What is most valuable?
The ability to produce pivot tables and the integrated SQL functions have been of great value in producing insightful reports and graphs. The integration with other Zoho products is also quite valuable as it will allow Zoho Reports to serve our reporting needs as we continue to grow.
How has it helped my organization?
We were able to create reports in Zoho Reports to monitor the conversion rate for the samples we were sending out. This allows us to monitor the conversion rate and set targets for our sales team, who, due to the embedding functions of Zoho, are able to see them at any time. This has given our sales team direct motivation, allowing us to reach new sales milestones.
What needs improvement?
The ability to copy a full database is lacking, making it difficult to create test environments. The SQL editor could also use some tweaks, as it is currently difficult to debug large queries without having to copy the text into a text editor to get line and column numbers.
For how long have I used the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There has been a single instance of Zoho being inaccessible in the time I have used it, but the downtime was minimal (a few minutes).
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Customer service is a 4/5. They will answer your questions quickly, and generally provide helpful answers.
Technical Support:
Technical support is a 3/5. They will frequently link to documentation as part of their answers, but I have found some of their responses to not agree with documentation, leading to confusion.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were previously using Caspio as a cloud based database, but it had limited reporting functions. It was not possible to do SQL queries, or pivot tables, greatly limiting the capabilities of the database as a reporting tool.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite straightforward for Zoho reports on its own. If you already have databases, or excel files, just upload, and the appropriate tables will be created. For creating reports, they use a drag and drop system that is intuitive and easy to use.
What about the implementation team?
Zoho Reports was implemented in house. With only basic IT knowledge, it is easy to create the necessary reports and tables. Knowledge of API programming is an asset when integrating Zoho Report with other applications.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The original setup costs only exist in that of time used to setup all the reports/tables. There are no up front fee, and Zoho charges on a monthly basis proportional to the chosen package and number of users. Packages start at a few dollars a month per user.
What other advice do I have?
When considering Zoho Reports, make sure to consider the whole Zoho family of products. Zoho has been introducing new products, and has a large variety of different business applications (CRM, accounting, mail). Many of these can link directly to Zoho Reports and create some great reports to help your business to prosper.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.