team might find it challenging to handle billing.

Here’s what’s great about subscribing to Domo. You can create as many reports and dashboards as required — there’s no limit or additional cost. Plus, Domo allows adding an unlimited number of users. Domo accepts external data models from OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, Hugging Face, Databricks and Jupyter Workspaces.

Despite a competitive market, Domo is an excellent product for organizations seeking data visualization and strong integration. Its flexible pricing model and recent AI updates make it a strong challenger to leading data platforms.

Pros & Cons

  • Source Connectivity: About 86% of users citing data integration said they could connect to their preferred sources easily.
  • Ease of Use: Around 82% of users discussing the interface said options and tabs were straightforward and intuitive.
  • Data Visualization: About 74% of people who reviewed Domo for graphics appreciated the ease of creating and sharing data stories.
  • Functionality: Around 73% of users who mentioned features said Domo performed as expected.
  • Support Services: About 71% of reviews discussing assistance praised the support team for being helpful and responsive.
  • Speed: About 78% of users discussing speed said the platform lagged sometimes.
  • Cost: Around 89% of users discussing price termed the platform as expensive.

Key Features

  • Domo App Studio: Design custom apps for needs Domo might not address out of the box. Build your own functionality without coding knowledge. Create branded visualizations with your trademark colors, logos and fonts. ESPN enhances the fan experience by capturing and analyzing customer data using a Domo Studio app.
  • Analyzer: Save time spent cleaning data manually. Use a special editor to set up checks for data inputs. Keep tabs on which charts and dataflows use a specific dataset with the lineage option. You can choose the best chart to present your data and annotate it. Use the Beast Mode for complex math.
  • DomoGPT: Get answers to data queries using AI Chat (currently in beta). Convert text to SQL or calculations and understand your data using text summaries. Use Domo.AI in a safe, governed space.
  • Personalized Data Permissions: Create custom data views for your users and hide sensitive data. Your regional managers get exclusive views specific to their roles, while senior management can switch between full and filtered views.
  • Domo Mobile: View cards and text summaries on the mobile app. Cards fit within the small screen, giving a great user experience. Domo Buzz allows sharing files to WhatsApp, Gmail, QuickShare and Google Drive. You can even save a screenshot to your phone gallery.
  • Alerts: Stay informed about KPIs that matter to you. Set new alerts and share them with selected users or subscribe to existing ones. Choose where you want to receive the notifications — email, mobile app or SMS.
Cognos Analytics
Cognos Analytics
Start Price
$50
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
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Why We Picked Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics is an excellent BI tool and rates very highly with users on all major counts. Users are unanimous in their praise of its data management and data analysis capabilities to provide a single source of truth. Having ventured into AI-powered tools with the 11.1.3 version in 2018, IBM is making bold strides to incorporate augmented intelligence into the platform. IBM has astutely combined this solution with the capabilities of one of its other offerings, Watson Analytics, for natural language processing - a game-changer for empowering non-technical users to create a vast range of dashboards. With AI-enabled exploration, users can review key drivers of metrics and identify gaps in data, though some users feel that more tools are needed for content store exploration through its relational database. It also rates excellently with users for its data integration and ad-hoc reporting capabilities, efficient metadata management and extensive data modeling features.

Several strong features of this platform, as noted by reviewers, include Jupyter notebooks, regular updates to the platform and enhancements to data modules, though when it comes to integrating with Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data sources and IBM Planning Analytics in particular, it comes up short. Version 11 of the platform comes with over-the-top installs for upgrades, which reduces time to set up; though some users feel that integrations built with the current SDK solution can be tedious to implement and maintain. Being part of the IBM software suite, it connects seamlessly to other IBM products under the same umbrella. However, integration with MS-Sharepoint is not supported; this can be managed with workarounds, but only for on-premise setups, not cloud-based deployments. The platform has a rich reporting repertoire with report burst capabilities, pivots and Cognos Event Studio for event-driven reports. However, many users feel that Report Studio should provide the write back capability, which is crucial for business. As for the cost, a majority of users feel that its licensing models are restrictive, especially when compared to other BI solutions; though the vendor seems to address pricing and ease of use with version 11.1.3.

In summary, Cognos Analytics is among the best BI solutions in the market today and IBM, with its ear to the ground, is delivering enhanced data analysis and reporting capabilities at scale.

Pros & Cons

  • Data Analysis and Visualization: All users who mention data analysis and presentation unanimously agree that this solution covers the full spectrum of BI analytics capabilities.
  • Data management: All users who mention data preparation praise its data integrations and effective metadata management, which ensure data consistency and accuracy across multiple reporting systems.
  • Functionality: Of users who mentioned this platform’s features, around 90% were satisfied with regular updates and enhancements which allow them to create faster, more responsive dashboards.
  • Reporting: Around 89% of users who mention reporting are satisfied, appreciating its ad-hoc reporting and report-sharing capabilities.
  • Setup: Excellent vendor support coupled with the ease of establishing data connectivity with data sources make installation of this solution a breeze, as approximately 87% of users have mentioned.
  • Cost: Around 87% of users who mention cost feel that its licensing model is expensive when compared to other BI solutions.
  • Training: Approximately 45% of users who reviewed training say that the learning curve can be quite steep and though self-service training is available, they would prefer a formal learning program.

