Do you need web-based reporting at some point would be the biggest question.
If so reporting services
would be a better alternative. Access and the Crystal report designer are
fairly similar in capabilities.
You can use linked tables or pass-thru queries in Access to do reporting off
SQL Server data. Pass-thru queries will
give better performance because the query is run on sql server and only the
result goes over the wire, however there
are a few things you can't do if you go this route (some sub-reports won't
work).
I would use Access 2007 over Crystal Reports any day of the week.
My two cents,
--
Mark Andrews
RPT Software
http://www.rptsoftware.com
http://www.donationmanagementsoftware.com
"Brad" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:97901EFE-7648-431F-BBDB-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Recently the topic of Crystal Reports was brought up. We are a small firm
> with a small IT budget.
>
> Our data lives in SQL Server, Access 2007, Excel, and in a purchased
> package’s Pervasive Database which we can access nicely via ODBC.
>
> We currently do not have Crystal Reports, or any other report writer other
> than the reporting features that are integrated into Access 2007.
>
> I took a stand and said that I believe that Access 2007 will be able to
> handle our reporting needs. We currently have very few reports and it
> appears that our reporting needs are quite basic.
>
> The bulk of our data lives in SQL Server, but we do not have SQL Server
> Reporting Services available.
>
> Are there issues that I should be aware of when starting to use Access
> 2007
> Reporting against SQL Server? So far, our initial experiments have worked
> nicely, but we have only started to scratch the surface.
>
> If we are heading down the wrong path, I would like to know sooner rather
> than later.
>
> Thanks in advance for your advice and insights.
>
> Brad
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