Pros/Cons of using Crystal Reports or Power BI

I use both for a number of years and yes they really both have their uses in an organization:

Crystal Reports

-Can be run from inside RE by your users

-Used for more formal reporting (think detail/row-based/summarizations)

-Can do dashboards in a pinch

-Charts are less powerful than PowerBI

-Tend to end up being used by a wider audience in an organization (from exec to frontline)

-Often delivered via Blackbaud .mdb format (think Access style refreshed reports), but can also punch into all database or file types

-Can export to other formats easily (Excel, etc.)

-Crystal syntax (comparable to let's say SSRS)

PowerBI

-Highly interactive

-Quick load times generally speaking

-Quick setup

-More visual

-Dashboard centric

-Few export options

-DAX style functions


I know PowerBI has more initial wow factor, particularly the ability for let's say an exec to slice/dice the data to their own content and therefor answer their own questions, so to answer this it usually comes down to knowing your audience and their needs (better than they know themselves, frankly!)


Personally, I provide Crystal Reports when I'm sending information to an audience that needs lists and basic summary charts or totals delivered on demand. Whereas PowerBI ends up being used for data-oriented execs or analytic projects like survey results.


I mentioned SSRS... if it's an option, it's sometimes a good go-between too.