Key Features

  • Components: Boost the feature set of the core platform with components that enhance data modeling, visualization and analytics capabilities. 
  • Powerful Reporting: Create detailed charts, graphs, maps, voiceovers and repeat functions with the robust, professional reporting suite. Simplify reporting for non-technical users with express mode. 
  • Web-based Interface: Access the platform on any hardware via the web.
  • Natural Language-powered AI: Interrogate data and receive natural, consistent responses with a built-in AI, powered by NLP. 
  • Automated Modeling: Verify and combine data via automated modeling, and assess relationships between separate data points. 

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • Dependent on the type of license – workgroup, standard or enterprise (refer pricing section for more details)
Maintenance Cost
  • Subscription & Support costs are based on a percentage of the license cost (25% of initial license cost)
  • Software Accelerated Value Programs are an incremental charge calculated on a per-case basis, dependent on the specific service that the customer requires. Customers can't purchase Software Accelerated Value Programs without paying standard Subscription & Support cost
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • Included in license/subscription cost
Customization Cost
  • Will vary depending on the functional requirements such as configurable dashboards, complexity of workflows, forms to collect additional data, UI changes, etc.
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Dependent on your current software, amount of data to be migrated, availability of migration tools, complexity of data and gaps between the existing system and the new system.
Training Cost
  • Self-service support is available online
  • Native language support consists of live support and unlimited access for all certified IT technical staff within an organization
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • Renewal fee includes license cost and maintenance fee for the new or next year
BIRT
BIRT
Start Price
$0
Open-Source
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Request Pricing Request Demo

Why We Picked BIRT

Reviews for BIRT paint a picture of a user-friendly report designer with a loyal following, particularly among those new to report building. Its drag-and-drop interface and pre-built templates are praised for streamlining report creation compared to coding-heavy solutions. This is a major advantage for businesses that need reports up and running quickly, without tasking developers.

BIRT shines in its ability to connect to various data sources, eliminating the need for complex data extraction steps. This is a big win for teams working with data scattered across spreadsheets, databases, and even flat files. While BIRT offers strong core functionality, some reviewers mention a steeper learning curve for advanced features. For instance, users who need to wrangle massive datasets or create highly customized data visualizations might find BIRT limiting compared to more feature-rich (and often pricier) competitors. Similarly, BIRT's mobile capabilities are seen as less robust than some competing products. This can be a dealbreaker for teams that prioritize mobile reporting for field staff or remote workers who need real-time access to reports.

In conclusion, BIRT is a solid choice for businesses seeking a cost-effective and user-friendly solution for generating basic to moderately complex reports. Its strength lies in its ease of use, data source flexibility, and affordability. However, those working with exceptionally large datasets or requiring a highly customized mobile reporting experience might be better served by exploring feature-rich alternatives.

Pros & Cons

  • Drag-and-Drop Report Design: BIRT boasts a user-friendly interface that lets you visually design reports using drag-and-drop functionality. No coding required! This streamlines report creation for business users who might not be familiar with programming languages.
  • Flexibility and Customization: BIRT empowers you to tailor reports to your specific needs. From basic tables to complex charts and graphs, BIRT offers a wide range of data visualization options. This ensures your reports effectively communicate insights to a variety of audiences.
  • Integration with Various Data Sources: BIRT seamlessly connects to diverse data sources like databases, spreadsheets, and even flat files. This eliminates the hassle of data extraction and manipulation, allowing you to focus on crafting impactful reports.
  • Scheduling and Automation: BIRT allows you to schedule reports to run automatically at specific intervals. This ensures you always have access to fresh data, saving valuable time and keeping everyone on the same page.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Advanced Features: While BIRT excels in drag-and-drop simplicity for basic reports, users venturing into complex functionalities like data scripting or advanced data manipulation might find the learning curve steeper. This can be a hurdle for teams without in-house BIRT expertise.
  • Potential Performance Issues with Large Datasets: Some users report performance limitations with exceptionally large datasets. BIRT might not be the ideal choice if you consistently work with massive amounts of data that require real-time report generation.
  • Limited Mobile Capabilities: While BIRT reports can be accessed on mobile devices, the user experience might not be optimal for all report formats. This can be a drawback for teams that heavily rely on mobile reporting for on-the-go decision-making.

