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SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal

Overview

What is SAP Crystal?

SAP Crystal is an analytics and reporting software solution for SMBs. SAP Crystal comprises Crystal Reports for pixel-perfect reporting, and SAP Crystal Server for automated distribution and self-service access to reports, dashboards and data exploration.

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Recent Reviews

Decent reporting tool

8 out of 10
February 15, 2020
Incentivized
I used SAP Crystal for report visualization. The graphs in the tool are outstanding with strong information telling ability combining with …
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SAP Crystal Review

7 out of 10
January 08, 2020
Incentivized
Crystal is used enterprise-wide for pixel-perfect reporting. We have both on-demand reporting use cases, and scheduled reporting via email …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 29 features
  • Publish to PDF (131)
    10.0
    100%
  • Report sharing and collaboration (118)
    10.0
    100%
  • Report Formatting Templates (115)
    10.0
    100%
  • Formatting capabilities (133)
    10.0
    100%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons
JM
Jenny Miranda
Executive Services Administrator
Proulx Manufacturing Inc. (Executive Office, 11-50 employees)
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Pricing

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Upgrade Version to SAP Crystal Reports 2020

$295

On Premise
per single user license

SAP Crystal Reports 2020 64-Bit

$495

On Premise
per single user license

SAP Crystal Reports 2016 32-Bit

$495

On Premise
per single user license

Entry-level set up fee?

  • Setup fee optional
For the latest information on pricing, visithttp://www.sapstore.com/solutions/99013…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Software TRAIL DEMO SAP Crystal Reports 2013

YouTube

SAP Crystal Dashboard Design - Demo video

YouTube
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Features

BI Standard Reporting

Standard reporting means pre-built or canned reports available to users without having to create them.

9.3
Avg 8.2

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-Hoc Reports are reports built by the user to meet highly specific requirements.

9.6
Avg 8.1

Report Output and Scheduling

Ability to schedule and manager report output.

9.4
Avg 8.4

Data Discovery and Visualization

Data Discovery and Visualization is the analysis of multiple data sources in a search for patterns and outliers and the ability to represent the data visually.

8
Avg 8.1

Access Control and Security

Access control means being able to determine who has access to which data.

8.6
Avg 8.6

Mobile Capabilities

Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

8.4
Avg 7.9

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for used for embedding one application in another

7
Avg 7.9
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Product Details

What is SAP Crystal?

SAP Crystal Reports and SAP Crystal Server are designed to help users create pixel-perfect, richly formatted, and dynamic reports from virtually any data source – delivered in dozens of export formats, in up to 24 languages. SAP Crystal Reports is a production reporting tool designed to turn almost any data source into interactive, actionable information that can be accessed offline or online, from applications, portals and mobile devices. SAP Crystal Server enables self-service access to reports, dashboards, and data exploration within a secure infrastructure.

SAP Crystal Features

BI Platform Features

  • Supported: Administration via Web Interface
  • Supported: Live Connection to External Data
  • Supported: Snapshot of External Data
  • Supported: OLAP (Pre-processed cube representation)
  • Supported: ROLAP (SQL-layer querying)
  • Supported: Multi-Data Source Reporting (Blending)
  • Supported: Data warehouse / dictionary layer

Supported Data Sources Features

  • Supported: MS Excel Workbooks
  • Supported: Text Files (CSV, etc)
  • Supported: Oracle
  • Supported: MS SQL Server
  • Supported: IBM DB2
  • Supported: Postgres
  • Supported: MySQL
  • Supported: ODBC
  • Supported: EMC Greenplum
  • Supported: HP Vertica
  • Supported: SAP Hana
  • Supported: Teradata
  • Supported: Salesforce
  • Supported: SAP

BI Standard Reporting Features

  • Supported: Pixel Perfect reports
  • Supported: Customizable dashboards
  • Supported: Report Formatting Templates

