What is our primary use case?
I use Jaspersoft for developing reports, and our reports are of different kinds. We have operational reports based on current data for day-to-day operation, where we check various steps in chemical production. For example, we check whether the chemical we are using is flammable or inflammable, and if it is flammable, what precautions a user needs to take in order to handle those chemicals. We automate all of those things and present them in the form of our reports. Our application checks and selects mandatory items, and we present those mandatory things as a report. Safety individuals then check all those reports, and based on that, our day-to-day operation takes place.
We have three kinds of reports in Jaspersoft, one of which is a general work report. In the general work report, we have to follow all the steps involved in chemical production, and general work involves general procedures. Approximately 100 or 10 chemicals would appear in the report, and for all those chemicals, we need to either select true or false. Based on this true and false selection, we have to store the data, and all the compliance and everything depends on these true and false questions. I think that is a tricky aspect. Even the reports that we develop need to be pixel perfect. To develop all those pixel perfect reports, I think Jaspersoft stands out from other BI tools that are in the market.
We have this use case in Jaspersoft, and if we have to see some historical data, then in that case, we use reports as well. That is also one use case. Suppose we have created a permit, and after that permit, some modification has been done in the operations. In that case, we have to store the historical data, and new permits need to operate under the new guidelines given from the business side. That is also one interesting use case.
What is most valuable?
The best feature that Jaspersoft offers is its ability to generate pixel perfect reports and the kind of control it gives us. We can design elements that are as small as five pixel font sizes, which is a great feature. It also provides us with a lot of conditional functionality that we can control. We have many switch cases or conditional ternary operator capabilities that are very interesting because when we have multiple cases in that scenario, Jaspersoft helps us by writing simple ternary operators, which help us choose from the multiple cases.
The conditional logic in Jaspersoft has helped us a lot, especially in a condition where we have multiple values of chemicals, such as N2, O2, and other chemicals. There is a probability that there might be a case in which only one chemical will be used or multiple chemicals will be used. There is a separate column of true and false values, and the true/false determination needs to be that if we have at least one true value, it should display as true; otherwise, if everything is false, then we have to display false as a valid field, which will become false. In this scenario, the ternary operator helps us a lot to decide the final result out of different cases.
Jaspersoft has positively impacted our organization by helping us and our clients deal with multiple locations. We have our clients' factories at multiple places, and each country has its own language. To communicate in that language, we have to develop reports in different languages. As developers, we are not limited to one language; we develop the report in one language and then use translation for all those aspects. That reduces a lot of effort in developing reports in separate languages, which I feel is very useful.
What needs improvement?
Currently, I see that Jaspersoft does not have any AI features in the version I am using, 7.01. I think in a coming version, we will get some AI features that will help developers develop reports quickly. That is one improvement I see as necessary.
As a developer using Jaspersoft, I faced challenges initially with controlling text and other elements. However, over time, when I repeatedly used all those features, I became accustomed to it. Taking up this tool and developing with it takes some time to understand how to handle different aspects, and obviously, the documentation we have to go through is quite lengthy. If we can use some modern technology or AI tools to summarize the documentation and other resources, that would be useful for developers.
I have not given Jaspersoft a perfect 10 because, as a tool, it is somewhat complex. There are certain elements of reporting that are somewhat difficult to implement in Jaspersoft compared to other tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for about eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my experience, the reports in Jaspersoft are quite stable. Once developed, they tend to remain stable, but obviously, when using some complex reports, issues can arise here and there. However, it is easy to fix those issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Jaspersoft handles larger workloads well. It is not just about Jaspersoft, as it also depends on what we are using in the backend and the data source. The size of the data impacts all those reports. In our case, we are generating reports based on JSON data, which helps filter out data from large data sets. I think we are not facing any scalability issues at this time.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support for Jaspersoft is quite good. They answer questions, but the use case that we are working on does not require us to reach out to them often because we have a fixed set of reports that we have been working on for the last three years. With this experience, we have been able to solve most of our own queries, and their documentation is really good. Whenever we encounter confusion, we go through Jaspersoft documentation, and I think 99% of the time, we find the solution ourselves.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In my current project, I have not used any different solution, but in the last project, I used other tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and SSRS. SSRS is quite similar but different from Jaspersoft. I switched because it was a project requirement; it was not my decision specifically. I switched to whatever tool was required for the project, and that is an honest answer from my side.
What was our ROI?
Using Jaspersoft, I see a return on investment as it saves money. On the whole site, we are only three or four developers responsible for this reporting, and I see other tools and companies using much bigger teams to do similar work. In that sense, I can say money is saved by using Jaspersoft.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Jaspersoft, our team evaluated other options, including SSRS. The team as a whole decided to go ahead with Jaspersoft, and that is what I know about it. There were other senior-level discussions that I was not part of, but we narrowed it down to tools and, out of these, we decided on Jaspersoft for our deployment.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others looking into using Jaspersoft is to have a good team lead who knows Jaspersoft. The experience in Jaspersoft is always an added bonus. If you do not have a team member who is experienced in Jaspersoft, you can still go ahead with the documentation and try out a few reports before deciding whether you want to try this product or not.
Finally, I conclude that Jaspersoft is a great tool. It also depends on the individual perspective on how they see Jaspersoft. When you start using Jaspersoft as a new tool or if you are a novice developer, you might find it somewhat tricky. It has a lot of workflows and elements. It might take you a month or two to become accustomed to everything that Jaspersoft offers. After that time, you will be in a better position to decide whether it is the right tool for you. Personally, I find it very helpful and am enthusiastic about this tool after two or three months. Initially, I experienced some difficulties, but over time, I found solutions. I gave this product a rating of 9 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other