Key Features

  • Data Explorer: Build connections to data sources and view them together with business assets and data cubes.
    • Access and blend various datatypes from a range of sources, including POJOs, JDO datastores, SQL Databases, JFire scripting objects, XML and web services. 
    • Pull in more data than before by extending the available sources with Eclipse’s Open Data Access framework. 
    • Accesses Hadoop data using Hive Query Language. Ingests data from distributed databases like Cassandra through APIs. 
    • Pulls data from LDAP, report documents and Java objects. In addition to Salesforce, it can ingest information from LinkedIn, Facebook and GitHub. 
  • Report Designer: Supports a wide range of reports, layouts and formatting, with reuse of designs and elements. Create report layouts, connect to data sources and produce XML-based report designs. 
    • Navigator: Create a new Report Design Project or a new BIRT file within a project through the navigator. View all the projects in the workspace and create multiple file types such as a design file, template file, library file or report document. 
  • Sample Report Viewer: View reports in a sample web application before publishing them online. Generate and export them in HTML, PDF, CSV formats. Print locally or on the server and rerun them when needed with new parameters. 
  • BIRT Report Engine: Query data sources and merge the query results into the report layouts created by the Report Designer. Produce the report output in a wide range of formats that include Microsoft Office, HTML, PDF, postscript and open document formats. This feature is also available in the BIRT Web Viewer. 
  • Data Visualizations: Create data visualizations with task-specific editors, builders and wizards and integrate into web systems. 
    • Charts: Choose from a vast library of pie charts, Gantt charts, pyramid charts, scattergrams and many more, with multiple subtypes, such as a bar chart with options of side-by-side, stacked and percent stacked. Create charts in 2D, 2D with depth and 3D formats. 
    • Crosstabs: Present data in two dimensions (sales or hits) with the cross-tabulation or matrix feature. 
    • Palette: Drag and drop elements from the palette into the visualization layout. Add rich text to the report, including HTML formatting integrated with dynamic data. Aggregate business metrics with more than 30 built-in SQL operators. 
  • Customization: Make report data easy to understand with support for internationalization, including bidirectional text. Easily replace static report elements — report labels, table headers and chart titles — with localized text. 
  • Lists: Present data methodically through simple data lists by grouping related data together. 
Oracle Reports
Oracle Reports
Start Price
$0
Freemium, Per User
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Oracle Reports

User reviews of Oracle Reports paint a mixed picture, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. Many users appreciate its tight integration with Oracle databases, which makes accessing and reporting on data a breeze. One user stated, "I love the seamless connection to Oracle databases. No more struggling with data extraction and transformation." Another praised its robust data connectivity, highlighting its ability to connect to diverse data sources, "Oracle Reports connects to everything! It's the only reporting tool I need for all my data sources." However, some users find the learning curve steep, with one user commenting, "It's powerful, but mastering it takes time and effort. It's not as user-friendly as some other reporting tools." Additionally, the outdated user interface can feel clunky compared to newer competitors, as one user noted, "The interface feels a bit old-fashioned. It could definitely use a modern upgrade." When compared to similar products like Microsoft Power BI and Tableau, users find Oracle Reports to be less intuitive and mobile-friendly. However, its strengths lie in its deep integration with Oracle technologies and its ability to handle complex reports and large datasets. One user summarized it well: "It may not be the easiest tool to learn, but it's the best choice for organizations heavily invested in Oracle and needing robust reporting capabilities." Ultimately, the decision to use Oracle Reports depends on individual needs and priorities. Users with specialized reporting needs within the Oracle ecosystem and a tolerance for a steeper learning curve may find it a valuable tool. However, those seeking a user-friendly, mobile-first reporting experience with broader third-party integration might be better served by exploring alternative options.

Pros & Cons

  • Tight Integration with Oracle Databases: Seamlessly access and report on data stored in Oracle databases, eliminating the need for complex data extraction and transformation.
  • Robust Data Connectivity: Connect to diverse data sources beyond Oracle, including spreadsheets, flat files, and other databases, providing a comprehensive reporting solution.
  • Advanced Formatting Capabilities: Create visually appealing and informative reports with rich formatting options, including charts, graphs, and interactive elements.
  • Built-in Scheduling Features: Automate report generation and delivery to stakeholders, ensuring timely access to critical information.
  • Scalability and Performance: Handle large datasets and complex reports efficiently, meeting the demands of growing organizations.
  • Security and Compliance: Leverage Oracle's robust security features to protect sensitive data and comply with industry regulations.
  • Steep Learning Curve: Mastering Oracle Reports requires significant training and experience, making it less accessible to users with limited technical expertise.
  • Limited User Interface: The user interface can be outdated and less intuitive compared to modern reporting tools, potentially hindering user adoption and productivity.
  • Limited Mobile Accessibility: Oracle Reports primarily focuses on desktop environments, offering limited mobile accessibility and functionality.
  • High Cost of Ownership: Licensing and maintenance costs for Oracle Reports can be significant, especially for large organizations.
  • Limited Third-Party Integrations: Compared to other reporting tools, Oracle Reports offers fewer pre-built integrations with third-party applications and services.
  • Limited Community Support: The community of Oracle Reports users and developers is smaller compared to other reporting tools, potentially leading to less readily available support and resources.

