Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to SSRS 2008 R2

Some of these are available in 2008 but some are new to R2:

1. Tablix control. Apparently this was first introduced in 2008. Not much new in R2 for this.


2. Ad Hoc reports: There is a stand alond Report Builder that can be downloaded from Microsoft (v3.0), which allows users to build their own reports. It seems pretty easy to use.


3. Data Visualizations: R2 has Sparklines, small graphs that show trends, Indicators, alerts like in ProjectTrack icons (these are predefined image collections), and Data Bars, which are just small bar graphs.


4. Mapping. There is a new Map Wizard, supports Bing, SQL Server spacial data, and other formats. Also allows for not only maps but any geographic shape.


5. Report Parts. These are like custom defined user controls that can be compiled and shared among reports.


6. Data Enhancements. This is the best new feature, IMHO. Shared Datasets! These can be created and then shared among reports. For our ProjectTrack app, I could see using this for the Project Manager dropdown list. Also there is a new feature to export data from a report as a data feed (button on the report viewer). Another new feature is Share Point Lists can be used as data sources now.


7. Robust Report Platform (not new): Not dependant on IIS. Scalable Report Engine, which can be configured in the reportserver.config file.


8. Rich Text Formatting (not new): Textboxes support Rich text. Also text has property you can set that renders HTML tags.


9. Enhanced Experience: New enhancements to the admin management and report viewer. Ajax being utilized for smoother stuff (i.e. drill downs)


10. Misc. Enhancements: Page break enhancements, Excel tab naming (page naming property as an expression), Vertical text now supported, and export to Word.