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 3.4% mindshare in RT, compared to Windward Studios’s 0.6% 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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Windward Core

April 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 May 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.4%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windward Core is 0.6%, 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

"We can create quality reports in real time."

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

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

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

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

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

"It is a stable solution."

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

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

"Managing templates through MS Word, as non technical users can manage output."

"We ended up going with Windward for the level of support we got from them during our proof of concept."

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

"The integration with MS Office is an advantage, creating a better user experience."

"Technical support is very good. They reply immediately and follow-up with any questions."

"A useful, easy to use product, which has a lot of features for designing reports."

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

"One of the things they added in the last two or three years is PODs, Portable Object Doclets. One of our clients said they wanted to use PODs. They're a good way to make some constructs modular and keep things in one place."

More Windward Core pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

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

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

"The solution's interface is old."

"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."

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

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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"They could make the document creation performance faster. I'm not saying it's slow but it takes time to create the PDFs. If they could make it faster, that would be one area for improvement."

"Regarding AutoTag, we do notice that when you want to refactor a little bit of your template design or when you want to implement changes, sometimes you need a lot of clicks to get the change done. For instance... it would be helpful to be able to find all the identifiers with the old name and replace them with the new name. We haven't found a way to do that with the find-replace tool. Throughout the user-interface of Windward, you need a lot of clicks to get that done."

"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."

"The reason it took us so long to get the system up and running is that the APIs could be improved a bit. It could be a little bit more interoperable with software, without having to do a lot of the heavy lifting that we had do to get it in."

More Windward Core cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

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

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

"The price is pretty good."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

"The solution is free to use for developers."

"The solution is expensive."

"The pricing is high."

"The cost is reasonable."

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

"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."

"CapEx fits our requirements, OpEx is higher due to the 20% service and maintenance cost, where we normally pay 15%."

"The pricing is very reasonable for what it provides. The report builder is about one grand per user... We are paying for a support contract, which is 20 percent of the price, but because the licenses are perpetual, I think the pricing is very reasonable."

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

"Windward is very expensive when the volume of documents being generated is low and it is cheap when the volume is high."

"Pricing is something I complain about. Production pricing is okay, but for a testing environment the pricing looks a bit high to me."

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

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Healthcare 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.

See all answers

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 18% of the time

Tableau vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 16% of the time

IBM Cognos vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 14% 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 54% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs Windward Core

Compared 46% of the time

More Windward Core Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

April 2025

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Buyer's Guide

Windward Core

April 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

April 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: April 2025.

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