Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs Zendesk comparison

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and Zendesk each cater to distinct business needs, with the former specializing in data management and reporting and the latter in customer support solutions. While Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services has an advantage in handling complex data tasks, Zendesk is favored for its superior customer-oriented features.

Features: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services offers powerful reporting capabilities, integration with Microsoft products, and custom report creation. Zendesk delivers valuable features like robust ticketing systems, integration with diverse third-party applications, and customer interaction tracking.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services could improve on simplifying its deployment process, enhancing user-friendliness, and expanding non-Microsoft integrations. Zendesk might benefit from advanced reporting capabilities, better multi-brand management, and refining its macro features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services demands significant technical expertise for deployment, possibly hindering customer service. In contrast, Zendesk offers a simpler setup process and emphasizes user-friendly support, ensuring continuous assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services involves higher initial costs, with ROI driven by long-term integration efficiencies. On the other hand, Zendesk matches its customer-centric features with setup costs that often yield faster ROI by enhancing client engagement dynamics.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Zendesk Report (Updated: December 2025).

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Zendesk

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Helped 879,310 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.3

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services enhances usability, saves time, and improves decision-making and efficiency with streamlined reporting processes.

Sentiment score

6.2

Zendesk delivers cost savings and efficiency with flexible pricing and integration, addressing operational needs despite ROI measurement challenges.

Any tool which obviates the need for a lot of coding will definitely save at least 60-70% of effort.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

I can tell you that we probably saved at least three employees full-time with the ticket management and the automation and the macros and the user follow-up being built in.

Consultant and Startup Founder at AimHi Enterprises

I feel that Zendesk helped us set up our platform for providing support way faster than other platforms due to its easy configuration.

Filipe Abreu

Junior system analyst at Wevt clous

We were able to offer a seamless 24/7 support experience and meet all our SLAs due to the robust nature of the platform.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Technical Support Engineer/ QA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.7

Technical support receives mixed reviews; some praise its responsiveness, others face challenges, with satisfaction ratings between seven and nine.

Sentiment score

6.4

Zendesk support is generally responsive and professional, with some users experiencing delays and a lack of 24/7 chat support.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

I have not reached out to tech support at Microsoft for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services because it is my job to know how to get this tool to work.

Romario Martin

Database Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

There appears to be a lack of connection between the bot and the agents, making it feel scripted rather than helpful.

Technical Support Engineer/ QA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

The technical support provided by Zendesk has been very satisfactory.

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CEO at Etcetera Networks

Their support team from Zendesk is excellent, similar to what you have in Freshdesk.

Anita Orioma

Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.5

SQL Server Reporting Services offers moderate scalability, with challenges in horizontal scaling, preferring smaller deployments over enterprise ones.

Sentiment score

7.4

Zendesk scales well across team sizes, despite challenges in backups, updates, customization, and larger organization's specific scalability needs.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

We have not hit a peak or a turn yet that Zendesk has not been able to go with us or been able to grow with us in the process, change or pivot that the company is making.

Dimitri Cooper

Project Manager III at City of Union City Government

Zendesk can scale from very small companies to very large ones.

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Zendesk's scalability is excellent.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Technical Support Engineer/ QA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is highly stable, with minor issues mainly related to upgrades and large datasets.

Sentiment score

7.8

Zendesk is stable and reliable, with occasional outages swiftly resolved, making it ideal for small businesses and startups.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

They are always informing us with a status update and an ETA, and the turnaround time is usually within the same day with no extended downtime that would cause a detriment to our company.

Dimitri Cooper

Project Manager III at City of Union City Government

Zendesk is quite stable; we experience major outages only once or twice a year, making it very reliable.

Technical Support Engineer/ QA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

The stability has been quite reliable.

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CEO at Etcetera Networks

Room For Improvement

SQL Server Reporting Services needs better visualization, integration, and performance to compete with alternatives, plus improved support and pricing.

