Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs Windward Core comparison

Microsoft and Windward Studios are both solutions in the Reporting category. Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.6, while Windward Studios is ranked #25. Microsoft holds a 3.5% mindshare in RT, compared to Windward Studios’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Windward Studios users who would recommend it.

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Read 20 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reviews

2,819 Views
1,843 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Windward Core

Read 36 Windward Core reviews

501 Views
160 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Windward Core

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Windward Core and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services are competing products in the reporting domain. Windward Core's flexibility in template design gives it an edge, while Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services stands out for seamless integration and scalability within Microsoft's ecosystem.

Features: Windward Core supports dynamic document generation, versatile template creation, and robust customization. It seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Word and Excel for template design, offers a user-friendly interface through AutoTag, and reduces the need for coding with Javelin Server RESTful API. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services provides enterprise-grade analytics, strong integration with SQL Server, and offers features like drill-down data, graphs, and charts that enhance reporting capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Windward Core could enhance its analytics capabilities and integration into broad IT infrastructures for larger enterprises. Furthermore, expanding support for non-Microsoft environments and increasing scalability options would be beneficial. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services faces challenges with complex initial setups, requiring technical expertise. Simplifying its interface for non-SQL users and offering more out-of-the-box templates could improve user accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Windward Core is praised for its straightforward deployment and accessible support, utilizing a flexible architecture that simplifies setup. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services benefits from its integration with Microsoft's ecosystem, although initial setups can be complex, requiring technical expertise. Overall, Windward Core is noted for its quicker deployment, while Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is favored for integrated solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Windward Core offers attractive initial pricing with rapid ROI due to flexible template capabilities and streamlined deployment. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services may incur higher initial costs but justifies this with deep integration and scalability, making it a preferred option for businesses heavily using Microsoft technologies. Windward Core presents a lower financial barrier, while Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services delivers a worthwhile investment for comprehensive integration.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Windward Core Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Windward Core

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Windward Core

Ranking in Reporting

25th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Document Generation Tools (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.5%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windward Core is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting

Featured Reviews

Gnanavel-Chakkarapani

Junior Consultant at CMA CGM

Offers useful templates but needs to improve the connectivity offered

In Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, not much of the interface part is used. With Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, its users face issues with the interface after they use Excel or create Microsoft SSIS Packages. The tool's interface is an area of concern requiring improvement. There needs to be an improvement in the product's connectivity so that the tool can connect easily with other third-party databases. In the dashboard, drag and drop functionality needs to improve, especially when compared to other tools like IBM Cognos Analytics and Qlik Sense. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is useful only for standard reports. In IBM Cognos Analytics, query studio can be used by users to drag the data and simply download the reports, so the user doesn't need to have any technical knowledge like developers. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is to be improved to offer features like query Studio, which is provided in IBM Cognos Analytics.

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Hit Mistry

Vice President at PSC Group, LLC

It has streamlined a lot of our reporting processes

Their PDF needs improvement. We've run into some issues when we tried to generate a Word document. If we try to generate the same document in PDF, sometimes it doesn't look exactly the same. We have gone back to Windward support a couple of times on a few issues, e.g., we had some issues with reports that had barcodes on them. The barcode wasn't displaying properly. It was displaying as a skewed image as opposed to an actual barcode. Therefore, we worked with Windward support, having some daily calls with them. Then, within the next release, they were able to resolve the issue. They even gave us a pre-release, so we could implement it into our code before the actual official release on the website. It would be nice to have some sort of workflow capability within the product. Anytime you generate a document, nine out of ten times there is something which precedes that document, whether it's entering parameters in, e.g., if I'm requesting the status report for a project. The first thing that I usually want from a status perspective is which project is the status report for and which week is it for, as those are some of the things that I have to supply before I can generate a document. From a workflow perspective, it would be nice to say, "This project belongs to this person, and this person is okay with me pulling information out of this document for whatever need I have." From a workflow perspective, I would like a wizard interface that goes step-by-step, like a questionnaire, where there are a bunch of things that you have to answer, "Yes or no," before it knows what to do or how to produce the document. Right now, we write our own custom UI for this.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is reliable for management dashboard and reporting purposes. It is helpful for user reporting and administrative tasks, such as monitoring progress. It is easy to use since it is lightweight and integrates well with the SQL Server database, making reporting straightforward. The visualization capabilities enhance our reporting needs with good pagination and KPI features. It integrates well with data servers and workbooks, allowing us to publish reports on mobile applications and tablets easily. Integrating other tools and platforms in our tech ecosystem is generally straightforward. However, if we need to perform something very specialized, we might have to use third-party tools rather than inbuilt options."

