SSRS to Power BI migration, one report at a time
SSRS to Power BI migration moves reports from SQL Server Reporting Services into the Power BI service, where they sit beside your dashboards. Many reports transfer as paginated reports with small changes, while others deserve a redesign as interactive pages. One of our consultants sorts your catalog into those groups, moves each report and checks its output against the old one.
- Report catalog sorted
- Move or redesign decided
- Output compared line by line
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What does an SSRS to Power BI migration include?
Reporting Services has served companies well for many years. It produces exact, printable documents from SQL queries, and plenty of finance teams still depend on it. So nobody should treat its catalog as clutter to throw away.
The service can run those same report definitions as paginated reports. Microsoft also provides a migration tool that reads a report server and publishes supported reports to a workspace. Because of that, a large part of the catalog can move without a rewrite.
However, a straight move is not always the best answer. Some old reports exist only because users wanted to filter and explore data. Those work better as interactive pages on a shared semantic model. We therefore decide report by report. For example, an aging list that users keep filtering may become a Power BI accounts receivable dashboard.
Decisions we make for each SSRS report moving to Power BI
Every item in the catalog ends up in one of these six groups.
Move as it stands
Statements, invoices and fixed forms keep their layout. They publish as paginated reports after a compatibility check.
Move with changes
Some reports use shared data sources or features the service treats differently. We adjust those parts and then test again.
Redesign as interactive
When readers mostly filter and drill, an interactive page serves them better. So we rebuild it on a semantic model.
Merge duplicates
Catalogs often hold many near copies of one report. A single version with parameters can replace the whole set.
Retire
Execution logs show which reports nobody has run in a long time. Those leave the plan after the owner agrees.
Keep on the server
A few reports may rely on features with no cloud match. We list them, and you decide what happens next.
Why move Reporting Services content to Power BI at all?
One reason is a single front door. When paginated documents and dashboards share a workspace, people stop asking where a report lives. They also sign in once, with the same account they use for Microsoft 365.
Another reason is upkeep. A report server needs hardware, patches and a database behind it. In the service, Microsoft runs that layer instead. As a result, your IT team spends its time on the data and not on the server.
Still, the move has limits worth knowing. Data that stays on premises needs a gateway, and license rules differ from a server you already own. We explain both before you commit, since a surprise at that stage helps nobody. If reports must stay on your own hardware, a Power BI Report Server migration keeps them on premises instead. For the wider product choice, see Power BI vs SSRS.
What to gather before an SSRS to Power BI migration
These items let us size the work accurately on the first pass.
- A list of reports and folders
- Execution logs for recent months
- Shared data sources and datasets
- Subscription schedules and recipients
- Folder roles and security groups
- Any custom code the reports call
How our SSRS to Power BI migration runs
The project follows four stages, and the report server stays live until the last one.
Assess the catalog
First we read the catalog and the logs, then place each report in a group. You approve that list before work starts.
Set up the destination
Next we create workspaces, roles and a gateway, so that migrated reports can reach the databases they query.
Move and verify
Reports move in batches. After each batch we run old and new side by side and compare the output.
Rebuild delivery
Finally, subscriptions and schedules get set up again in the service, and users receive new links with a short guide.
Questions about moving off Reporting Services
Do all SSRS reports work in Power BI?
Most do, but not every one. Microsoft publishes a list of features that paginated reports in the service do not support. We check each report against that list during the assessment. So you learn early which reports move cleanly, which need changes and which may have to stay on the server for now.
Is the migration from SSRS to Power BI automatic?
Partly. Microsoft offers a migration tool that publishes supported reports and converts shared sources into embedded ones. It saves real effort on large catalogs. However, it does not move subscriptions or permissions, and it cannot judge whether a report still has readers. Those steps need a person, which is where we come in.
Which license will our migrated reports need?
License rules for paginated content have changed over time, and they depend on the workspace type as well as each reader. We therefore review the current Microsoft documentation with you before the project starts. Since we do not resell licenses, the recommendation simply reflects how many people read the reports and how.
Can SQL Server databases stay on premises after a move to Power BI?
Yes. An on-premises data gateway lets the cloud service query local databases through an outbound connection. The reports then run against the same sources as before. In other words, this project moves the report layer only. You can decide separately, and later, whether the databases should move as well.
How do we begin?
Begin with the free 30-minute assessment. You show us the report server, and we estimate how the catalog splits across the groups above. A written quote then fixes the scope. The work happens remotely in your own Microsoft tenant, and a weekly demo shows which batch of reports has passed its checks.
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