SQL Server Reporting Services

by
Andrew Snodgrass

by
Andrew Snodgrass

Andrew analyzes and writes about Microsoft's data management, business intelligence, and machine learning solutions, as well as aspects of licensing... more

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a role in SQL Server, Microsoft’s long-standing on-premises database management and business intelligence (BI) software. SSRS is used to create traditional columnar business reports using Microsoft’s Report Definition Language (RDL). The same technology ships in two server products, SSRS and Power BI Report Server (PBIRS), which are essentially the same except that PBIRS also hosts Power BI reports (.PBIX files). SQL Server 2022 is the last version to include SSRS.

Product: SQL Server Reporting Services

Licensing: SQL Server

Near-Term Updates and Roadmap (2026–2027)

Microsoft has finished the consolidation it signaled in 2025. SQL Server 2025 shipped without Reporting Services, making SQL Server 2022 the final SSRS version. The replacement is Power BI Report Server (PBIRS), which includes all the functionality of SSRS with the extra ability to host Power BI reports on-premises.

The licensing question of how to purchase PBIRS without Enterprise edition with Software Assurance (SA) was settled in customers’ favor: PBIRS comes with any paid edition of SQL Server 2025, with no SA requirement. The benefit doesn’t extend to previous SQL Server versions.