"The initial setup is easy."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services has been functional whenever I needed to use it."

"We can create quality reports in real time."

"In Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, the installation and configuration are easy."

"I like Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services' automated reporting feature."

"With SQL Server Reporting Services, I can create reports and printable reports, known as paginated reports."

"The stability of SSRS has been reliable, with minimal issues encountered during our usage."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

"The Windward solution was very fast to rollout, and it is proven."

"It's easy to create templates and reports using Microsoft Word, so we don't have to learn something new to create a template. That makes it very user-friendly... they have integrated the product with Microsoft Word. People can easily start working on it without too much training."

"It's very feature-rich. You can create tables, you can create graphs, you can import pictures, and those features are also easy to use."

"You can use Microsoft Office as your designer interface. There is very little programming. You can have nontechnical people create reports."

"AutoTag is valuable because it integrates with MS Word and makes it easy for our users to create template documents and reports. It allows our users to design the templates based on differing needs."

"From an integration perspective, they provide the code for you to easily integrate with existing applications."

"Thanks to Windward, our documents need very few tweaks and are usually "customer-ready" right out of the box."

"The ultimate feature is the product it produces. The ROI around that saves hours and hours. It's probably about a hundred days per year. The time savings and the ability to turn it around quickly pleases our customers."

More Windward Core pros

Cons

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services needs to improve performance."

"The setup is difficult because you have to install different servers."

"I would like the solution to add the scheduling feature for reports."

"It is not easy to integrate the product with other tools in the market."

"There are occasions during maintenance runs when the Check Point monitoring system reports a lot of blocked sessions."

"The product could be improved by reducing the time it takes to build and deploy reports."

"They could improve the scalability and stability of SQL Server Reporting Services."

"We encounter some barriers while trying to build a report."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services cons

"They're not a gigantic company, so they just don't have all the capital to do whatever they would want to do. That's the only reason I would hold back even that one point. I know that if I do ask for something, I'll get it. I just know that it will take some time."

"AutoTag needs to be web-based, so our customers can create reports from our web."

"I'm still working in Office 2016, and we have had some issues, but Windward is very quick to react when there is a problem. We are also going to switch over to Office 365 and that will solve a few of the problems."

"A lot of clients who want to use this don't have the technical background for the SQL portion of gathering the data. If Windward were to make a more user-friendly SQL extract front-end, that would help a lot of clients to leverage the application a lot more."

"It would be nice to have a black-and-white, ideal setup for servers, to maximize capabilities. We went through a lot of scenarios to get something that is scalable. An ideal AWS-package server setup could have saved us a lot of time. But I understand this is very company specific."

"About six months ago, we raised the possibility of improving the way they manage the HTML 5. Sometimes, when you insert a lot of data in the data source, you get an error because it is not managing HTML 5 features well. I believe they have addressed this in later versions of their product."

"It needs better support for upgrades and more control over layout of elements. Upgrades tend to break existing output. Elements do not position where expected due to insertion of blank lines and page breaks. It takes time to fix these through trial and error."

"There are some Excel formatting things that you lose when you implement a template: some default Excel validation scripts, macros. You could create them in Excel if you were just using Excel, but in creating a template that generates a report, some of those validation things are lost."