Key Features

  • Request Queue: Handles report requests by entering them into a job queue, and when a server becomes available the next job in the queue is run. The solution automatically increases the number of available servers to match demand until the maximum is reached to reduce query times. 
  • Mod_Logic Module: Redirects requests from servlets or JSPs to the Oracle Weblogic server for a faster, easy to use UI using Javascript. 
  • Report Bursting: Allows users to generate, publish and distribute reports to pre-defined subgroups such as regions or departments. This keeps data accessible only to those who need to see it and reduces repetitive menial tasks. 
  • Custom Tag Handler: Processes custom tags provided by the JSP file identified by the prefix rw. Users can also create custom tags. 
  • Report Caching: Stores report output so it can automatically reuse it for similar requests, saving users time. 
  • Pluggable Data Sources: The system can pull data from numerous sources via Java APIs. This allows developers to utilize aggregation, summarization, scheduling and formatting on data both within the data warehouse and at its original source. 
  • Integrations: Integrates with standard web environments, Java, JSPs and Web Services. This allows users to run reports on a range of platforms through a web browser using URL syntax. 
SSRS
SSRS
Start Price
$7,500
Annually
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked SSRS

Over the past year, SSRS has garnered a mixed bag of reviews, with some users singing its praises and others hitting a sour note. SSRS shines in its ability to generate a diverse range of reports, from dashboards and charts to graphs, and even allows for custom reports tailored to specific needs. Its level of customization is another high point, enabling users to fine-tune the appearance and data included in reports. However, SSRS has also drawn flak for its complexity, with some users finding it challenging to navigate and master. Compared to similar products like Power BI, SSRS is often seen as less user-friendly and intuitive, especially for those without a strong technical background. This can lead to a steeper learning curve and frustration for users who just want to get the job done. Additionally, while SSRS offers robust reporting capabilities, it may lack some of the advanced analytics and data visualization features found in other modern BI tools.

So, who's the ideal captain for this SSRS ship? It's best suited for organizations with a dedicated IT team or users with a solid understanding of SQL and report design. For those seeking a user-friendly, drag-and-drop experience with advanced analytics, other BI tools might be a smoother sail.

Pros & Cons

  • Easy Report Authoring: The user interface is straightforward, allowing users to quickly create reports without extensive coding knowledge. This ease of use makes it accessible to a wider range of users within an organization.
  • Integration with Microsoft Products: SSRS seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Excel and SharePoint, making it a natural choice for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. This integration simplifies data sharing and report distribution.
  • Scalability and Performance: SSRS is designed to handle large datasets and complex reports efficiently, making it suitable for enterprise-level reporting needs. Its scalability ensures that it can grow with the organization's data demands.
  • Variety of Export Formats: Reports can be exported to various formats, including PDF, Excel, and Word, providing flexibility for users to consume and share information in their preferred format.
  • Subscription and Automation: SSRS allows users to schedule report generation and delivery, automating the reporting process and ensuring that stakeholders receive timely information.
  • Limited Interactive Features: The platform's page navigation and drill-down capabilities are somewhat rigid, making it challenging to create highly interactive reports that allow users to explore data dynamically.
  • Learning Curve: Mastering the intricacies of SSRS can be time-consuming due to its complex interface and expression language, especially for users without a strong technical background. The learning curve can be a barrier for teams looking for a quick and easy reporting solution.
  • Mobile Rendering Challenges: Rendering reports seamlessly on mobile devices can be problematic, often requiring additional configuration or custom development to ensure optimal viewing experiences on smaller screens.

Key Features

  • Rich Reports: Users can create tabular, graphical, interactive or free-form reports from a range of data types, which the solution displays in rich visualizations.
  • Data Types: This system can incorporate a variety of data types, including multidimensional, relational or XML-based.
  • Viewing Format: The solution offers viewing formats for previews, a range of export formats and a variety of options for publishing reports. Users can access these previews from either a web browser, the SharePoint site or through the associated Microsoft application.
  • Drag-and-Drop UI: Instead of being code-based, this solution lets users drag and drop graphics and icons into the report format.
  • Ad-Hoc Reports: Users can generate on-the-fly reports to answer specific business questions by inputting their query.
  • Automated Reports: The solution allows scheduled reports to be automatically delivered to specified users. This makes sharing those repetitive reports a breeze.
JasperReports
JasperReports
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Why We Picked JasperReports

JasperReports is a suite of integrated products that offer solutions for creating, sharing and securely managing KPI-focused reports, dashboards and visualizations. All users who reviewed the platform’s cost-effectiveness said that its being open-source is a major plus. Most of the users who mentioned data connectivity said that, besides seamlessly integrating with a multitude of data sources out-of-the-box, it helps businesses develop custom sources to import as much data as possible. Most of the users who discussed its functionality said that the tool is easily embeddable in host applications, and scales easily to create and display visualizations and reports in-application. Support is responsive and online communities are proactive and helpful, according to a majority of the users who discussed them. Many of the users who reviewed its interface said that they find it easy to start creating reports with the tool. Most of the users who discussed its reporting capabilities said that it helps them customize reports in a variety of formats and schedule sharing with teams via email. A majority of the users who reviewed data visualization said that the tool helps them present data in a wide range of visually appealing formats, such as charts, graphs and cross-tabs.
On the flip side, according to a majority of the users who reviewed performance, the platform is prone to infrequent bugs, and debugging them can be time consuming. Many of the users who discussed ease of adoption said that there is a steep learning curve, possibly due to inadequate documentation. Some users who mentioned ease of reporting said that it is time and effort-intensive to create professional-looking reports.
In summary, JasperReports is a suite of versatile and customizable reporting and analytics solutions that help the end-user find answers to the data questions that are specific to their business, though there might be a significant learning curve for adoption by teams, with Java at its back-end.

Pros & Cons

  • Pricing: All users who reviewed pricing said that the platform, being open-source, is cost-effective.
  • Data Integration: Around 83% of the users who discussed data source connectivity said that the solution pulls data seamlessly from a wide range of data sources.
  • Functionality: Citing versatility and scalability, approximately 77% of the users who reviewed its functionality said that the tool is easily embeddable in proprietary applications.
  • Support and Online Community: Support is responsive and the online community is helpful, according to 69% of the users who mentioned them.
  • Ease of Use: Around 68% of the users who discussed the interface said that it is easy to create reports and data visualizations with the tool.
  • Performance: Around 87% of the users who reviewed performance said that debugging errors can be tricky and the platform needs to improve in this regard.
  • Learning Curve: Approximately 67% of the users who mentioned onboarding said that there is a steep learning curve to using the solution.

Key Features

  • Big Data: Connect to large data sources like Hadoop, Cassandra, MongoDB, etc. through data connectors. Perform data exploration through batch reporting against Hadoop and NoSQL data sources. 
  • Report Snapshots: Enable rapid response time for sharing visualizations. Reduces query impact on underlying source systems. 
  • Centralized Repository: Securely store and manage all reports, dashboards, analytic views, profiles and more in a central repository. Monitor report access and usage through auditing. 
  • Report and Dashboard Scheduler:  Automate sharing of reports and dashboards across the organization through the scheduler, either on a one-off or recurring basis. Integrate interactive reports into web applications or embed them in emails for simplified shareability. 
  • Flexible Design: Modular, scalable, standards-based design offers flexibility in deployment and usability. Deploy anywhere — on-premises, in the cloud or inside containers. 
  • Branding and Theming: Customize the interface — logos, font colors and styles, spacing and graphic elements — to match the organization’s brand and theme. 
  • Data Virtualization:  Keep enterprise data secure by eliminating the need to move it across platforms. View and access data where it is stored through metadata. 

COMPARE THE BEST Automated Reporting Tools

Select up to 2 Products from the list below to compare

 
Product
Score
i
SelectHub’s Analyst Rating is based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Automated Reporting Tools, user reviews, and our own crowd-sourced data from our free software selection platform. Scores are periodically updated via ongoing selection projects and user activity within our platform.
Start Price
Free Trial
Company Size
Deployment
Platform
Logo
JReport
$10,000
One-Time
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
JReport
Tableau
$15
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Tableau
Power BI
$10
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Power BI
BusinessObjects
$5,000
Annual
No
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
BusinessObjects
Domo
$15
Per User, Monthly
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Domo
Cognos Analytics
$50
Per User, Monthly
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
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Cognos Analytics
BIRT
$0
Open-Source
No
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BIRT
Oracle Reports
$0
Freemium, Per User
Yes
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Oracle Reports
SSRS
$7,500
Annually
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
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SSRS
JasperReports
Still gathering data
No
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JasperReports

All Automated Reporting Tools (29 found)

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Logi Symphony

by insightsoftware
Logi Symphony
Logi Symphony (formerly Logi Analytics) provides businesses with interactive data analytics and visualizations, offering advanced reporting and visualization features in a minimal-code environment. It offers self-service data analysis and data discovery; then connects and blends operational intelligence to prepare it; and finally lets users turn it into dashboards, reports and other visualizations.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$1,000 or more
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ActiveReports

by GrapeCity
ActiveReports
ActiveReports is a .NET reporting tool from GrapeCity that facilitates the creation of reports to display proprietary data in the form of documents or web-based formats. It is based on C# code and uses the Visual Studio interface, offering easy use by programmers. This reporting solution comes in a standard and professional edition and only operates on the Windows platform. It lets users export reports into a range of formats for collaboration and presentation.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: poor
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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ReportsNow

by ReportsNow® Inc.
ReportsNow
ReportsNow is a JD Edwards reporting solution that helps in real-time reporting of proprietary data for analysis. Pulling data from and integrating with JDE as well as non-JDE sources, it provides a host of intuitive functions to help create a wide range of business reports, allowing for automated scheduling and downloading of these reports. Through advanced reporting via Data Access Studio, enterprises can create and edit any kind of data. Its mobile BI stack enables cloud connectivity, making reports available on any device.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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Stimulsoft Reports

by Stimulsoft Company
Stimulsoft Reports
Stimulsoft Reports is a suite of report and dashboard products in Java, PHP, .NET and other formats. It allows for enhanced development of multi-tier reports and interactive dashboards through an intuitive designer that can draw from internal and relational sources.It can be packaged or purchased individually depending on the user’s needs. It can be scaled through Stimulsoft Server to enable further functions like analytics and processing. It is deployable via the web or on Linux, Mac or Windows.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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Panintelligence

