Architecting a Reporting Services project

I have built reports in SSRS before but I have not taken on a full Enterprise Reporting system before. I was thinking about building a Data Warehouse and data marts for departments and build reports off of that. I was thinking in Report manager to have folders for each department(with roles within their departments) and have a folder for Static reports that users can just run and download the data, etc....Second have reports folder/section where users can build their own reports off of a Report Model maybe? The idea would be for them to be able to build their own report(s), etc. I could have their departmental cubes as their data sources and so on...

I was also thinking to have dashboards for Upper management users so they can logon and have it set up their own way with what they want to see. I have never done a dashboard before? Would that be buil tin BI? Where would I be able to set them up with their own dashboards?

Am I on the right track here?
jknj72Asked:
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ValentinoVConnect With a Mentor BI ConsultantCommented:
You're surely on the right track, except for the part about Report Models.  As of SQL Server 2012 Report Models are deprecated (ref Deprecated Features in SQL Server Reporting Services in SQL Server 2014).  But don't worry, that's not a problem.  If your DWH/data marts are nicely modeled with clear dimensions and facts then users should be able to just connect to those (or to SSAS cubes if you're going to build those) and build ad-hoc reports off of them.

There are several ways to create dashboards.  The easiest one is to build them just using SSRS.  You've already got the technology so it's just a matter of using other controls than you're used to for regular table-design reports.  You'd be using the Sparkline and Data Bar, the Indicator, some Charts.  Basically a dashboard is just a regular report with a different design.  To get an idea have a look at what Jason Thomas has produced here: A Sample SSRS Dashboard and some Tips & Tricks

If you've got SharePoint then you could consider using PerformancePoint Dashboards but I'm not a big fan of those.  I'd prefer to build exactly the same just by using SSRS.

Other technology to consider if you've got SharePoint is called Power View.  This allows you to create nice interactive dashboards.
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jknj72Author Commented:
That brings up a good point. The company I am going to has Sharepoint but they dont have it integrated with SSRS. Is this something I should do? Ive never done it before. Is there an advantage to using Sharepoint with SSRS. Is it just used as a reporsitory for the reports? Id like to know your opinion
I have looked at that link recently, its funny that you sent me the same page that I was using.
Thanks for your help...
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ValentinoVBI ConsultantCommented:
Using SharePoint you get document versioning (your reports are considered documents) out of the box. You also use Sharepoint security to control who has access to what.  And users stay in the same (SharePoint) environment while doing their job while on a native SSRS server they'd access reports through Report Manager or Server.  It would also give you the opportunity to try out the newer technologies such as Power View.

Make sure you check the requirements of the components you'd like to use because I believe things like Power View require SharePoint Enterprise edition.

On the other hand, if the above advantages are not that important you could keep it simple and go for native SSRS...

This could be interesting to read through: Reporting Services Report Server (SharePoint Mode)
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jknj72Author Commented:
ok thanks Valentino...I will do my homework
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jknj72Author Commented:
Great job Thanks!
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