More Windward Core cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product pricing is reasonable in terms of suitable features for business."

"The pricing is high."

"Value-wise, the solution's pricing is good for the price that we pay."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

"The price is pretty good."

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

"The solution is free to use for developers."

"The solution is expensive."

"The only problem with the pricing of Windward is the limitation on the number of reports generated. It is costly in that sense. If you want to increase, you have to pay more, based on the number of reports generated per day. It is not the same with Crystal Reports. With the latter, you buy a license at one point in time and that's it."

"The cost is reasonable."

"The pricing is fair. The way that they have it priced is the Windward Designer has a price that's associated with it. Then, depending on the number of cores that you're looking for, that is the price that you pay. The more cores that you want, the more expensive it is."

"For what you're getting, it's an extremely good value."

"It is absolutely worth the value. They have flexibility, depending on what you're looking for from a buying standpoint. The current pricing models are quite flexible, with the ability to use it on an as-needed basis, or to get a perpetual license that covers a customer that might have extensive needs. I think it's pretty good."

"We negotiated our prices many years ago, and while they go up a little bit here and there, they've been pretty steady."

"From my experience in this field, the product is reasonably priced, at least with the RESTful engine implementation. It's definitely not a cheap option. People say, "That's a fair amount of money to pay for a document generation tool." At the same time, you do get good functionality and the support is good."

"I'm starting to hear clients squeal about the price of their software. The cost of the software has gone up."

More Windward Core pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Healthcare Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

I mainly use the solution for the ease of reporting and for executive dashboards.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

I don't recall the current pricing as it changes frequently.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

They could improve the scalability and stability of SQL Server Reporting Services. I haven't used it recently, so I can't provide detailed suggestions on improvements.

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Comparisons

TIBCO Jaspersoft vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 21% of the time

Tableau vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 17% of the time

IBM Cognos vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle OBIEE vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 12% of the time

SAP Crystal Reports vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 9% of the time

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Competitors

SAP Crystal Reports vs Windward Core

Compared 56% of the time

Docmosis vs Windward Core

Compared 44% of the time

More Windward Core Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

March 2025

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Buyer's Guide

Windward Core

March 2025

Download Windward Core product report

Also Known As

SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft SSRS, SSRS, MS SQL Server Reporting Services

Windward, Windward Studios

Overview

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

We do business in 170 countries and are made up of 114,000 passionate employees dedicated to fulfilling our mission of helping you and your organization achieve more.

Microsoft

What is Windward Studios?

For over a decade, Windward has been a leader in the software development industry by creating the most innovative and advanced document automation and reporting software on the planet.

Data-Driven Document Automation

Generate stunning documents that incorporate relevant data easily and seamlessly.

Visually Striking Designs

Our software provides innovative tools and features to build beautiful designs and stunning layouts, all within the familiar Microsoft Office Suite. Your imagination is the only limitation.

Agile Document Logic

We offer the best document automation software for the new millennium. With our conditional logic functionality, you can swiftly personalize the document content to gratify your end users.

Huge Time Saver

Looking for faster template creation that enables you to keep pace with your business? With our software, template creation takes minutes and you do not need any programming experience to get it done.

Exceptionally Intuitive Interface

Our program's design offers documents that can be edited, customized and designed using MS Office. Enjoy a stress-free document automation experience in programs you already know.

Efficient Savings

Significantly reduce the resources and time required for template development by using our streamlined template design and document automation tools.

Windward Studios

Sample Customers

CMS Wire, The New York Times

HAL, Inc., Axe Group, White Clark Group, Blueprint Software, Aspect Security, Nucleus Software, LeBlanc’s Food Stores, South Sound 911, Aegon, Barclays, Fidelity Investments, ArisGlobal LLC, USDA, RepLink, AON Hewitt

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Windward Core

March 2025

Free Report: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Windward Core

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Windward Core and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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