Crystal Reports Solutions: Adding Casual Users

Suppose you want to add users who will view Crystal Reports only quarterly or monthly. This is not at all an unusual situation, and we have several customers who turned to us for help in doing so without breaking the bank.

Normally, budgetary constraints would prevent you from adding casual users. This is especially true with Business Objects' Web-based reports solution. You would need an extremely good business reason for someone to use such an expensive seat just four or twelve times a year.

This is also true with the normal solution to the high costs of Web-based reporting solutions. That solution is a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer. More about that, in a moment--we have a twist on this that will not only solve your problem, but absolutely delight you. At least, that is the kind of reaction our customers have had.

Anyhow, what many people opt to do is send compiled reports. This solution has its drawbacks, but we do provide Crystal Reports Schedulers to improve on the situation.

But distributing reports in some format other than the rpt format means a huge loss of functionality. The results would be outdated reports, information silos, and conflicting information. The kind of stuff that causes all kinds of problems, embarrasses people, and reflects back on you.

Then there are other problems, such as these:

• Inability to accommodate "casual users" of reports.

• Inability to conduct training classes, due to licensing cost issues.

• Inability to share reports in one-time or occasional meetings, without pre-conversion from the rpt format--which then "seals" the data, instantly creating an "island of information" problem.

You are left with a situation that defeats the purpose of having Crystal Reports in the first place. Yeah, that'll really help your career, won't it? Hmm. You need a different answer. The good news is--we have it.

The answer isn't just a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer--because that also poses an outsized cost per use ratio.

The answer is a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer with a custom pricing that accommodates for what electrical engineers call "load diversity."

What we do is work with you to determine how many people are casual users. If the number of casual users is significant, then we allow for that in a custom pricing arrangement.

For example, you have 100 users. That would normally be priced out at 3 site licenses (site license seating starts getting absurdly cheap and unfairly priced to us at 100 seats). But only 20 of those people view Crystal Reports on a regular basis. Should you pay for a site license to include those 80 near non-users? We would come to an agreement with you that a 50 license arrangement is fair. There's a bit of custom implementation, but we are willing to do it so you get a fair price.

Typically, there is a mix of regular users and rare users. For example, 44 regular users and 4 casual users. That is a 50 user license, not a 50-user license pro-rated for 45 users. The key here is the number of casual users is significant.

What we help you do is to be able to afford to pay for seats for casual users. From this point forward, you can implement the solution. Simply install this software on the client machine, and the person who formerly was unable to view a Crystal Report in rpt format is now able to do so. This means no more delays, no more information silos, and no more explaining yet again to yet another frustrated executive why he looked like an imbecile in his recent meeting with a major customer.

With a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer, you have one less category of headache to deal with. What's not to like? But, the benefits don't stop there.

In addition to saving you money, a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer provides several other important benefits. Using a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer, you can:

• Eliminate "we can't read it" as an excuse for generating islands of information in parallel with the reporting system.

• Provide decision-makers with timely reports that contain up-to-date information.

• Add new users without a major capital investment (or, actually, being turned down for one--you know the drill).

• Add new report recipients with less impact from cost per seat ROI issues.

• Accommodate "casual users" of reports.

• Use the native functionality of Crystal Reports, and distribute your Crystal Reports in the rpt format.

• Give report recipients the option of exporting to other formats.

• Eliminate the pre-distribution delay that results from changing reports to a static format (e.g., PDF), just so people who lack a Crystal Reports license can read them.

• Ensure everyone who receives a report can process it against live data (as needed)--rather than get an "island of information" report based on yesterday's news.

• Overcome budgetary constraints that would otherwise prevent important information from arriving on the desktops of key people.

• Conduct training classes, without buying a non-transferable seat.

• Share reports in one-time or occasional meetings, without pre-conversion from the rpt format. This eliminates the problem of "sealing in" the data. You are spared the sometimes costly problem of creating an "island of information" or "information silo" problem.

• Set parameters in the report, so users can see the data they want and so that you do not have to maintain separate reports with different data selections.

• Give users the option of a “One-Click” icon on their desktop to run a favorite report. This is a favorite with non-IT people.

• Easily restrict confidential reports to specific users.

• Provide a quick “turn-key” installation on each desktop, rather than dedicating a Web server to an intranet

• Avoid the cost and time administering a Web server for an intranet.

Those are some powerful advantages. Isn't it about time you looked into a Crystal Reports Viewer, even for casual users? Of course it is. At this point, you are probably "sold" on the need for a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer for everyone, including casual users. But now you are faced with the task of evaluating the various Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewers on the market and deciding which one to buy.

Of course, we are going to recommend our own Crystal Reports Viewer and not one sold by our competitors. But there is more behind that recommendation than simply wanting to be your source for a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer. We also have a track record of continual development, giving you a full-featured product to fill your needs efficiently.

Our offering to you is Windows-based cView. We offer this in volume discount licensing configurations. We even let you try it out for 30 days with a free trial version!

So, now you know about Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewers. If you want to solve the rpt viewing problem, then a Windows-based Crystal Reports Viewer is for you. All we ask is that you insist on quality--insist on cView.

Download your evaluation copy, today.

For more information on cView, or to start solving your problems today, click here.

This article is copyrighted by Crystalkeen, Mindconnection, and Chelsea Technologies Ltd. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as the original copyright is displayed and no modifications are made to this material. Extracts are permitted. The names Crystal Reports and Seagate Info are trademarks owned by Business Objects.