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  • Crystal Report Writer

    A Crystal Report Writer must have not only the technical knowledge of how to create a custom Crystal report, but they must have the business and communication skills to gather the proper requirements.

    The first to Crystal report writing is to gather the report requirements from the end user.  Mockups, screen shots, parameter specifications, ..etc are very helpful.  A general understand of what information and questions the report answers for the end user is a must. 

    Next, the technical work begins.  Crystal Developer is the application that Crystal reports are produced in.  The file is a .rpt file.  After this file is produced, you can view the report on your local machine; however, what if you want others to view the report?  You must have a place a place to publish the report too for others to view it (unless you just send them a pdf or the rpt file for them to view in their copy of Crystal Developer).  Normally, Crystal is embedded in an application, so you just publish it to that particular app.  There is also Crystal Enterprise which provides a web portal to publish your reports too, but this software costs extra.  SQL Server Reporting Services is an alternative that comes with SQL Server a no additional cost.

    Within Crystal, you have to create a dataset that must connect to a datasource (such as SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, ..etc).  After you are connected, the you can pull in your tables so that you can write logic against them to produce a proper report dataset.  If you bring in more than one table, you have to “link” or join the tables together properly.  Crystal will try to do this for you, but it is no always correct.

    Now that you have your dataset, you can begin writing Crystal syntax for formulas, fomating, ..etc for you report.  Reporting Guru recommends that you put as much logic as possible down at the database level.  This allows you to reuse logic on different Crystal reports or different report engines such as SQL Server Reporting Services.  You can arrange he columns as needed on the report palette or use Crystal objects such as crosstabs.

    Now that the report is complete (rpt file), you must publish to a location.  As previously stated, you must have a custom application or Crystal Enterprise to publish the report too.

    If you need help, a Reporting Guru is always available to be your Crystal Report Writer.

  • SQL Report Writing

    SQL Report Writing can be a challenging task.  A SQL Reports Writer must have the following technical knowledge:

    –knowledge of writing Transaction SQL Statements
    –knowledge of  SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)

    SQL Report Writing also requires good communication skills along with a general understanding of business practices as the Report Writer must gather requirements from end users so that report specifications can be created.  It is important to understand what is desired from a report.  Screen shots, mockups, ..etc are very helpful.

    After the specifications are created, the technical work begins for SQL Report Writing.  A data set must be created and connected to the database.  You can embed your SQL in the dataset, but Reporting Guru recommends that you connect the dataset to a database object such as a view or stored procedure.  If you create a view or stored procedure with your SQL, then you can reuse it on other SSRS reports, Crystal Reports, ..etc.

    Now that you have your dataset, it is time to create the report itself.  This is a matter of putting the proper columns onto the report palette.  You can use different SSRS objects such as a matrix or chart.  You can also add complex logic for calculating columns, hiding, ..etc, but again, Reporting Guru recommends that you put as much logic as possible in the SQL.

    Finally, after the report is complete, you must publish the RDL file to the report server which is essentially a web portal.  This allows other users to view and run the report you created from a web page.

    Good luck with SQL Report Writing and remember that getting help is always a click away!!

  • Crystal to SQL Migration

    Do you need to migrate from Crystal Reports to SQL Reporting Services?  Where is the core of your Report Logic?  In Crystal Syntax or SQL?  Where the logic is located can make big difference in development when considering migrating from one report platform to another.

  • Do You Need SQL Reporting Help?

    What do you do if you need SQL reporting help? You’ve got a few options such as:

    *Call Microsoft or a tech support company and pay for support
    *Dig through the internet and try to find answers to your questions
    *Hire a consultant to help you

    Calling a SQL Support Line

    Support is helpful. You can get answers when you get stuck. It can be expensive though because you can buy incident based support or a flat fee support contract.

    Beyond the expense, phone based support can be somewhat tedious to deal with. When you have to walk through your problem and describe your situation it can require patience and be very time consuming. Some people find it frustrating because some companies have several levels of support agents and you often have to go through your problem and through troubleshooting at several levels before you get some help. Sometimes you have to deal with a support call centre overseas and so effective communication can be cumbersome, to say the least.

    SQL Reporting Problems: Figuring it Out Yourself

    Sometimes you can figure things out yourself. You can read manuals, search knowledgebase’s on the internet, pose questions in community forums or hunt through the program itself and fiddle around until you fix it. Sometimes the fiddling can backfire and you could make problems worse. Sometimes you find advice online but it’s not the best advice. And sometimes, you just don’t have the time to wait and go on a scavenger hunt for info

    Are you in need of an SQL reports developer or other resources?