by Panintelligence
Panintelligence
Panintelligence is a self-service, easy-to-use solution for company-wide reporting. It can display multiple data sources side by side, and the data shown is always live and up-to-date.It is easy to implement, cloud-based and offers multi-tenancy, load balancing, data mining and predictive analytics. Dashboards make it easy for anyone to visualize and communicate complex data in real time. It’s embeddable, highly customizable and reporting is streamlined. User activity can be restricted and audited, with role-based security.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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i-net Clear Reports

by Inet Software
i-net Clear Reports
I-net Clear Reports is a Java-based enterprise reporting solution. With its free template designer and access to a template repository, it streamlines the process of compiling data into a presentable form. It is compatible with anything that can run Java and can pull from any Java Database Connectivity data source. It can be embedded or executed stand-alone in a browser. It can export files in a variety of formats, including PDF, SVG, XML and JPEG.
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
Company Size
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Windward Reporting and Document Automation

by Windward Studios, Inc.
Windward Reporting and Document Automation
Windward Studios offers an embeddable reporting/docgen tool built around designing templates in Microsoft Office. The combination of Office and Windward's tags make the reporting process quick and easy by removing the work of hand-coding reporting templates. It’s designed to produce beautiful reports in a number of different formats, including PDF, DOCX, XLSX, HTML, PPTX and more. After embedding the Windward .NET or Java engine, users can merge data with their templates to generate reports documents. This includes, but isn’t limited to, SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, MySql, PostgreSQL, XML, JSON, OData, and more. A template can use multiple datasources in a single template.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$500 - $1,000
Company Size
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SlamData

by SlamData
SlamData
SlamData is an open source tool based on SQL that aims to make it easy for developers and non-developers to access MongoDB. This software is one of the fastest growing products in the NoSQL database space. This program brings high-quality source integration to the table, meaning that users can import from any source; no coding skills needed. This data can then be streamed to a variety of sources.
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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Deployment
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Upper Quadrant

by Upper Quadrant
Upper Quadrant
Upper Quadrant is an analytics and data science platform that facilitates marketing automation, campaign management, budgeting and forecasting. Used specifically by race organizers for event registrations, subscriber outreach and eCommerce, it aggregates and standardizes data from people, brands, geographical locations, business units and disparate systems. It enables data management and performance metrics tracking through real-time dashboards and shareable reports. Race organizers can share run metrics with customers through automated emails delivered straight to their inboxes.
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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Buyer's Guide

Automated Reporting Software Is All About Driving Business Decisions With Meaningful Data 

By Ritinder Kaur, Market Analyst at SelectHub

Automated Reporting Tools BG Intro

It’s a cutthroat world, and companies constantly hustle to differentiate themselves. Business plans change at any moment, and strategies are made and unmade at the first sign of market trend changes. Automated reporting tools can be the proverbial lighthouse in a storm, providing enterprise reporting for critical decision support.

This buyer’s guide gives you the necessary information, resources and tips to start your software selection process. We discuss the most popular automated reporting tools to help fine tune your business requirements before approaching vendors.

Executive Summary

  • Automated reporting involves using pre-coded workflows to set up and leverage report generation that doesn’t require manual intervention.
  • Financial services, sales and marketing, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, procurement, customer service and workforce management utilize automated reporting.
  • Automated reporting solutions are code or low/no-code systems, including BI, dashboard and data visualization tools.
  • Automation ensures timely report delivery, reduces manual errors and lessens the task load on already overburdened teams.
  • Asking the right questions helps internally evaluate your team’s requirements and get clarity from vendors during discussions.
What This Guide Covers:

What Are Automated Reporting Tools?

An automated reporting system is an enterprise tool that generates organizational reports at preset intervals without needing you to update the information manually every time. Physically checking for data exceeding threshold values, refreshing it and combining results from multiple sources is no longer productive.

The demand for automating routine reporting tasks to support business intelligence is growing, though automated reporting platforms are often more than that. They can be reporting tools, BI systems, dashboard platforms and data visualization solutions.

Dynamic, live connectivity is a primary feature of modern reporting software to include the latest insight with consistent, continuous data refreshes. Set the automation in place by defining the parameters, output schedule, file format and destination, and you’re all set.

It also removes daily to and fro between departments, saving time. Manufacturing companies use automation to generate periodic reports for monitoring KPIs like production volume, the number of functional machines and the top machines by production. Imagine collecting this information manually.

Similarly, healthcare, human resources (HR), enterprise resource planning (ERP), construction, supply chain management and project management leverage automation for daily and period-over-period insight.

Automated reporting tools come in all shapes and sizes, including cloud-based and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms.

  • Code-based reporting tools give you complete control with the option to hand-pick features and add custom functionality. But, it’s time-consuming and costly to develop, test and debug these solutions. Additionally, adoption can lag if most users aren’t technically skilled.
Automated Reporting Tools Categories
  • Low/no-code tools are easy to deploy and a breeze to use — you can drag and drop fields into the report editor and establish source connections with intuitive drop-down menus and selection options. But customization isn’t easy as the system hides the code at the backend.
  • You can use BI tools for report automation. Check with your vendor if your existing BI platform supports it — if yes, you might be able to acquire a reporting add-on. Conversely, many automated reporting platforms are BI solutions, and you can get two for the price of one.
  • The same is true for many dashboard tools which let you schedule automatic reports with a few clicks.

