SSRS and AX 2012: And I Feel Fine
By Mat Grisham in Dynamics AX, Reporting and BI on Friday, August 12th, 2011
These days, it’s very easy to feel like the world is slowly unraveling, especially with the Mayan doomsday prediction looming in the near future. But with the release of Dynamics AX 2012, Microsoft has cast aside those doubts and forged on with some pretty awesome reporting features.
Right off the bat, all reports are built with SSRS. There are no more X++ reports in AX. This can be a little scary for someone who has only worked with X++, but Microsoft has done a lot of the leg work and have several reports available out-of-the-box that should cover a majority of the reports used in AX 2009 (or earlier versions). The X++ framework is still available in AX 2012, but the feature will not be upgraded and is slowly being phased out. Now that we’ve gotten past the shock of a completely new reporting platform, let’s discuss what advantages this brings to your reports in AX 2012.
SSRS reporting aligns AX with the Microsoft BI stack. This is a big win for Microsoft and it opens up a lot of possibilities for users because X++ simply was not able to leverage the tools available in SSRS. With SSRS you can use both the live production database data as well as any OLAP data you may have. You can even program Business Logic into your reports to make them more informative.
SSRS gives you more formatting options. People are getting more and more accustomed to view reports on their screens rather than on print outs and SSRS is designed to create the kind of rich-formatted, interactive reports that are ideal for this kind of presentation. The design capabilities of SSRS largely outweigh those of X++ reports.
SSRS is just easier to use. With the built in Report Builder tool, AX 2012 enables user to create their own reports by simply dragging and dropping fields into a report area. This lessens the demand on internal IT support teams to create one-off reports so that they can tackle more important issues. It also puts the onus of report design on the user that fully understands the report’s intended use and requirements.
It may feel like the End of the World when transitioning from X++ reports to SSRS, but what Microsoft has downby changing the Dynamics AX 2012 reporting platform gives partners and customers the chance to create reports as well composed as a Leonard Bernstein symphony.
About Mat Grisham
Consultant for Dynamics AX with I.B.I.S., Inc. specializing in Reporting and BI, BSME from Georgia Tech, Class of 2009
Tags: Business Intelligence, SSRS
Posted in Dynamics AX, Reporting and BI
Need Expert Help With Dynamics AX?
Get the support you need to effectively manage your business.
Learn more about our Dynamics AX support options
[...] transition from AX 2009 to 2012, the standard reports are changing from the old X++ to the (not so) new SSRS. SSRS gives you greater control over your report format and I assume is also cozier and full of [...]