    Hire a SQL Report BI Consultant

    Another way to get SQL reporting help is to hire a professional services consultant. A business intelligence consultant gets to know your business, your wants, your needs and your goals and often helps you implement a reporting solution. So, when you have problems with reporting or problems with your SQL databases, that consultant already knows your business and knows your infrastructure really well so is very likely the best equipped person to help you.

    A lot of people who hire consultants to help them with their business reporting tools don’t need them forever. While a consultant typically has a cost associated, there’s definitely a benefit to having an expert as part of your staff even if it’s just temporary.

    Not only can having a consultant help you with problems you’ve having but they can help you with training needs as well so that you have as smooth an implementation as possible. And beyond that, the consultant can help you make the most of the data you pull from your SQL databases.

    SQL reporting help can be just a click away. While there are various ways to get help, what’s most important is that you gather data so you can analyze it and make solid business decisions.

  • What Can A SQL Reports Developer Do For You?

    SQL reports can tell you a lot about your business and a SQL reports developer can help you get the reports you need.

    Any database can give you information. Getting the information in an understandable format can be the tricky part. How do you get the information you need from your database(s)? There are reporting tools that can help you. Some reporting tools are simple enough that even a novice user can figure out how to use them. Data has names and can be brought into specific fields and simple math can determine whether you display data or not and in which order.

    Writing a report can help you see items that are greater than a number, equal to a number or lesser than a number or an answer. Data can be sorted and displayed in your preferred format. Data can be captured in a basic way from a single system and you can pull it from various systems as well.

    If you’re not adept at data management and reporting you might want a SQL reports developer to help you. Skilled developers can write reports for you, prepare data so that you can easily access it in a report and can implement solutions so that the right information can be easily pulled from multiple sources into a central report. While some reporting needs could be easy to get, you might need a developer to do some work prepping a system for you to make that report easy to run.

    Odds are, your business could benefit from an SQL reports writer.

    What can sql reports do for you?

    A business needs facts. Facts about how it’s doing, where it can do better and where resources are being used can all help a business make a plan to improve. Constant self improvement is necessary with businesses so that the business can survive. Complacency equals certain death in today’s world and there’s no better way to continuously improve your business than to analyze your results.

    Should you hire your own SQL expert instead of a consultant?

    A skilled SQL reports developer can help you make sense of the data. You can find a developer through a consultancy firm so that you don’t have to have someone on staff full time. This is something that’s increasingly pouplar. Instead of hiring developers and paying them all the time, regardless of your existing and upcoming projects, hiring a consultant enables a company to get the jobs that need doing done while saving money on office space, benefits and being able to use services when you need to and paying for those services alone.

    As much as a SQL reports developer can do for you on a regular basis, it might make sense for your company to utilize a service instead of a signle staff member. This way you can access skilled resources as they need and choose the skill set you need on a per project basis. While you might want help today with SQL, tomorrow it might be Oracle. A skilled consultant can bring the expertise you need for each scenario.

  • SQL Reports Writer Software: Should You Use Open Source?

    If you want to write reports, you can use many tools for SQL reports writer software. Tools include boxed software reporting tools as well as open source tools that can be customized as well. Which type of tool is right for you? That question depends on many factors. Let’s look at some of your potential considerations as well as some up and down sides to using open source reporting software.

    Of course a boxed product comes in a pretty box (most of the time) with a manual and a 1 – 800 # for support. You won’t get that with open source unless you’re prepared to work with a consultant / developer.

    What is open source software?

    Open source software is free and is software you’re allowed to modify to suit your own purposes. Open source typically comes with a general public license and this allows you to use it and develop it without your having to worry about intellectual property rights or either personal, work at home or corporate software licensing. One of the great things about open source software is that people who use it can share tips and information. So, if you have an open source report writing software package, you can share modifications to it with other people. They can share their modifications with you as well.

    A downside to open source software is that you can’t typically get support so this type of software is ideal if you like to dabble on your own. For open source software there is always a community of people using the tool that share information. You can get help from others and you can give help to others. You can also read through plenty of literature put together by others who have successfully used the tool as well as read frequently asked questions and the frequent answers to those questions.

    Does your business need an SQL reporting consultant or other analytical help?

