In a move to bolster the ad-hoc reporting capabilities of SQL Server 2000 and beyond, Microsoft has acquired ActiveViews of Provo, Utah.  The acquisition, while small, fills a big gap in the MS SQL Reporting Services.  The recently released add-on to SQL Server 2000, SQL Reporting Services, excels at providing access to pre-defined reports from a wide array of back end data sources, but falls way short in providing the flexibilty the end user popluation requires for creating queries on the fly.  ActiveView will provide this missing piece.

"There is a significant amount of data out there and an increasing need for every employee to have access to that data to make decisions. By incorporating the technology provided by ActiveViews, SQL Server Reporting Services will help users access information more quickly and efficiently," said Bill Baker, general manager for business intelligence at Microsoft.

"Based on feedback from customers and industry experts, we believe that by incorporating this functionality within the business intelligence capabilities of SQL Server, Microsoft will provide a more complete BI solution than has been offered in the industry before."