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Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs Pentaho Business Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pentaho Business Analytics
Ranking in Reporting
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (20th), Cloud Operations Analytics (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.4%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pentaho Business Analytics is 1.1%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

MartinSimons - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mir Gulzar Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Excels in handling unstructured data, helping organizations navigate through different storage systems
Pentaho can help organizations by providing them an insight of their unstructured data using one platform(Pentaho Business Analytics). The features are almost identical to other BIS platforms but to me, customers can benefit as it has a community version with most of its Enterprise features. It also has a free limited-period trial version. The other feature that I would like to share here is, that users have access to a complete spectrum of data from different sources with the system’s adaptive big data layer, which takes the source of the data into account. The software is built on an open architecture and can be integrated with multiple systems. However, Pentaho Data Integration and Analytics has been acquired by HDS which offers an Enterprise edition for organizations that also need to meet product compliance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I am impressed with the product's seamless integration. It can work with different databases like Oracle."
"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 solution is known for its robust security features."
"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services has been functional whenever I needed to use it."
"It is a stable solution."
"The SQL Server Reporting Services makes it very easy to get the data whenever we need it."
"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."
"With SQL Server Reporting Services, I can create reports and printable reports, known as paginated reports."
"Pentaho is an analytics platform that can be used when an organization has a lot of big data storage systems already installed and needs to manage and analyze that data. It has a specific use case for unstructured data, such as documents, and needs to be able to search and analyze it."
"The interface of Pentaho Business Analytics is easy to use and does not require high-level skills to operate the tool."
"We were able to install it without any assistance from tech support."
"The most valuable feature of Pentaho is the Tableau report."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Pentaho Business Analytics' best features include the ease of developing data flows and the wide range of options to connect to databases, including those on the cloud."
"It is robust, offers market intelligence, and utilizes modules effectively."
"Easy to use components to create the job."
 

Cons

"It is not easy to integrate the product with other tools in the market."
"I would like the solution to add the scheduling feature for reports."
"The complex tuning for report performance is complicated. There is a lack of native support for source code control. We often need to use separate tools like VS Code or other software to manage version control and changes in the database. It would be beneficial if source code management were integrated directly into SSRS, thus eliminating the need to rely on external tools. While CLI-based operations are exemplary, the trend is towards GUI for a better user experience. Integrating both visualization and source code management within SSRS would simplify the process for users."
"We have had issues with the refresh interval since we have too many reports scheduled. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is also expensive."
"We encounter some barriers while trying to build a report."
"The setup is difficult because you have to install different servers."
"Technical support is in minor need of improvement so that they can solve problems in a more timely manner."
"In this solution, the cost should be reduced for the enterprise edition."
"Pentaho, at the general level, should greatly improve the easy construction of its dashboards and easy integration of information from different sources without technical user intervention."
"The repository should be improved."
"Version control would be a good addition."
"We did not achieve the ROI. The work delivered to users had lesser value than the subscription cost."
"Another concern is that Pentaho is not customizable or interactive."
"Pentaho Business Analytics is hard to learn and not suited for initial users as it requires knowledge of operating systems, Java, and other technical skills."
"Pentaho Business Analytics' user interface is outdated."
"Deployment is not simple. It is not simple because we are dealing with a lot of data; we are dealing with a lot of storage. So, it's not a simple process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product pricing is reasonable in terms of suitable features for business."
"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."
"The price is pretty good."
"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing is high."
"Value-wise, the solution's pricing is good for the price that we pay."
"The solution is free to use for developers."
"Free and commercial versions are available."
"Pentaho is expensive ."
"We were lucky enough to find a Pentaho OEM partner who offered a data warehouse model and the ETL software for about 60K SGD per year."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Reporting solutions are best for your needs.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user6978 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 10, 2013
Jaspersoft vs. Pentaho – Which one to use & is there any need to purchase the commercial edition
Any company (be it technology, manfucaturing, human resource, ecommerce, SME etc) always has the need for Business Intelligence to some or the other extent. If cost is one of the consideration factor, then the 2 BI tools which are at the forefront are Pentaho and Jaspersoft. But, often the same…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

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.
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.
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pentaho Business Analytics?
Pentaho Business Analytics is priced similarly to other competitors such as QlikView ( /products/qlikview-reviews ) and Tableau ( /products/tableau-reviews ). I usually use the community edition.
What needs improvement with Pentaho Business Analytics?
Pentaho Business Analytics ( /categories/bi-business-intelligence-tools ) is hard to learn and not suited for initial users as it requires knowledge of operating systems, Java, and other technical ...
 

Also Known As

SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft SSRS, SSRS, MS SQL Server Reporting Services
Pentaho, Kettle, Hitachi Pentaho Business Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CMS Wire, The New York Times
Cargo 2000 Lufthansa, Marketo, ModCloth, Cardiac Science, Telefonica, ExactTarget, Active Broadband Networks, and Brussels Airport.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Pentaho Business Analytics and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.