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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Windward Core offers exceptional support, with response times usually within one hour, and provides quick integration with existing applications.
Its AutoTag tool streamlines report creation by integrating with Microsoft Word, enabling users to design and update templates efficiently without a steep learning curve.
The software's capability to automate report generation reduces the reliance on IT, improving turnaround times and enabling fast client updates.
Windward Core's compatibility with popular applications like Microsoft Word and Excel allows users to leverage familiar tools, making report design user-friendly and accessible to non-technical users.
The integration of features such as dynamic document generation, modular designs with PODs, and comprehensive template management provides users with versatile and high-quality layout capabilities.

CONS

Windward Core lacks a black-and-white ideal server setup, causing users to spend time configuring scalable solutions, which could be streamlined with an AWS-package server setup.
Windward Core's document generation side lacks a distribution feature, limiting the ability to send documents to recipients based on business rules, and making users manage template-recipient relationships manually.
Windward Core does not support macOS documents, leading to compatibility issues for users working on different operating systems.
Windward Core's performance and formatting suffer when generating PDFs, with discrepancies between native and Office PDF outputs, necessitating Office installation on servers.
Windward Core error reports need improvements as they lack precision in guiding users to correct issues effectively.
 

Windward Core Pros review quotes

NC
Product Management & Owner at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Jan 10, 2020
The engine being able to sit inside of our firewall is the most important feature.
it_user831804 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager Applications with 1,001-5,000 employees
Mar 6, 2018
The integration with MS Office is an advantage, creating a better user experience.
it_user831807 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO and EVP
Mar 6, 2018
We can develop any report at least five times faster.​
Learn what your peers think about Windward Core. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,477 professionals have used our research since 2012.
HM
.Net Developer - Data Analyst
Mar 6, 2018
​Creating dynamic table of contents (TOC) based on dynamic data in different reports.
PF
Web Specialist
Mar 6, 2018
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.
COO33ca - PeerSpot reviewer
COO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Mar 7, 2018
Managing templates through MS Word, as non technical users can manage output.
it_user195528 - PeerSpot reviewer
COO/VP Operations & Software Exec at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Mar 13, 2018
The most valuable features are the ability for it to be integrated into our software solution and the AutoTag tool that allows us to quite quickly create and update the templates themselves.
it_user838203 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Owner at a tech company
Mar 15, 2018
The two features that I like the best are the ability to generate Word and Excel documents, and the ability to create my templates directly inside those software sets. It's absolutely critical for me as a user to have design and layout control, because all of my reports are very, very customized. I have to have control over the ability to generate and to control what they look like.
JA
SVP, Product Development at HIGH LINE CORPORATION
Jan 17, 2020
The most valuable feature is the fact that it uses Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel as base templates, so when you generate, it's easy for clients to upgrade, and maintain, and generate out either a PDF or an actual Excel spreadsheet.
HM
Vice President at PSC Group, LLC
Aug 27, 2018
Windward helped automate reports which otherwise would have needed IT to create and maintain.
 

Windward Core Cons review quotes

NC
Product Management & Owner at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Jan 10, 2020
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.
it_user831804 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager Applications with 1,001-5,000 employees
Mar 6, 2018
They should add a document distribution solution on top of the document generation capability. It should allow us to send the generated document to a certain recipient (e.g. customer contact’s email address) based on a business-rules management system. That system would allow the end-user to manage a relationship between a document template and its recipient.
it_user831807 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO and EVP
Mar 6, 2018
​AutoTag needs to be web-based, so our customers can create reports from our web.​
Learn what your peers think about Windward Core. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,477 professionals have used our research since 2012.
HM
.Net Developer - Data Analyst
Mar 6, 2018
​The tool does not support macOS documents.
PF
Web Specialist
Mar 6, 2018
Is there any way to avoid AutoTag loading in Word/Excel each time? I need to use it from time to time - quite rarely. AutoTag affects performance of Word/Excel. I do not want to install/uninstall AutoTag each time I need it.
COO33ca - PeerSpot reviewer
COO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Mar 7, 2018
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.
it_user195528 - PeerSpot reviewer
COO/VP Operations & Software Exec at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Mar 13, 2018
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_user838203 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Owner at a tech company
Mar 15, 2018
There is always room for improvement in the speed, especially with the complex, multi-line Excel spreadsheets. They made some improvements in the last version that are quantum-fold faster than when I first started. But there is always room for improvement there. You always want reports faster and faster.
JA
SVP, Product Development at HIGH LINE CORPORATION
Jan 17, 2020
The only thing I can think of, that we'd like it to do, would be the ability to "burst out" reports, meaning one section of a report could be sent out as an email to a manager of a department, say, without having to run multiple reports to do it. As it sits now, we have to do multiple reports to do it.
HM
Vice President at PSC Group, LLC
Aug 27, 2018
The next release could benefit from a cloud-based environment.