What Do You Do When An Automated Email Report Refuses To Email Itself?

There’s nothing more frustrating than an automated email report that refuses to email itself. On a bad day, it may feel like your business intelligence solution is working against you, and nothing drives that feeling home like an SSRS data driven subscription email hiccup. We’ve examined some of the common problems and came up with a few simple solutions.

Common Problems

Anyone who is familiar with SSRS dreads the day they have to see the error “data driven subscriptions cannot be created.” There could be any number of reasons for this script, and they range from a forgotten field to a serious software complication. Naturally, there are plenty of problems that sit in between these two extremes. We’ve taken the time to dissected one of the most common problems.

Did you know a custom data source could confuse the system, especially if you’re running Windows Integrated Security? The problem ties back to credentials. It’s better to store the credentials securely in the report server rather than supplying them when you run the report. You can find the options to change where and how credentials are stored under Data Sources in the Properties tab. This should fix the problem. It does open a few security concerns for some users. These can be combated by focusing your security concerns on the data sources rather than the system using them. You can also use regular security measures, like dedicating a specific account for SSRS data driven subscription email activities. 

The Benefits of SSRS Data Driven Subscription Email

Despite the frustrations, don’t give up on these critical SSRS functions. The “data driven subscriptions cannot be created” barrier may be annoying, but it isn’t invincible. In return for your efforts, SSRS data driven subscription email systems does help transform your day to day business intelligence work into a smother workflow. You no longer need to babysit BI programs and jump through hoops to send out emails in various formats. 

Obviously, the program’s greatest weakness is that it is relatively new and it’s pretty easy to hit an error. That weakness is also one of the system’s advantages. Businesses using this software can enjoy significant advantages over the competition, and those advantages will only continue to grow as the software improves. 

Solutions to the Problem

You no longer have to wait for the software to improve. Business Intelligence services and supporting software have ready-made solutions for essentially any SSRS issue. Simple fixes are the best, but they aren’t always available. Ultimately, the best solutions to the problem are advanced supplementary programs that make your BI software easier to use. These solutions may include dashboards, new forms of visualization, or other accessibility aids. The choice is yours, and the BI market is full of new options to choose from. 

It’s a shame that our security measures can cause such major inconveniences. The good news is that there are simple solutions available. If you want to get ahead of today’s frustrations, however, the best way to escape the errors is to invest in tomorrow’s advances. Those solutions may incidentally help you get more out of your SSRS reports than ever before. 

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