Why Use a Reporting Tool?
It isn't difficult to retrieve data. You could write code to loop through record sets and print them in your Windows or Web application. In the .NET Framework, you could go further and bind that data to a control, such as a Repeater, DataList or DataGrid.
But to present this data in a formal report format is far more complex. Report features, such as consolidations, multiple level totals, charting, conditional formatting, and page-based output are difficult and time-consuming to program.
Crystal Reports makes it easy to create and distribute complex reports.