    Open source software can often be made for several platforms including Windows, Linux and MAC OSx and you can often find such a wealth of information that it might seem like a great and inexpensive way to get the reporting you need. Some modifications are designed in a way that will let you talk between several databases including: SQL, Oracle, IBM DB/2 and others.

    Should you use open source software for SQL reports?

    Some people who are technical in nature do successfully use open source software. Others find it too difficult because they’d much rather use something that has a 1 – 800 number that they can call for help.

    Sometimes you can purchase support or turnkey solutions from consultants and developers so that you can get the best of both worlds.

    1) The ability to modify and customize the software
    2) The ability to get help if you need it and have it customized to your own requirements.

    Your options are wide and varied when it comes to SQL reporting tools. A SQL reports writer software package can provide you with a lot of details about your data and this can definitely have a positive impact on your business.

  • Do Small Businesses Need A SQL Reporting Consultant?

    You might think a SQL reporting consultant is something only large companies need. That’s just not true. Today, there are a lot of small and even home based businesses that are using technology just as much as larger companies. Consulting services could definitely benefit your business.

    What kind of reporting do you need?

    As a small business owner who works from home, you know that technology can help you with the way you do business. Your reports can help you analyse trends in the past so you can plan for the future. You can figure out how long it takes you to process an order so you can shorten that cycle. You can also figure out what percentage of your customers are repeat customers and work to increase that number. Then there are individual product sales reports and other reports including your web site statistics and you can even work on other areas such as your shipping fees and more.

    Are you looking for a Business objects consultant and other resources?

    As you can see, there are a lot of different reporting possibilities for a small business. The above list doesn’t even scratch the surface. Extracting data from your business will help you with various areas including: getting more customers, communicating with your customers, reducing workload, cutting costs. All this translates to making more money.

    A SQL reporting consultant could look at your existing processes and your systems and recommend infrastructure tweaks so that you can get more data. You might even have the right tools in place today and need a simple software solution to help you extract the data.

    How can you get data from your business transactions?

    If you have an automated system, you can extract data either through software or through the internet. You can write reports, have custom reports written or purchase a solution that’s designed to give you the precise reporting you want on a regular, scheduled basis or on an ad hoc basis as well. A consultant can look at your specific business wants and needs and get you what you want so that you an do what you need to do to improve business.

    Something can always use improvement and having the right information at your fingertips can help you put an action plan together. Your Oracle, DB/2 or SQL reporting consultant can even help you capture data from multiple systems. This could be great in the case of a system transition, a merger or an acquisition and can help when you grow your business.

    If you are a business with more than one employee, you can get various reports delivered to various parts of the business. Your purchasing agent could get reports on historical stocking information. Your sales person could get customer lists and reports that show average delivery cycles for orders or average purchases per month. From a compensation perspective, SQL reporting can help you pay people commission and from an HR perspective you can also see who deserves a promotion or a raise in your team. Reporting can definitely help your business and a specialized SQL reporting consultant can show you just how.

  • Sharepoint Consulting: Get the Most Out of Microsoft SharePoint

    Do you need a consultant’s help with MS SharePoint? Consulting services can help you understand what something can do to help you and those services can help you implement that solution in a way that allows you to almost seamlessly integrate that new solution into your business.

    Microsoft SharePoint Server: Collaborate and Manage Documents Effectively

    When you decide to utilize new tools that will help your business, you want minimal interruption. SharePoint can be integrated into your business in a way that doesn’t totally disrupt everything. A new software package should enhance a business instead of being a thorn in the sides of staff. If you utilize professional services to help you implement this type of solution the disruption to your business can really be very minimal.

    Very often, you roll out that solution slowly so you impact staff and customers in a minimal way. While people can be a bit startled and fearful due to changes, statistics show that companies that evolve and grow retain their employees better than those who don’t embrace change. People want career development and technology development. Today’s business person is savvy and knows when their employer is using archaic systems. The latest and greatest tools are essential for servicing your customers properly and retaining your best talent.

    Consultant services can look at all the bells and whistles of a particular suite of products and help you decide how to best implement that solution within your existing infrastructure. You probably won’t want to deploy a robust program like SharePoint to your entire user base at once. Instead, you might have training and a slow rollout so that your business is minimally impacted.

    Are you looking for a good SharePoint consultant and other resources?

    Today’s software tools can help businesses do better at everything they do. When people are trained and shown how to best make use of those systems, the return on investment is that much greater.