Zendesk users seek improved usability, better integration, enhanced reporting, customization, mobile support, streamlined management, and communication tools.

I am thinking that with all the Copilot integration within the Microsoft environment, that could be integrated as well, so that you could issue a prompt and it generates designs.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

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.

Romario Martin

Database Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Zendesk could actually support HTML on the tickets so we could format our text better than the current options such as size, bold, italic, or underscored, because the text processing is too simple.

Filipe Abreu

Junior system analyst at Wevt clous

Zendesk is missing an AI aspect that could help provide quick answers based on the knowledge housed within the platform.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Technical Support Engineer/ QA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Zendesk is amazing, and because they are always working on a new upgrade or a new integration, they are very forward-thinking from an engineering perspective.

Dimitri Cooper

Project Manager III at City of Union City Government

Setup Cost

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services offers moderate pricing and good value, though the licensing model can be complex and costly.

Zendesk's pricing can be high, impacting decisions, but offers flexibility and valuable CX features if negotiated effectively.

Otherwise, you need to write a lot of code or API calls to generate reports if using some other tool outside of the ecosystem, which definitely requires additional effort and therefore additional cost and time.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.

CEO at Etcetera Networks

The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Zendesk was quite expensive.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Consultant and Startup Founder at AimHi Enterprises

Valuable Features

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services provides intuitive usability, robust security, and seamless integration, enhancing report creation, visualization, and deployment.

Zendesk excels in integration, user-friendly ticket management, automation, customization, and robust analytics to enhance productivity and user experience.

The best features of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services are that it is easy to get the reports out because it is integrated with SQL and we have many of these tables.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

I had been trying to develop a solution using SSRS to view some data while allowing me to modify data and update the table in the back end, but it seems SSRS isn't the tool for that.

Romario Martin

Database Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Zendesk is way cheaper than other ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow, providing a good platform at a lower price so we could offer good support with a low budget for the license.

Filipe Abreu

Junior system analyst at Wevt clous

Being able to put response counters on certain tickets and have certain ones that are high priority and have a tighter SLA than lower priority items, being able to categorize them as a question versus an urgent request, and being able to bucket them as feature requests or product enhancements.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Consultant and Startup Founder at AimHi Enterprises

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

4th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zendesk

Ranking in Reporting

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM Customer Engagement Centers (5th), CRM (15th), Help Desk Software (8th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th), Sales Force Automation (5th), Knowledge Management Software (4th), Community Platforms (2nd), AI Customer Support (9th), AI IT Support (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 2.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 0.9%, up from 0.2% 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	2.9%
Zendesk	0.9%
Other	96.2%

Reporting

Featured Reviews

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

Consulting IT Head at MYKLaticrete

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.

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Macros and automation have streamlined workflows and reduced manual effort across support teams

Consultant and Startup Founder at AimHi Enterprises

The ability to communicate on the Zendesk ticket through the actual user software, so TOPs, would have been helpful. Somehow seeing a user's ticket history within our app would have been beneficial. That is the only thing that I do not think existed at the time that might have been helpful. Some people struggled with Zendesk, but it was always easy enough to show them how to use it and what they were missing. The only times we really had people report concerns about it was when they did not understand that it could do that or how to use it in that way.

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See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	35
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	11

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 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 ...

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...

What do you like most about Zendesk Support?

I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?

From what I recall, the experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Zendesk was quite expensive and that is what prohibited us from expanding usage of it into more users and using more o...

What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?

As of right now, I have nothing that comes to mind as an improvement needed or a feature that could work differently or be enhanced. I think across the board, Zendesk is amazing, and because they a...

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Product Reports

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Zendesk product report

Also Known As

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

Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell

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

Zendesk Support is intuitive, and it's built with support agents in mind. Everything they need lives in a single, dynamic help desk interface so it's easy to be productive and manage customer interactions.

Sample Customers

CMS Wire, The New York Times

Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Zendesk