SAP Crystal Reports could be improved with more modern user-friendly interfaces and better integration with cloud platforms and AI tools. It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, and similar cloud technologies. The UI improvements should include modern design and drag-and-drop simplicity. The drag-and-drop design tools could be made smoother and more visual similar to modern BI tools such as Microsoft Power BI. Integration of a real-time preview and a live preview panel that updates instantly while designing the reports would make it much easier to use.
I believe SAP Crystal Reports could be improved or enhanced because one of the problems I am facing with it is that sometimes it hangs and uses too much memory, which is frustrating. If it is closed due to any problem, it should be able to recover where I left off, similar to Excel, which should be a feature for SAP Crystal Reports.
Head of IT Department at Indus Sugar Mills Limited
Real User
Top 5
Jun 20, 2024
Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports. We use query language to build reports; this area could be improved more.
SAP Crystal Reports should provide better support for dynamic connectors. The solution should export reports to Excel in a real Excel format and not in a paper-oriented way. The solution should include an easier multi source integration. It would be nice for the main report to have access to multiple sources. The solution’s technical support could be improved.
It has significantly enhanced security features, especially when compared to the standard security features of the earlier PeerSpot version I purchased. I've observed improvements in security, and overall, it's quite commendable. Regarding potential enhancements for the next release of this solution, I haven't closely examined SAP Crystal Reports 53. I've only encountered it briefly, perhaps once or twice. However, I anticipate that it likely offers advanced features distinct from its predecessor. I believe there may be notable improvements and additions in the latest version, and I look forward to exploring them further.
When connecting the database in Crystal Reports, users are unaware of which data is in which table. We can segregate the tables for sales, data stored in these tables, and property. It is used to pull the data from the backend.
Software Development Head at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Real User
Aug 11, 2023
SAP Crystal Reports has some compatibility issues with third-party products. If we want to move our software onto a more recent platform using a recent framework, then SAP Crystal Reports won't work on that.
If at all possible, a little bit of improvement on the analytical side is needed. I know there are some other tools that SAP is already working on, but if it is included with Crystal Reports, then it will be much better.
This was a good platform when it first came out but right now, it has become a complicated behemoth. These days, things are a little more dynamic and you really need a platform where you can change fast, and Crystal Reports is not it. This is an enterprise solution and there is no innovation there. The only innovation comes through a company that develops reports, such as us. A real improvement would be a simpler system that allows users to play with the visualization without needing specialized skills and code. You shouldn't need a specialized developer just to code a Crystal Report. Ideally, a general-purpose or front-end developer, which is more cost-effective, should be able to do it. A lot of times, what happens is that developers reuse or repurpose their domain model to use that to pull the data from a database. I think the main model that they use for the web application, the database model, and then use that to run the reports because they don't want to rewrite the code. This means that those entity models they have are too normalized for the crystal reports. Then, it becomes a bit of a mismatch where they have to change those entities and create new ones. Reporting is different than something like getting data from a web application and we really care about the transactions, which means that you always have to denormalize the data. What I've seen a lot of times is that developers kind of get stuck in this mismatch and they have to recode something. Or, they just drop what they did and do it from scratch, remapping the tables or creating new entities. This is a problem because if you promise somebody a report, only to later realize that it needs to be re-coded, it takes additional time. It becomes even more complicated when you need to re-create the business logic. Because the users can export data to Excel or a PDF, it sometimes leads to data leakage and can create privacy issues.
Senior MIS Project Manager at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Aug 16, 2020
There could be improvements made to the analytics capabilities. Crystal Reports could be more graphical. Management wants to be able to see everything on one page.
SAP Crystal Reports provides flexible report generation with strong data connectivity, dynamic parameters, and customizable design features, facilitating interactive, insightful reporting. Users benefit from its comprehensive formula capabilities and seamless integration to create detailed reports.SAP Crystal Reports stands out for its robust functionalities, including dynamic parameters and extensive formula capabilities, which offer flexibility in report customization. It connects...
SAP Crystal Reports could be improved with more modern user-friendly interfaces and better integration with cloud platforms and AI tools. It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, and similar cloud technologies. The UI improvements should include modern design and drag-and-drop simplicity. The drag-and-drop design tools could be made smoother and more visual similar to modern BI tools such as Microsoft Power BI. Integration of a real-time preview and a live preview panel that updates instantly while designing the reports would make it much easier to use.
I believe SAP Crystal Reports could be improved or enhanced because one of the problems I am facing with it is that sometimes it hangs and uses too much memory, which is frustrating. If it is closed due to any problem, it should be able to recover where I left off, similar to Excel, which should be a feature for SAP Crystal Reports.
Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports. We use query language to build reports; this area could be improved more.
SAP Crystal Reports should provide better support for dynamic connectors. The solution should export reports to Excel in a real Excel format and not in a paper-oriented way. The solution should include an easier multi source integration. It would be nice for the main report to have access to multiple sources. The solution’s technical support could be improved.
It has significantly enhanced security features, especially when compared to the standard security features of the earlier PeerSpot version I purchased. I've observed improvements in security, and overall, it's quite commendable. Regarding potential enhancements for the next release of this solution, I haven't closely examined SAP Crystal Reports 53. I've only encountered it briefly, perhaps once or twice. However, I anticipate that it likely offers advanced features distinct from its predecessor. I believe there may be notable improvements and additions in the latest version, and I look forward to exploring them further.
The financing part needs improvement.
When connecting the database in Crystal Reports, users are unaware of which data is in which table. We can segregate the tables for sales, data stored in these tables, and property. It is used to pull the data from the backend.
SAP Crystal Reports has some compatibility issues with third-party products. If we want to move our software onto a more recent platform using a recent framework, then SAP Crystal Reports won't work on that.
If at all possible, a little bit of improvement on the analytical side is needed. I know there are some other tools that SAP is already working on, but if it is included with Crystal Reports, then it will be much better.
This was a good platform when it first came out but right now, it has become a complicated behemoth. These days, things are a little more dynamic and you really need a platform where you can change fast, and Crystal Reports is not it. This is an enterprise solution and there is no innovation there. The only innovation comes through a company that develops reports, such as us. A real improvement would be a simpler system that allows users to play with the visualization without needing specialized skills and code. You shouldn't need a specialized developer just to code a Crystal Report. Ideally, a general-purpose or front-end developer, which is more cost-effective, should be able to do it. A lot of times, what happens is that developers reuse or repurpose their domain model to use that to pull the data from a database. I think the main model that they use for the web application, the database model, and then use that to run the reports because they don't want to rewrite the code. This means that those entity models they have are too normalized for the crystal reports. Then, it becomes a bit of a mismatch where they have to change those entities and create new ones. Reporting is different than something like getting data from a web application and we really care about the transactions, which means that you always have to denormalize the data. What I've seen a lot of times is that developers kind of get stuck in this mismatch and they have to recode something. Or, they just drop what they did and do it from scratch, remapping the tables or creating new entities. This is a problem because if you promise somebody a report, only to later realize that it needs to be re-coded, it takes additional time. It becomes even more complicated when you need to re-create the business logic. Because the users can export data to Excel or a PDF, it sometimes leads to data leakage and can create privacy issues.
There could be improvements made to the analytics capabilities. Crystal Reports could be more graphical. Management wants to be able to see everything on one page.
Charting capabilities are incomplete relative to competitors.