Long the standard report writer in the USA, SAP did all of their customers a favor when they purchased Business Objects and inherited Crystal Reports. The old Print Layout Designer (PLD) will be phased out and over the next few years all reports will be Crystal Reports instead.
To help speed that process the general release version of 8.8 includes a conversion tool, enabling PLD reports to be converted to Crystal Reports.
In later editions of 8.8, we will also see the tight integration of another Business Objects product, Xcelsius. With busy executives needing the convenience of Dashboards and KPIs, Xcelsius will make these tools core.
How will Crystal Reports integration impact the way you do business? Let us know in the comments below.