Microsoft Consolidates On-premises Reporting Services into Power BI

Starting with SQL Server 2025, Microsoft Consolidates On-premises Reporting Services: Strategic Implications for Modern Data-Driven Businesses

Microsoft has announced a pivotal change in its enterprise reporting strategy: the consolidation of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) into Power BI Report Server, starting with SQL Server 2025. This move reflects Microsoft’s broader vision of simplifying its analytics ecosystem and aligning it with the evolving needs of modern businesses.

No new versions of SSRS will be released beyond SSRS 2022.

What’s Changing?

SSRS will no longer be released as a standalone product. Instead, its capabilities will be fully integrated into Power BI Report Server, creating a unified platform for both paginated and interactive reports. This consolidation is designed to:

• Streamline deployment and management
• Reduce infrastructure complexity
• Provide a consistent user experience across reporting tools

What This Means for Your Business

For organisations currently relying on SSRS, this transition presents an opportunity to modernise their reporting infrastructure. Key benefits include:

• Unified Reporting Platform: Manage all reports, traditional and modern, within a single environment.
• Simplified Licensing: Power BI Report Server remains available with SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Software Assurance.
• Future-Proof Architecture: Enhanced integration with Microsoft’s broader data and AI ecosystem.

Enter Microsoft Fabric: A Strategic Path Forward

As businesses look beyond traditional reporting, Microsoft Fabric emerges as a powerful, cloud-native analytics platform that unifies data engineering, data science, real-time analytics, and business intelligence. For organisations planning their long-term data strategy, Fabric offers:

• End-to-End Data Integration: Seamlessly connect data from across your enterprise.
• AI-Enhanced Insights: Leverage built-in AI capabilities to drive smarter decision-making.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Built on Azure, Fabric supports both on-premises and hybrid cloud scenarios.

Next Steps

Organisations are encouraged to begin evaluating their current SSRS deployments and explore migration paths to on-premises Power BI Report Server. At the same time, forward-looking businesses should consider how Microsoft Fabric can serve as a foundation for a more agile, intelligent, and scalable data strategy.

This consolidation is more than a product update; it’s a strategic signal. Microsoft is aligning its tools to empower businesses with a unified, AI-ready analytics platform that meets the demands of today and tomorrow.

How DSP Can Help

At DSP, we’ve been helping organisations modernise their reporting environments for over 25 years. With deep expertise in Power BI and SQL Server, we’re ideally positioned to support businesses through this transition, from assessing current SSRS deployments to implementing Power BI Report Server and planning strategic adoption of Microsoft Fabric. Whether you’re looking to simplify reporting infrastructure or unlock new insights with AI-driven analytics, our consultants can help you make the most of Microsoft’s evolving data platform.

For more information, check out our Power BI Services, or contact us today, and one of our experts will be in touch.