Telerik Reporting over SSRS?

Question

Broad question is: Is there anything Telerik Reporting can do that SSRS (2005) cannot?

Specifics: We\'re looking to migrate our current Reporting infrastructure from in-

Answer 1

One of the main reasons we stopped using SSRS and went with Telerik is because Telerik has much better support across browsers. Naturally, one would not expect MS to provide equal support for a rival product when it comes to browser compatibility. Since you are planning one doing a web based application this may be a factor.

I first started using Telerik reporting version 2010 Q2 and never had an issue linking reports over a web app to provide drill-down or linking functionality. It was quite simple and intuitive.

Another thing to think about is that SSRS report files which are RDL files, whereas a Telerik report is compiled into your app. If you need to change your report you'll need to recompile and redeploy your app. For RDL files, you simply upload them to the SSRS server. I still prefer Telerik though, even though it means a slightly longer SDLC for a change request.

Another thing that grinds my noodle is that as long as we used SSRS we had to have both VS 2008 and 2010 installed, because VS 2010 does not have support for designing RDL reports like 2008 has (BIDS is basically a scaled down version of VS 2008: Visual Studio 2010 Reporting Services Projects? )

With Telerik we can stick to using VS 2010.

Comment on "Telerik Reporting has excellent support too. Developing Telerik reports relies heavily on samples and support forums.": No. You're making an assumption. I have created many complex reports without needing any direction from forums/sample/etc - its a very intuitive tool. I am sure there are many developers out there who have been able to do just fine without "heavy" reliance on the forums/samples - its not rocket science, it's cake.