Adaptive Insights vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services comparison

Workday and Microsoft are both solutions in the Reporting category. Workday is ranked #26, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.4. Workday holds a 1.5% mindshare in RT, compared to Microsoft’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Workday users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Adaptive Insights

Read 18 Adaptive Insights reviews

2,736 Views
602 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Read 22 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reviews

2,219 Views
2,197 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Adaptive Insights

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Adaptive Insights and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services compete in business performance analysis and reporting. Adaptive Insights has a more modern approach to financial planning, while Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services excels in data integration and customization.

Features: Adaptive Insights provides robust financial tools, including budgeting, forecasting, and integration with ERP systems for a comprehensive approach. It offers cloud-based dashboards and tools like Office Connect for streamlined planning. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services shines with customizable reporting, integration with SQL databases, and advanced data visualization through its intuitive interface.

Room for Improvement: Adaptive Insights could improve in accommodating smaller business needs without extensive features and enhancing offline functionalities. Streamlining its user interface for less technical users might also be beneficial. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services needs enhancements in mobile report capabilities, support for non-Microsoft data sources, and simplifying the setup process for less tech-savvy users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Adaptive Insights offers a faster cloud-based deployment with responsive customer service suited for dynamic environments. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services requires a more complex on-premise setup but benefits from strong documentation and dedicated support from Microsoft experts.

Pricing and ROI: Adaptive Insights involves higher initial costs, reflecting its comprehensive suite, but offers quick ROI through efficient financial processes. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services provides a more affordable initial setup and leverages existing Microsoft infrastructure, potentially delaying ROI depending on complexity but may be cost-effective in the longer term with advanced integration capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Servering Services

March 2026

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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

Adaptive Insights

Ranking in Reporting

26th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Performance Management (10th), Financial Performance and Strategy Management (4th), Data Visualization (20th), ESG Reporting Software (15th)

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

5th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Adaptive Insights is 1.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 2.5%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services	2.5%
Adaptive Insights	1.5%
Other	96.0%

Reporting

Featured Reviews

Andrew Rosenberg

Adaptive Planning Manager at Alight

Adaptive scales well, simple to create new budget versions and models

For the organization I used to work at, it streamlined the process of creating budgets. It's very simple to create a new version and do some more modeling based on your need for planning things like headcount, other expenses, and revenue, everything is configurable within Workday. So that made it easy. Reporting was pretty easy to set up as well. It streamlined the amount of time it took to do the budget as well as kind of making it simple to implement a rolling forecast process. So, it really was more just a productivity increase and time shortening for the budgeting and forecasting process.

Read full review

Gnaneshwar Dayanandan

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

Reports generation is efficient and saves effort, but integrating new features could enhance overall experience

I haven't contacted Microsoft technical support because of this tool, but for some other things I have, and I found them quite lacking. We had trouble with Azure Firewall, where we wanted logs from our VMs, but reaching out to Microsoft took a prolonged time to the extent that we were wondering why Microsoft was unable to get its own logs to us, which occurred a few months back. I would rate Microsoft support around 6.5 to seven, as they don't directly interact with medium-sized MSMEs, always referring to their partners, so it differs based on the partner's level of relationship with Microsoft.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The important feature is integration with source data. It connects to various ERP systems, including Workday, Intact, and others. It can also import actuals and compare them to PlanPoint quite easily."

"Customer Service: Excellent, always available and hardly needed."

"Changes to corporate structure, account codes are updated in all versions including prior years, hence "one-version of truth" as claimed."

"The biggest feature is the source of truth for all of our budget and forecast versions."

"The reporting tools are what I gain the most benefit from."

"The system has allowed us to take more than 90 spreadsheets and combine them into one system which automatically calculates based on assumptions, dimensions, etc."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its dashboard."

"Reports are allowed to be edited for aesthetic purposes, which is lacking in a lot of other dashboard tools."