Primary Benefits

Automation is like an elixir that promises to make everything better. But can you convince management to take the leap of faith? Knowing how it can benefit your business is an excellent way to prepare for any questions they might have.

Automated Reporting Tools Benefits

Optimize Resources

Modern automated reporting tools are easy to deploy, requiring little technical expertise. Automation is an excellent time-saver, and live source connectivity keeps the data fresh and contextual. Instead of generating reports, you can focus on improving business processes by analyzing performance and other key metrics.

Boosting productivity by weeding out inefficiencies becomes straightforward as automation sets you free. Time-saving functionalities like creating and reusing report templates with white labeling allow you to work with multiple clients without losing yourself in prepping layouts and formats.

By pre-configuring user permissions, you can avoid heartache by limiting information access to only authorized persons. Like other modern software, automated reporting solutions come equipped with data security and governance guardrails to prevent tampering and data loss.

Boost Productivity

Self-service functionality primarily contributes to data literacy, enabling department-level users and managers to automate reports, provided the administrator assigns them permissions. Accurate, up-to-date insight gives you the confidence to conduct meaningful discussions and propose new ideas and suggestions.

Setting up department-specific reports ensures you view only the relevant information to get to the facts faster. Report-sharing and collaboration are standard data software features that speed up response times. Commenting upon and discussing the results within dashboards retains relevant comments for future reference.

With built-in analytics, these tools prove to be cost-effective.

Gain Live Insight

With manual reporting, you constantly race to catch up with live data coming in — by the time you generate the report, the information becomes outdated. Enter up-to-date reports generated on cue — business processes are impactful only if you refine and polish them consistently.

Not everyone like surprises, especially when they’re unpleasant. Tracking your KPIs in real time prepares you for future opportunities and potential pitfalls, like implementing strategies that won’t work anymore. And if you suffer a setback, staying ahead of the curve can help you recover faster.

Automatic report generation is better with live data refreshes, and shareability takes it up several notches with easily accessible URLs and reports viewers. Predefining filters and permissions lets you show the desired results to selected users.

Diversify

Automation in your corner means more time to focus on your business.

Having one less thing to worry about gives you the bandwidth to branch out into diverse ventures, including new product launches. You can fine-tune your offerings by tapping market sentiment pre and post-launch with automated updates keeping you informed.

Product development status reports help you clearly define timelines for the product launch and deal with issues as they arise. Setting up automated reporting on competitor products can help you differentiate your offerings before they hit the market.

Reduce Manual Errors

Automation eliminates ambiguities and inconsistencies, ensuring you don’t miss any updates. Manual errors can multiply in downstream reports, impacting plans and operations and upsetting delivery timelines.

You don’t need to remember report delivery schedules — the system works like a well-oiled machine — and your schedule clears up significantly.

Key Features & Functionality

Here are the key features to look for when seeking an automated reporting solution.

Data Integration

The automated reporting tool should ingest simple and complex information from standard files, RDBMS, OLAP cubes, websites, social media, smart devices and machine sensors.

Check with vendors if their product connects to these and more sources, letting you create new connections as more data sources become available.
Interactive Dashboards and Data Visualizations

Autonomous data exploration and analysis are necessary when considering an automated reporting tool.

Though you can pre-configure automated reports to show desired metrics, data manipulation is essential to fine tune the results further. The best automated reporting tools let you point and select datasets, connectors, files and folders without coding.

Can you link a dataset in one report to another report? Will downstream metrics update as the source report refreshes?

Automation eases your burden only if report data refreshes in sync with the underlying database.
Report Types and Templates

Dashboard and report templates can be a differentiating factor when comparing software before buying.

Reporting needs differ by role — departmental reports are more focused than high-level reports for top management, but both are essential and need interactivity with data manipulation capabilities.
Sharing and Collaboration

Reports should be shareable and downloadable, with easy access via email, embedding, messaging and chat platforms. Report versioning is an added plus.

Embeddability is a must-have — switching applications to view reports is bad design. Brand personalization with custom themes, colors, logos and fonts helps establish your identity and gives a professional touch to reports.
Notifications and Alerts

Automatic reporting makes alerts and notifications essential. Getting notified of report delivery to teams and clients helps you monitor the automated reporting system and react when something goes wrong.

These should be flexibly configurable, with the flexibility to define threshold values and the persons to notify in case values exceed preset ones.
Data Governance and Security

Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and other industry regulations is essential.

The reporting solution should provide data encryption at rest and in motion with role-based permissions and authentication protocols. Activity logs and audit trails enhance accountability and prevent malicious intent.

Software Comparison Strategy

A requirements analysis helps assess your organization’s reporting needs. List your must-have and nice-to-have features by creating a requirements checklist. Get a head start with our pre-populated requirements template.

Finalize the requirements in consultation with top management and teams using the solution. Convert them into questions and distribute them to potential vendors with a request for proposal (RFP).

