Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services and Mobile Reports

Paul Turley

• Publisher: Wrox
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781119258353
• eBook ISBN: 9781119258360
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Databases
• Index: Computer Science

Optimize reporting and BI with Microsoft SQL Server 2016

Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services and MobileReports provides a comprehensive lesson in business intelligence (BI), operational reporting and Reporting Services architecture using a clear, concise tutorial approach. You'll learn effective report solution design based upon many years of experience with successful report solutions. Improve your own reports with advanced, best-practice design, usability, query design, and filtering techniques. Expert guidance provides insight into common report types and explains where each could be made more efficient, while providing step-by step instruction on Microsoft SQL Server 2016. All changes to the 2016 release are covered in detail, including improvements to the Visual Studio Report Designer (SQL Server Data Tools) and Report Builder, Mobile Dashboard Designer, the new Report Portal Interface, HTML-5 Rendering, Power BI integration, Custom Parameters Pane, and more.

The Microsoft SQL Server 2016 release will include significant changes. New functionality, new capabilities, re-tooled processes, and changing support require a considerable update to existing knowledge. Whether you're starting from scratch or simply upgrading, this book is an essential guide to report design and business intelligence solutions.

• Understand BI fundamentals and Reporting Services architecture
• Learn the ingredients to a successful report design
• Get up to speed on Microsoft SQL Server 2016
• Grasp the purpose behind common designs to optimize your reporting

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services makes reporting faster, easier, and more powerful than ever in web, desktop and portal solutions. Compatibility with an extensive variety of data sources makes it a go-to solution for organizations across the globe. The 2016 release brings some of the biggest changes in years, and the full depth and breadth of these changes can create a serious snag in your workflow. For a clear tutorial geared toward the working professional, Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services and MobileReports is the ideal guide for getting up to speed and producing successful reports.

PART I
Getting Started

What exactly is SQL Server Reporting Services? How is it used and what are its capabilities and boundaries? Is it a product, a part of SQL Server, or a development platform? The three chapters in Part 1 will get you started with understanding the capabilities of Reporting Services at a high level. You will become acquainted with the entire SSRS platform, the ­components it encompasses, and their capabilities.

You'll learn about the new features introduced in SQL Server 2016: the new web portal, key performance indicators, and mobile reports. Chapter 2 introduces several key integrations with the Microsoft business analytics platform and advanced visualizations. You'll also see how to install and configure Reporting Services tools and the server so you can get up and running.

• CHAPTER 1: Introducing Reporting Services
• CHAPTER 2: What's New in SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services
• CHAPTER 3: Reporting Services Installation and Architecture

Chapter 1
Introducing Reporting Services

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WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Identifying who uses Reporting Services
• Using dashboards, reports, and applications
• Understanding application integration
• Using Business Intelligence (BI) reporting
• Using mobile reports and KPIs
• Choosing a report tool
• Optimizing report performance

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Welcome to SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services. This chapter provides an overview that includes a high-level introduction featuring not only concepts and capabilities of this powerful reporting tool, but also of the Microsoft data analysis platform. Reporting Services embodies a rich history as a rock-solid reporting tool. Although many features have been part of the product for more than 12 years, some features are new, have changed, or were introduced in later versions.

This is the fifth edition of this book. Reporting Services was officially released in early 2004. Since that time, I gained assistance from trusted and experienced colleagues who contributed to previous book editions, and this edition draws upon that foundation of expertise. In areas where the product has matured and evolved forward, I share advanced capabilities and patterns for solving new business problems. The book includes material and techniques using the new or existing features more effectively.

As a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, a specialist, and a respected contractor for Microsoft, I spend considerable time working with different organizations to design reporting solutions. For many years, I frequently have had the opportunity to work alongside the Reporting Services product team. Through leadership changes, product development cycles, and industry trends, the development team has maintained a relevant and durable reporting product that focuses on the needs of the modern business. As you continue to read, you will learn to appreciate the depth of this product.

In 2003, a few months before the product was released, I started using pre-release versions of Reporting Services. At the time, I was doing web development and database work, and found Reporting Services to be a perfect fit for the reports I needed to add to a web application. Since then, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) has grown to become the de facto industry standard reporting tool. SSRS provides a foundation upon which you can construct complete report, scorecard, dashboard, and mobile solutions for business users. Today, it does everything from simple ad hoc data reporting to delivering enterprise-ready, integrated reporting into business portals and custom applications. In 2016, the product expanded beyond classic “paginated reports” to add mobile reporting, key performance indicators (KPIs), and integration with cloud-based and on-premises dashboard and self-service analytic tools.

The information technology (IT) group for a large financial services company wanted to make sure that they were using the best reporting tool on the market. My team was assigned to evaluate every major reporting product and give them an unbiased analysis. We worked with the client to identify about 50 points of evaluation criteria. Then I contacted the major vendors, installed evaluation copies, explored features, and spoke with other customers and with those who specialized in using these various products. It really helped the team see the industry from a broad perspective, and resulted in a valuable learning experience. There are some respectable products on the market, and all have their strengths, but I can honestly say that Microsoft has a unique and special platform.

WHO USES REPORTING SERVICES?

The various titles given to someone who creates reports in different organizations is an interesting topic. An observation I have made over the years and in different work environments is the perception of this role. In some places, people who write reports are called report developers. In some environments, application developers assign the name report users to people creating reports.

Business users fit into a few categories when you consider how they use reports. Some are report consumers only. They're content to use reports that have been written and published for them. Others prefer to create their own reports without becoming mired in the intricacies of programming code and complex database queries. Maybe they just want to browse information to look for trends and to understand how the business is measuring up against their goals. In recent years, a new generation of data consumers has changed the landscape of self-service reporting and business data analytics. These are the data scientists and the data analysts who collect, wrangle, sculpt, model, and explore data using analytic reporting tools like Power BI and advanced add-ins for Excel.

Traditional roles have changed. New reporting and analytic tools have matured to accommodate the business climate. Not long ago, a typical IT group at most large organizations had three common roles: system administrators, application developers, and project managers. Where does the report designer fit in the organization? People who design business reports often don't come from a common pool of IT professionals. In fact, many people who spend the majority of their time creating reports are part of the bus...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started
• Part II: Basic Report Design
• Part III: Advanced and Analytic Reporting
• Part IV: Solution Patterns
• Part V: Reporting Services Custom Programming
• Part VI: Mobile Report Solutions
• Part VII: Administering Reporting Services
• End User License Agreement