More Adaptive Insights pros

"With SQL Server Reporting Services, I can create reports and printable reports, known as paginated reports, and it's valuable since it allows me to create documentation using a template, which is difficult to achieve otherwise."

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

"We get good support from Microsoft."

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

"We were able to embed the report builder within our internal proprietary systems, improving our reporting capabilities."

"I am impressed with the product's seamless integration. It can work with different databases like Oracle."

"Outside of that, it's a pretty solid tool, pretty straightforward, and I have no issues with it."

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

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

Cons

"The product's configuration process could be faster."

"Pricing can be made better affordable to SMEs. Every year price increase is an issue."

"We tried Discovery and OfficeConnect at one point and found them too cumbersome, at the time."

"The planning functionalities are the weakest part of Adaptive Insights."

"The upload feature exists, but isn't terribly useful."

"Adaptive Insights could improve the data designer interface to make integrations easier to set up."

"Discovery (the data visualization module): Needs to catch up with BI leaders, such as MS and Tableau. E.g., sorting by amounts in column charts and page slicers to control all visuals."

"The integrations could be simpler. It takes quite a bit of internal and IT know-how to set up."

More Adaptive Insights cons

"In this solution, the cost should be reduced for the enterprise edition."

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

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

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

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

"Technical support is in minor need of improvement so that they can solve problems in a more timely manner."

"We have had issues with the refresh interval since we have too many reports scheduled. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is also expensive."

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

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing seems to be worth the cost considering the efficiency Adaptive brings."

"Adaptive Insights' pricing is reasonable."

"Everything is negotiable, but this solution is low cost compared to others."

"Ensure that you have the proper pricing plan in place."

"Prior to purchasing licenses, make sure you understand which users will only need planning and which users will need both planning and OfficeConnect."

"Adaptive Insights' pricing is relative to its peer competitors. It's certainly competitive compared to a spreadsheet template that you build in Excel. It can be expensive if you need to have 100-500 budget holders giving input and building financial plans. However, in that case, it becomes an extremely good bargain. Compared to its competitors, it offers an excellent value."

"It's affordable."

"Pricing is in line with other cloud-based EPM tools. It is a subscription-based model based upon the number of users and site type if it's an admin or end-user type thing."

"The price is pretty good."

"The pricing is high."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

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

"The solution is free to use for developers."

"The solution is expensive."

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Construction Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	15

Questions from the Community

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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 would consider it cost effective for our environment, and we don't have to invest in another big tool to generate these reports, making it all integrated and easier. Otherwise, you need to write ...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is not difficult to use, but my main issue is troubleshooting whenever there is any problem, as the logs can be unclear. Perhaps I don't have enough experien...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Adaptive Insights

March 2026

Download Adaptive Insights product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

March 2026

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Also Known As

Workday Adaptive Planning, Adaptive Discovery , Workday Adaptive Planning

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

Overview

Adaptive Insights is a cloud-based financial planning and analysis software that helps businesses streamline their budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes.

With its intuitive interface and powerful analytics, it enables organizations to make data-driven decisions and drive business performance.

Workday

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

Sample Customers

1. Cisco Systems 2. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated 3. Deloitte 4. DocuSign 5. Dropbox 6. Electronic Arts 7. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation 8. Fitbit 9. Fossil Group 10. Groupon 11. Hilton Worldwide 12. HP Inc. 13. Intuit 14. Johnson & Johnson 15. LinkedIn 16. Lyft 17. McAfee 18. Medtronic 19. Netflix 20. Oracle 21. Pandora 22. PayPal 23. Pinterest 24. Red Hat 25. Salesforce 26. ServiceNow 27. Slack Technologies 28. Spotify 29. Symantec 30. Tableau Software 31. Twitter 32. Workday

CMS Wire, The New York Times

Buyer's Guide

Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Servering Services

March 2026

Free Report: Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Find out what your peers are saying about Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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