[Razor1911]

Windward Reports: Utilizing the Power of Java

Overview

You don't need expensive software or complicated layout tools for business reporting and document generation. With Windward Reports' robust, enterprise-level Java/J2EE reporting engine, your company can produce reports and documents that convey critical, up-to-date business information in a visually impressive format.
Target Users

Companies producing vital reports, documents, mail merge files and other business intelligence need a secure, powerful way to access their data.
Use cases include:

* Full-featured reporting with sophisticated scheduling
* Robust document generation, content management and document production
* Simple-to-use mail merge centered on the Microsoft Word user interface
* Powerful dashboards that non-programmers can create effortlessly
* Effective business intelligence that increases company efficiency

What The Windward Reports Engine Enables:

A Complete Reporting System

A reporting system encompasses the processes of designing, generating and distributing reports. Reports are simply ways to present data and include items such as invoices, inventory tallies, financial statements, insurance policies, customer account summaries, product usage reports, and even certificates and letters.
Reporting Functionality

* Design
* Generation
* Sharing
* Automation
* Scheduling

Reporting Uses

* Create up-to-date reports without taxing IT resources
* Automatically save multiple versions of templates and auto-generated reports
* Merge data from multiple formats and in multiple, disparate data sources
* Access, update and view reports and templates
* Schedule reports to be generated at specific times and tasks to be emailed at specific times

A Comprehensive Document Generation and Mail Merge System

Document generation is an automated way of producing (i.e. generating and distributing) a document. The user creates a template; when the document is generated, specific information populates the template. Examples of documents generated include letters, forms, and contracts. Document generation also encompasses mail merge.
The Windward Reports' design tools AutoTag and AutoTag Max connect a template created in Microsoft Word document with data from your database or other data source and generate documents in a wide variety of formats.
Document Generation Functionality

* Design
* Generation
* Automation
* Scheduling
* Sharing

Document Generation Uses

* Make documents easier to find, create and distribute
* Generate documents in a wide range of formats, including DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PDF, XML, HTML and even printed hard copies.
* Access, update and view all documents
* Automatically save multiple versions of documents
* Schedule reports to be generated at specific times and tasks to be emailed at specific times

The Windward Engine

The Windward Engine is similar in functionality and capabilities to Crystal Reports, SSRS, etc., plus some significant additional functionality. The Windward Engine generally runs on one or more servers as part of your server-based application and can easily produce hundreds of thousands of reports per day on a single server. The server is a pure Java product (also available as pure .NET) and does not use Microsoft Office.

When used in conjunction with AutoTag or AutoTag Max, the Windward Reports Engine immediately begins to save you money. One of the biggest expenses in the report creation process correlates to the design tool's ease-of-use. AutoTag and AutoTag Max enables users to design templates in Microsoft Office, and because most professionals already know how to use Office, there's little learning curve. Windward customers report that creating and revising reports is at least 10 times faster than with other reporting systems.

Plus, Windward Reports makes data layout and source mapping trivial. Users don't need to learn complicated code, because wizards and drag-and-drop functionality from within Microsoft Word make it easy to put tags, or data placeholders, into templates. The Windward Engine handles a variety of data sources, including SQL databases, XML files, and Excel spreadsheets. Users can run reports with the click of a button, and they can produce documents in a wide array of outputs.

With the Windward Reports Engine and AutoTag or AutoTag Max, you get:

Report Design-

* Report design in Microsoft Word, Excel, & PowerPoint, with all of Office's available design features
* Full-featured charts, graphs, and other visuals
* Business professionals edit templates without relying on IT staff, which means increased company productivity


Data Layout

* Easy access to data for non-programmers
* Capable of handling data from a wide range of sources, including Excel spreadsheets, XML files and SQL databases
* Preserves security features of existing database provisions>



Report Generation-

* Reports run at the click of a button from within Microsoft Word
* A powerful and flexible automated report scheduler (AutoTag Max)
* A wide array of available outputs, including DOCX, PDF, RTF, HTML, XLSX and PPT

Additional Key Features:

* The Windward Engine can handle multiple data sources in a single template
* All input and output with the Windward Engine is via streams, so files can be easily used but are not required
* You can write your own data source class to access any data in a report

Related Products

Arrow For SharePoint

Windward Arrow extends SharePoint to deliver a complete enterprise reporting, document management, dashboard and business intelligence system. Users design reports in Microsoft Office and use SharePoint enhancements to connect templates to data and to run and schedule reports. Arrow for SharePoint lets a community of users produce critical business documents – easily and securely.

AutoTag

AutoTag allows users to design templates in Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Template creators can utilize all of MS Office's design features, including fonts, styles, lists, tables, illustrations, headers, footers, tables of contents and more.

AutoTag Max

An enhanced version of AutoTag, AutoTag Max does everything AutoTag does. It also lets users:

* Schedule reports to be run automatically and on your timetable
* Email up-to-date reports to customers, clients and colleagues
* Save unlimited iterations of a report, automatically

About Windward

Windward Reports was created by Windward Studios and both companies were named for founder David Thielen’s childhood home on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. It is headquartered in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. In 1994, Windward Studios was an innovative game development studio. Its first product was the popular and highly-rated real-time strategy game Enemy Nations, which is now offered for free. The Windward Reports' suite of reporting software programs was released in 2002.

Windward Reports' user group now spans 65 countries and all continents except Antarctica. It has more than 500 customers whose applications include financial statements, inventory reports, product-usage reports, purchase orders, invoices, training certificates, timesheets, and licenses.

You can learn more about Windward at our Reporting Blogs.

External Links

* Business Week - Make Some Noise
* Java Reports - Report Writing Simplified
* eWeek - Windward Aces Reports
* DevSource - Windward Reports Simplifies Your App's Reporting
* BCBR - Windward #3 In Fastest Growing Small Companies
* YouTube - Cubicle War video
* Windward Reports
* The Windward Java Report Engine
* AutoTag & Engine Ideas & Suggestions
* Windward Support Forums

[elfandsanta]

Document generation software is affordable and quick, even though many believe otherwise. Using Microsoft Office as the design tool is very important. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, coupled with Windward Reports, give business users the flexibility and features they need to create top-notch enterprise docgen templates. When you use Microsoft Office for dynamic document composition, you save your company significant time and money.
How to smash the document generation bottleneck - Your #2 resource for Document Generation

[sarahconor]

I read this article and its very informative. If you are looking for better reporting software, please take a look at Windward Reports. With Windward you design reports in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint so report design is a lot faster and easier - and non-programmers can design reports.
Reporting Software & Engines for .NET Java SharePoint Word Excel - Windward Reports