Review vendor proposals, ranking their products on a scale of 1 to 100 based on how well they promise to address your requirements.

Our Jumpstart platform gives you a feature-by-feature analysis of leading automated reporting tools and a complete breakdown of the product scores.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Product price is a deal-breaker when considering a significant investment. Factoring in the total cost of ownership (TCO) ahead of time helps avoid sticker shock later. Pricing will vary depending on the deployment model, user licenses, features and add-ons you choose, so factor them in while calculating the total cost.

Check the available pricing tiers and support options from the vendor’s website or contact them directly. Often, the product price includes basic support, but 24*7 technical assistance and dedicated services will cost you extra.

The Most Popular Automated Reporting Tools

Our analysts shortlisted the most popular automated reporting tools based on how well they address business needs. It should help you fine tune your ask list before approaching vendors.

JasperReports

The JasperReports Library is a reporting engine with a flexible, open-source architecture. Though it comes embedded within Jaspersoft Studio and the JasperReports Server, a standalone version also exists. Nested subreports are available — link to or directly use any report within other reports.

Internationalization lets you display reports in any language via Unicode and other native encodings. Its report scheduler wizard lets you set up jobs, report parameters and output options.

JasperReports

You can select the output file format and destination when configuring automated reports.

Crystal Reports

An offering from SAP, Crystal Reports provides flexible options to automate scheduled report sharing. Predefining a report delivery timeline ensures you don’t miss sharing business-critical insight. Additionally, it helps minimize repetitive queries against databases.

Versioning is available — the SAP Crystal Server retains all scheduled reports sent out, plus a recurring instance containing the scheduling details. The platform lets you define stored SQL procedures to auto-update databases, move files and send report bursts based on event triggers.

Crystal Reports

Add pre-defined objects to the report canvas by dragging them from the sidebar. Source

MicroStrategy

It offers fast reporting with Intelligent Cubes that reside in memory and are sharable among multiple reports, reducing query overload on underlying databases. It provides predictive analytics through automated data discovery with machine learning.

Role-based permissions and industry-standard authentication protocols secure data during automated report delivery.

MicroStrategy

Interactive options enable report formatting to show the desired datasets.

 

 

Questions To Ask

Though it’s tempting to jump into vendor outreach and discussions after readying the shortlist, it helps to pause and assess your business needs. Ask questions internally to confirm whether you’re on the right track with your requirements list.

  • Do you need a dedicated platform or an add-on automated reporting module?
  • Where does your existing reporting solution fall short?
  • What is your budget?
  • Who are the end users? What is their technical skill level?
  • Which features are deal-breakers?

Automated Reporting Tools Key Questions To Ask

While finalizing the vendor shortlist, you may have concerns and queries about the product and vendor services. Making a list of questions to ask during vendor discussions will help you methodically convey your requirements.

  • How long will deployment take?
  • Does the software connect to your preferred data sources?
  • Does it integrate with mobile devices? Is a mobile app available?
  • Are email, chat and phone support available?
  • Is training included?

To Conclude

Automated reporting tools are life savers, irrespective of the size of your organization. They reduce your task load by supporting delivery pipelines with on-time access to key metrics. The resources and software selection tips included here should help you select a solution that fits.

Our Managed Selection Services are with you every step of the way, from requirements gathering to signing on the dotted line.

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Ritinder
By Ritinder Kaur
Technical Content Writer
Ritinder Kaur is a Senior Technical Content Writer at SelectHub and has eight years of experience writing about B2B software and quality assurance. She has a Masters degree in English language and literature and writes about Business Intelligence and Data Science. Her articles on software testing have been published on Stickyminds.
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Sagardeep
Technical Research By Sagardeep Roy
Senior Analyst
Sagardeep is a Senior Research Analyst at SelectHub, specializing in diverse technical categories. His expertise spans Business Intelligence, Analytics, Big Data, ETL, Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, with additional proficiency in EHR and Medical Billing. Holding a Master of Technology in Data Science from Amity University, Noida, and a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from West Bengal University of Technology, his experience across technology, healthcare, and market research extends back to 2016. As a certified Data Science and Business Analytics professional, he approaches complex projects with a results-oriented mindset, prioritizing individual excellence and collaborative success.
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Manan
Technical Review By Manan Roy
Principal Analyst
Manan is a native of Tezpur, Assam (India), who currently lives in Kolkata, West Bengal (India). At SelectHub, he works on categories like CRM, HR, PPM, BI, and EHR. He has a Bachelor of Technology in CSE from The Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Master of Technology from The Institute of Engineering and Management IT, and an MBA in Finance from St. Xavier's College. He's published two research papers, one in a conference and the other in a journal, during his Master of Technology.
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Hunter
Edited By Hunter Lowe
Content Editor
Hunter Lowe is a Content Editor, Writer and Market Analyst at SelectHub. His team covers categories that range from ERP and business intelligence to transportation and supply chain management. Hunter is an avid reader and Dungeons and Dragons addict who studied English and Creative Writing through college. In his free time, you'll likely find him devising new dungeons for his players to explore, checking out the latest video games, writing his next horror story or running around with his daughter.
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