Adaptive Insights vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services comparison

Workday and Microsoft are both solutions in the Reporting category. Workday is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.5. Workday holds a 0.8% mindshare in RT, compared to Microsoft’s 3.3% 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

1,484 Views
312 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Read 22 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reviews

2,060 Views
2,060 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Adaptive Insights vs. Microsoft SQL Servering Services

September 2025

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Helped 869,566 peers since 2012

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

18th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Performance Management (9th), Financial Performance and Strategy Management (3rd), Data Visualization (15th), ESG Reporting Software (6th)

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

3rd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Adaptive Insights is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.3%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services	3.3%
Adaptive Insights	0.8%
Other	95.9%

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

MartinSimons

Senior Consultant at X1F

Ensures database access and monitoring have been manageable, but batch load analysis needs better support

There are occasions during maintenance runs when the Check Point monitoring system reports a lot of blocked sessions. This is typically due to system processes or maintenance processes that temporarily block themselves. Additionally, a tool within the studio for performing SQL analysis does not provide useful information for batch load processes, often advising not to use an index, which is expected with batch loads.

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

"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."

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

"It helps develop a more unified work format throughout the company."

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

"It's very stable."

"We utilize planning on a daily basis, therefore we find it to be the most valuable product for our organization."

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

"The integration with our payroll system to complete staff modeling during our budget and forecast processes."

More Adaptive Insights pros

"The solution is known for its robust security features."

"We get good support from Microsoft."

"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 tool's valuable features are its drill-down feature, graphs, and charts."

"The initial setup is easy."

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

"The solution's features are all just wrapped up in one nice easy package. I don't need a lot of toolsets to get everything I need done."

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

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

Cons

"Adaptive Insights has a limit of 1,00,000 rows for HTML reports. It should be improved because we will have multiple dimensions that need to be populated to enhance the image."

"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."

"Their customer support team is slow to respond and not extremely confident."

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

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

"Better user interface (UI)."

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

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

More Adaptive Insights cons

"Tableau is more user-friendly because it doesn't need to do any extra programming. It has drag-and-drop functionality."

"The product should improve its performance."

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

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

"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."

"It doesn't have quite the flexibility of a Tableau or something like that. Many users are more comfortable with Tableau and I'm not quite sure why that is right now, but it seems to be the case."

"Sometimes, we need to make sure that the configuration stays consistent across the reporting instances. They all connect to the same database. So, it shares that same backend, but the reporting services itself can also be configured. On the application level, for reporting level. And it is, based on my own experience, it is a manual effort to make sure that the reporting servers are configured the same across the environment."

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

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"Adaptive Insights' pricing is reasonable."

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

"It's affordable."

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

"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."

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

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

"The solution is free to use for developers."

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

"The pricing is high."

"The price is pretty good."

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

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

What do you like most about Adaptive Insights?

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Adaptive Insights?

12 years ago, it was very affordable. Workday has definitely increased its price since it acquired Adaptive a few years ago. So, it's affordable. But there are other more affordable solutions that ...

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What needs improvement with Adaptive Insights?

The integrations could be simpler. It takes quite a bit of internal and IT know-how to set up. So, there could be room for just improving the integrations, making it easier to integrate outside sys...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Adaptive Insights

October 2025

Download Adaptive Insights product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

September 2025

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

September 2025

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

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