Ad-hoc Reporting Features

  • Supported: Drill-down analysis
  • Supported: Formatting capabilities
  • Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages
  • Supported: Report sharing and collaboration

Report Output and Scheduling Features

  • Supported: Publish to Web
  • Supported: Publish to PDF
  • Supported: Output Raw Supporting Data
  • Supported: Report Versioning
  • Supported: Report Delivery Scheduling
  • Supported: Delivery to Remote Servers

Data Discovery and Visualization Features

  • Supported: Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization

Access Control and Security Features

  • Supported: Multi-User Support (named login)
  • Supported: Role-Based Security Model
  • Supported: Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
  • Supported: Report-Level Access Control
  • Supported: Table-Level Access Control (BI-layer)
  • Supported: Field-Level Access Control (BI-layer)
  • Supported: Single Sign-On (SSO)

Mobile Capabilities Features

  • Supported: Responsive Design for Web Access
  • Supported: Mobile Application
  • Supported: Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding Features

  • Supported: Javascript API
  • Supported: Java API
  • Supported: Themeable User Interface (UI)
  • Supported: Customizable Platform (Open Source)

SAP Crystal Screenshots

Screenshot of Pixel-perfect reporting solutionScreenshot of Refresh with a clickScreenshot of Build pixel-perfect documentsScreenshot of Connect to all data sourcesScreenshot of Use drag and dropScreenshot of Build interactive reportsScreenshot of Export to popular formats

SAP Crystal Videos

SAP Crystal Solutions: The Mobile Worker Use Case
SAP Crystal Solutions: Identify and Eliminate Clutter in Your Visualizations
SAP Crystal Solutions: How to Buy SAP Crystal Reports Digitally

SAP Crystal Competitors

SAP Crystal Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android
Supported CountriesGlobal
Supported LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Thai, Czech, Hungarian, Slovakian, Turkish, Romanian, Slovenian

SAP Crystal Downloadables

Frequently Asked Questions

SAP Crystal is an analytics and reporting software solution for SMBs. SAP Crystal comprises Crystal Reports for pixel-perfect reporting, and SAP Crystal Server for automated distribution and self-service access to reports, dashboards and data exploration.

Windward Core, Jaspersoft, and Jet Reports are common alternatives for SAP Crystal.

Reviewers rate Customizable dashboards and Report Formatting Templates and Drill-down analysis highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of SAP Crystal are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(558)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(26-50 of 156)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 28, 2019

A tool that cannot be renounced

Pasquale Lunghetti | TrustRadius Reviewer
Pasquale Lunghetti
Responsabile IT
Kinect (Information Technology and Services, 11-50 employees)
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
For me, the best utilization of SAP Crystal is in generating clear and efficient reports, scalability, the ability to generate reports in multiple languages, and the pixel precision with which they are generated. I do not find that it performs well when I have to generate reports with data from multiple sources.
January 19, 2019

SAP Crystal Reports for Your Business

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Internet Company, 51-200 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It's well suited if we want to create reports and include every feature of excel. We can take data from the data source and format text and create graphs on the system as well as mobile. It is compatible with mobile devices so anyone can use it on the go. It is less appropriate for beginners as it takes time to learn.
December 06, 2018

SAP Crystal Review

Verified User
Project Manager in Research & Development
Biotechnology Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SAP Crystal's reports ensures for multi-level, in-depth reports to be developed efficiently and effectively using large scale databases. The software is good for creating customization reports where data points are changing constantly. The reports generated are useful for providing a snapshot to upper management so that they can understand how the company/department is performing.
November 21, 2018

SAP Crystal, another competent vendor in the BI space, has deep integration.

Verified User
Analyst in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 5001-10,000 employees
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Given the choice between SSRS and Crystal reports, we see SSRS used more often. I believe this has to do with how it ties in with our ERP solution and how SSRS has a bigger user base. More people are familiar with SSRS but those who are skilled in Crystal Reports are valuable. Out-of-the-box solutions provided by Crystal tend to adequate for most our users needs.
November 20, 2018

Old Reliable, as in 'Works great but showing its age'

Damien Dolan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Damien Dolan
Business Analyst Developer
Silberline (Chemicals, 501-1000 employees)
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If you want reliable software this is your move. It's a workhorse that can handle heavy workloads and is very stable. The only bugs it ever has is because it's on a Citrix server. Very dependable and has pretty good support. Where SAP Crystal may not be suited is if you want chart/graphic heavy reports. SAP Crystal is better suited for text/number reporting.
October 16, 2018

Long-time User of SAP Crystal Reports

Dell Stinnett-Christy | TrustRadius Reviewer
Dell Stinnett-Christy
Senior Manager, Data & Analytics Practice
Protiviti (Management Consulting, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
I'm biased because I've used Crystal for so long and there's very little that I've needed to do that I haven't been able to do with it.

I particularly like being able to write my own queries instead of having Crystal write them for me. With this feature, I've been able to do some very complex reports this way. I could have done most of these reports by linking tables together in Crystal and using Crystal's filter and suppression features, but putting the logic in the query means that Crystal is processing less data so the report is faster.

Crystal is less suited for showing graphs, unless you just need very simple line or bar graphs. It's also not really suited to doing ad-hoc reporting for most users because it is more technical than some other reporting tools.
October 05, 2018

Crystal Reports Review

Verified User
Professional in Research & Development
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It almost does everything for creating a good report. It is very supportive for a Crystal Reports developer but if a user wants to get access data from two different databases that is a time a user should not use Crystal Reports.
September 07, 2018

Make your reports stand out

MD
Matthew Dempsey
Especialista en ventas y marketing
Parques Reunidos (Leisure, Travel & Tourism, 10,001+ employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
On the one hand, Crystal Reports is the program I go to when I need reports that are very specific and highly formatted. Crystal has an almost intense amount of formatting options and ways to present data. On the other hand, while Crystal lets me do what I need to do, it takes a great degree of skill, experience, and possibly a degree in anger management to use it. This is never going to be something you can give to your average user and expect them to be able to do anything. This is an expert's tool.
August 22, 2018

SAP Crystal Reports and Crystal Reports Server

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It's licensing model is confusing. There are a lot of product SKUs, many versions and a number of features. For example, you license the server, but then you need to get user licenses on the server, then there are add-ons. You need mobile user licenses for the server, plus you must license a designer tool to build reports and license a designer tool to build dashboards. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but as you can tell, you’re spending much more than the initial cost.
August 16, 2018

Really professional and compatible reports everywhere.

Erue Dfut | TrustRadius Reviewer
Erue Dfut
IT Consultant
San Francisco City College (Education Management, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Crystal Report is ideal for designing professional and complex reports for operational or analytical purposes, but when it comes to simple applications Crystal seems to be too much. Also, if I need a simple report, I usually direct users to a visualization type reporting system ... but for well formatted professional reports, Crystal is still one of the best options.
July 31, 2018

Crystal Reports for Routine Reporting & Analysis

Verified User
Analyst in Corporate
Mental Health Care Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Crystal Reports is well suited for routine reporting. Anytime an organization needs regular information in a report format, Crystal Reports is really good at meeting that need. This is especially true when the data behind that report comes in a variety of formats because CR is good at joining the data and processing it automatically once the programming is set up.

Crystal Reports is less appropriately suited for ad-hoc reports due to the level of effort in setting up a report; however, it can work for ad hoc reports if a lot of effort is not required.
July 31, 2018

Crystal Reports is a great reporting tool

Janet Fawcett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Janet Fawcett
Business Systems Analyst
Weldon, Williams & Lick (Printing, 201-500 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
I have recommended Crystal Reports many times to colleagues. It works well with any database structure I've written reports against. I have done a few charts with Crystal and they look amazing. I think the only problem many have with it is the learning curve but that can be overcome with a few online tutorials. There is a wealth of information on the internet. Most colleagues have grown to love Crystal Reports.

July 31, 2018

Flexible and Easy to Learn

Verified User
Analyst in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 5001-10,000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Generally, Crystal is a very flexible reporting tool that can handle any report format you need to create. There's a very mild learning curve for creating things like calculated fields and run prompts. Reports can easily be run to Microsoft Word, Excel, PDF and other options. Crystal can be directly connected to some (but not all) enterprise system databases so report builders can use an existing query or the database tables and fields themselves to drive a report.
July 23, 2018

SAP Crystal Reports Review

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Internet Company, 11-50 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SAP Crystal Reports is well suited in many ways like generating reports and analyzing data so that we can use for our benefit. Using it, I like how easy it is to develop a report to meet your needs with its WYSIWYG style. If you're good at HTML you can also use WYSIWYG source code feature. Users create reports to obtain data based upon what is entered into their database.
July 21, 2018

SAP report benefits over other software

RANDHIR KUMAR | TrustRadius Reviewer
RANDHIR KUMAR
UI Designer
ANS Commerce (Internet, 11-50 employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Organizing reports and sharing with colleague are very easy with Crystal reports. Rich with features as a user wants. The best part is WYSIWYG with which you can design your own template for reports. Reports can be very specific and highly formatted. It offers multi-language support in English, French, German, Japanese etc. Support system of Crystal Reports is also good and provided through any medium like online forum, email and phone.
July 19, 2018

Crystal Reports review

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Financial Services Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Using CR a developer can create highly formatted, pixel-perfect reports in nearly any layout desired and in many different languages. This is one huge advantage of this. It can also be integrated with other software for usability. In large-scale organizations, this would be very handy.

A situation where it is not suitable is when a business user is trying to use Crystal Reports. It requires a developer/tester to work on this. It cannot be used directly by a business user.
July 19, 2018

SAP Crystal, one deep and complex reporting tool for your business!

Victor Arana | TrustRadius Reviewer
Victor Arana
IT Manager
Stoneleaf Construction LLC (Construction, 51-200 employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SAP Crystal Report is well suited for those companies that posses ERP systems based on SAP, if you're willing to learn how to use the tool and set goals to master the reporting features this is the right tool for you and your company. You can develop and deliver amazing results with the reports. However, if you're looking for an intuitive tool that allows you to set up fast track to achieving decent reports with integration capability try to use BI tools that allow you to use a cross-reference from diverse sources.
July 19, 2018

Not the Cadillac, but still Very Nice.

Dan Sarauer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Dan Sarauer
IS Department Manager
Eau Claire Press Company (Publishing, 201-500 employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
The platform really excels at delivering information in a summary format. The part I feel that is lacking is where you really want detailed information, but aren't en expert at data manipulation or sequel statements. I feel that this causes issues for some of my users when they want to modify or change a report, but aren't well versed in these other technologies.
July 19, 2018

Crystal Reports presents data in a crystal-clear way!

JS
John Suit
System Administrator
North South Supply Inc (Wholesale, 11-50 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Perfect when using SQL Server databases, or when integrating SQL databases and MS Access databases in the same report. I also recommend Crystal Reports for generating forms for clients and end users, as the use of parameters and data-specific conditional formatting (show/hide fields, etcetera) allows us to design one 'report' for multiple uses!
July 18, 2018

It does a lot, but it can take a long time to do it

Darian Rawson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Darian Rawson
Senior Designer
Eview 360 (Design, 11-50 employees)
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SAP Crystal Reports is well suited for a long term ROI when you can afford to implement a lot of time on the back end setting up criteria for reporting to benefit over the long term, meaning the next 12-36 months. It can take considerable time to implement on the back end so I wouldn't suggest this for small agile teams or products.
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