Item: Pentaho
Rating: 8
Author: Adam O'Connor

Overall Satisfaction with Pentaho

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We integrate Pentaho with Odoo for complex, custom reports that allow us to query data from PostgreSQL database across multiple data models in Odoo. I have used it to connect to Odoo via JDBC as well as directly to the web client for an object-based report. I have found the report designer client to be a bit difficult to use and buggy on my WIndows 7 machine but I have seen it working well on a Windows 8 machine. We use version 3.9.1.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Connect via JDBC
Integrates with Odoo (formerly OpenERP)
Grouping, summing seem to work well even though they are not intuitive as far as set up goes.
The multiple report output types are great (PDF, CSV, Excel, Word, Text, etc)
Connect via the web client of Odoo
Easy to build in parameters for filtering in the report

Cons

Report designer seems to be buggy on Windows 7
The interface for the report designer is out dated and difficult to navigate or use.
I would like to see a tool tip when hovering over options

Alternatives Considered

Pentaho is more powerful than any other reporting tool that is commonly integrated with Odoo. The standard reports are in RML (report modeling language) but Webkit is also available. Both are good for particular types of reports. However, if you want to design a custom report that would involve grouping, summing, complex queries that will JOIN data across multiple data models, Pentaho is your tool. It isn't super easy to integrate and impossible for the average, non-techie type. However, it isn't difficult with a good set of instructions and a decent amount of technical knowledge.

Likelihood to Renew

I will use Pentaho until I find a better tool with a better, easier to use report designer client. For now, Pentaho has been the most powerful reporting tool for our clients because of its ability to connect to Odoo, integrate in Odoo (reports are accessible in Odoo) and the flexibility in report design and parameter integration.

Likelihood to Recommend

Pentaho is great for companies that don't have huge budgets but want a powerful reporting tool that they can get and use for free. It is great for developers that know SQL and can learn to use a non-intuitive interface and are motivated to work through a very outdated interface.

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation

Pentaho Report Designer Integated with Odoo v7!

Software Version

Modules Used