    Document management is important in a company and so is collaboration and SharePoint can be utilized for many things. The suite of products includes: SharePoint Services, SharePoint Server, Search Server and SharePoint Designer and a consultant can not only help a company determine which tools are most beneficial and how to use them to their full capabilities but can help staff get going so that their jobs are easier, they’re more productive and that the entire company is communicating more effectively.

    Finding a SharePoint Consulting company isn’t difficult but it’s important to find a company with the right skills and right business model to help you get the most out of this product as well as other business tools. Today, a lot of companies are using consulting services to help them implement new products. This can shorten the learning curve and help the staff adapt more easily to new procedures. If you’re looking for help with SharePoint, you’ve come to the right place. SharePoint consulting services are just a click away.

  • SharePoint Consultant Tips

    Are you looking for a SharePoint consultant to help you in your business? SharePoint consultants can help you integrate SharePoint into your business in a way that minimizes disruption to your company and bottom line while maximizing the usage of this tool.

    It’s a sad fact that most software packages don’t get used to their full potential. Why does it happen so often? The answer to that question is: lack of training. Very often, a company will toss their staff into the pit of lions, so to speak, because they give them little to no training on the tools that the people need to do their jobs so people struggle, they complain, and they do things in a way that’s not very productive.

    Just like a poorly trained car driver has bad habits, so do computer users. They turn the computer off without shutting down properly. They leave too many processes running. They don’t do quick and easy little things on a daily basis that would leave their computer running much more efficiently. Why? Because no one has taught them what they should do.

    When you implement a robust business solution like SharePoint Server, you need to show people how to use it. You can’t toss them a manual, you need to set up a production lab and let people play, let them learn, let them make mistakes and let them have access to a SharePoint consultant for several weeks before implementation as well as after deployment as well.

    Any business can benefit from a good reporting consultancy to help analyze its data.

    People will do their jobs better, your reasons for investing in the SharePoint solution will be realized and the company will benefit substantially from your investment in a consultant.

    Once a consulting firm knows your business with one implementation, it makes sense to keep using them. That is, of course, if they’ve done a good job for you. In terms of business intelligence, you can use a Cyrstal Reports consultant, an OLAP developer, and more. If you’ve found a good consultant, find out what services their company offers. Chances are, just like that software you’re not using to full capacity, you have hidden talents you can tap into with your consultants and your staff, too.

    You can have web based consultations and face time with a consultant as well. The same goes for training. Some trainers come to your location and you can set up self paced training as well that includes video tutorials, practice exams and progress reporting per staff member.

    Using web based collaborative tools such as SharePoint could have a very positive impact on your business. Going about implementing them in the right way with the help of a SharePoint consultant could help you take FULL advantage of those tools and let them help you become more productive and therefore more profitable.

  • Should You Hire A Data Mining Company?

    As technology’s capabilities increase, so does the amount of data we need to process. A data mining company can help you wade your way through the seemingly endless amount of information you have and help you to make sense of it. A company that is expert in managing and extracting data as well as developing raw data into usable reports can help you do many things including: implementation of data solutions, implementation of reporting software, writing and building helpful reports for all levels of use, report conversion, database administration, integration services and more.

    Data can do a lot for your business. It can help you financially, from a marketing perspective and from a planning and strategizing standpoint as well. You need expertise to do this and you might not feel that there’s a need to hire a department of people to manage this for you.

    Instead of paying staff members to do nothing but manage data, hiring a consulting firm can save you time and money because the consultant acquires their own expertise and uses it only when you contract their services.

    Are you looking for data mining solutions and other resources?

    Up front costs can seem steep at first but when you look at the long term benefits, there can be a huge ROI. There’s a lot of technology in terms of data mining. Companies can use many programs to try to extract their data. A data mining company will be intimately familiar with all types of data so will be able to effectively utilize solutions to help you make the most of it. What today could look like various systems speaking foreign languages so unable to communicate with one another could suddenly be having meaningful conversations with an output that allows you to make decisions about the future of your business. These decisions could change the landscape of your business in a positive way that allows growth and cost minimization as well.

    Not only can a data mining company help you implement the right solutions that will give you the business intelligence data you need but they can train you to get this information on your own in the future.

    A new and complex software solution could be daunting for your staff but the right training will enable the software to do as you intend; to make everyone’s lives and jobs easier and the company more productive and profitable.

    You can use software packages in house to write and run your own reports. You can have reports integrated into your existing software systems so you can run reports as needed and you could also access reports online as well as request that they be delivered either on a schedule or on demand, too. Flexibility and expertise in a data mining company is crucial so choose your company wisely!