Best 5 Alternatives To Crystal Reports

In today’s fast-paced business environment, having the right reporting tool is essential for making informed decisions. While Crystal Reports has been a long-standing solution for creating pixel perfect detailed reports, many users are now seeking alternatives because SAP has announced the end of life for crystal reports. There is not much upgrade and new features which has been announced as well as no further support, upgrade etc will be provided.

 

In this article, we’ll explore the 5 best alternatives to Crystal Reports, highlighting their key features and benefits.

Introduction to Crystal Reports

SAP Crystal Reports is a powerful business intelligence tool used for designing and generating detailed reports from various data sources. It allows users to create interactive and visually appealing reports with easy-to-use drag-and-drop features. Crystal Reports supports multiple formats, including PDF, Excel, and Word, making data distribution flexible. The tool is widely used for its ability to handle complex data sets and provide in-depth insights. Its integration with various databases enhances the reporting process, ensuring real-time data analysis and informed decision-making.

Reasons Companies Are Seeking Alternatives to Crystal Reports

  • End of life: The most significant point for the migration is the end of support of Crystal reports.
  • High Licensing Costs: Crystal Reports comes with significant licensing fees, prompting companies to search for more budget-friendly options.
  • Limited Integration with Modern Data Sources: As newer data sources emerge, Crystal Reports struggles to keep up with seamless integration, causing businesses to look elsewhere.
  • Complex User Interface: The interface can be difficult for non-technical users to navigate, leading companies to prefer more intuitive reporting tools.
  • Lack of Cloud-Based Features: Many businesses are moving to cloud solutions, and Crystal Reports’ on-premise architecture is limiting for remote data access and collaboration.
  • Slow Performance with Large Data Sets: Crystal Reports may experience delays when handling large volumes of data, pushing companies to seek faster alternatives.
  • Limited Customization Options: The tool has restricted flexibility in report customization, leading companies to opt for alternatives with more robust design capabilities.
  • Steep Learning Curve: Companies with smaller teams often find the learning curve for Crystal Reports too steep, preferring user-friendly alternatives.
  • Lacking modern BI needs: Businesses are shifting to modern drag drop based data visualization tools with charts infographs and dashboard. Whereas crystal report remains primarily a reporting tool only and lacking on those features.
  • Inconsistent Mobile Experience: The mobile reporting features of Crystal Reports are not as refined as some modern BI tools, driving companies to look for better mobility support.

Best 5 Alternatives To Crystal Reports

1. Helical Insight

Helical Insight is emerging as a leading open source alternative to Crystal Reports, offering both kind of features which includes both paginated document kind of canned reports (similar to crystal reports) as well as new age drag drop based dashboards and data visualization features also. 
Read more here.

Helical Insight caters to organizations of all sizes, enabling them to harness the power of their data effectively. It comes in free version and enterprise version, even the enterprise version comes at a flat cost and can result in huge cost saving of more than 80-90% in the license cost.

Key Features

  • self service interface for creating reports, dashboards, info-graphs and map based analytics
  • Plenty of visualization options with drill down, drill through and inter panel communication options
  • GenAI based data analysis under development
  • Support for document kind of printer friendly canned reports also
  • Exporting in various formats
  • Email scheduling / report bursting
  • White labeling
  • Embedding in any other product (useful for product based applications)
  • Support of various methods of Single Sign On
  • Completely browser based application
  • On premise/cloud installation
  • Caching, pagination, virtualization, HA LB support for enhanced performance
  • Support for containers like docker, kubernetes
  • Extensive API support
  • Extremely developer friendly BI framework
  • Flat pricing with various pricing options like perpetual, subscription etc

Reach out

If you have any further questions, or want to see a personalized demo or a free POC you can reach out on support@helicalinsight.com.

We even offer migration services and do the migration from crystal reports to Helical Insight also.

2. Tableau

Tableau is a leading data visualization tool that offers robust reporting features, dashboards, and interactive visual analytics. It enables users to connect to a wide range of data sources and create detailed reports with minimal coding.

Advantages:

  • Powerful visualizations and interactive dashboards.
  • Extensive data source integrations.
  • Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.

Disadvantages:

  • Expensive for large teams or enterprises.
  • Some advanced reporting features require custom coding.
  • More suited for dashboard and data visualization. Not suited for paginated document kind of canned reports

3. Microsoft Power BI (Premium)

Power BI is a popular business intelligence solution by Microsoft, offering rich data visualization, interactive dashboards, and real-time analytics. Power BI Premium is designed for large-scale organizations with advanced needs.

Advantages:

  • Seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem (Excel, Azure, etc.).
  • Real-time reporting capabilities.
  • Scalable for large enterprises.

Disadvantages:

  • Complex pricing model.
  • Need to learn MDX also additionally
  • Requires skilled users to utilize advanced features.

4. Qlik Sense Enterprise

Qlik Sense is a modern analytics platform that combines self-service data exploration with interactive reporting. The Enterprise edition is designed for larger organizations with high data volumes and collaboration needs.

Advantages:

  • Associative data model for deeper insights.
  • Customizable and scalable for large organizations.
  • Flexible deployment options (on-premise, cloud, hybrid).

Disadvantages:

  • High licensing and implementation costs.
  • Requires training to master advanced features.

5. IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics is an enterprise-grade business intelligence platform that enables users to build, deploy, and manage comprehensive reports and dashboards. It is suitable for organizations looking for complex reporting capabilities.

Advantages:

  • Advanced reporting and analytics.
  • AI-assisted data discovery.
  • Enterprise scalability and security features.

Disadvantages:

  • High initial and ongoing costs.
  • Requires a steep learning curve for non-technical users.

Reach out

If you have any further questions, or want to see a personalized demo or a free POC you can reach out on support@helicalinsight.com.

We even offer migration services and do the migration from crystal reports to Helical Insight also.

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Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered