Are Open Source Reporting Tools Ready for Primetime?

Z0mb1eman asks: "My company is considering replacing our aging CrystalReports with an open source solution. We are currently doing our research, and the choices seem promising -- JasperReports, Actuate-backed BIRT, and Pentaho, which seems to combine other open-source reporting tools. All have some level of commercial support, but are they ready to replace established solutions like Crystal Reports or even Actuate? Is your company using an Open Source reporting tool, and what have been your experiences with such tools? Are there any other choices we should consider? What should we expect if we make the decision to switch?"

Comments

This seems like the first comment

[superwiz]

... on Slashdot of all places. That alone should indicate the amount of apathy the open source community has towards this.

Re:JasperReports

[Anonymous Coward]

We chose to write an asynchronous app that utilized JMS and a java daemon that read the queue and processed the messages, storing the output as a BLOB in a db.

You have just perfectly summarized the open source approach.

I can say one thing...

[junkgui]

After spending the last two weekends trouble shooting JasperReports that it is very close to being ready for prime time... But I can also say it IS NOT threak safe!!!!! But now that I know this everything is fine.

Ask me in about a month.

[lpangelrob]

We're moving from CleverPath Reporter (Computer Associates) to... something else. Why? It's a program showing its age and inflexibility. And support was $1k a year.

I'm testing Crystal Reports, which seems to be the Oracle of reporting software. Everyone knows about it, there's a large support base, it's quite pricey, ($7.5k for essentially the stuff CleverPath did, only hopefully more intelligent) and if you put it down as a skill on your resume, it's worth something. We don't have very high demands (yet) but I'm reasonably sure that support on-hand (right here, right now) is a requirement, hence I don't think I'll be testing Jasper. The reports really are crucial to the business.

Haven't heard of the other solutions being thrown around; I'll give those a look too.

Report Manager

[technorash]

I recommend the Open Souce 'Report Manager' to my clients. I use to use Crystal Reports then moved to Report Manager as a replacement when Crystal removed the report compiler and changed thier pricing structure.

Re:Why are you switching?

[petard]

Huh. Business objects buying the crystal reports line slipped completely beneath my radar. Having used Jasper Reports, Crystal Reports, and what is now (I think) Business Objects Enterprise, I'd rank costs something like this:

1. If you have developers handling your reporting anyway, the open source solutions are hands down cheaper. You'll get reports better tailored to your needs for comparable levels of effort with lower up-front costs.
2. If you have non-developers handling your reporting, Crystal Reports is a false economy. Take either option 1 or option 3. You'll get more useful reports at lower effort.
3. If you have non-developers handling your reporting with good DBA support, Business Objects enterprise is fantastic. Though the up-front costs seem insane compared to the alternatives, BO enterprise actually allows a moderately tech-savvy business analyst to create reports herself, at least on a one-off basis, without an immense effort. She'll get exactly the data she needs for her analysis without custom development. But you have to just get over the up front costs.

So to summarize my memory of the costs:

1. (OSS) $0 up-front costs, 3x developer effort, 1x business analyst effort, business analysts might get exactly what they need.
2. (Crystal) $700/seat up-front, 2x developer effort, 2x business analyst effort, business analysts might get exactly what they need.
3. (BO Enterprise) $1500 up-front, 0x develoepr effort, 1x DBA effort, 1x business analyst effort, business analysts definitely get exactly what they need.

My knowledge of these products is admittedly a bit dated, but that's my recollection. If your management is clueful enough to buy Business Objects Enterprise, the savings in the end more than cover the up-front costs if you have good Business Analysts and good DBAs. Of course, for any of this to matter the reports have to actually be important and useful. If the measurements you're reporting on are BS anyway you should always go with option 1 so that maximum savings can be realized by scuttling the reports.