At a Glance
Industry Commercial Insurance
Client A leading commercial insurance provider (Canadian operations)
Migration SAP Crystal Reports → JasperReports (Jaspersoft)
Source Platform SAP Crystal Reports
Target Platform JasperReports on JasperReports Server
Data Sources Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and other databases
Scope 367 reports migrated across multiple report servers
Duration 3 months, delivered end-to-end

LEADING COMMERCIAL INSURANCE PROVIDER

Migrating Crystal Reports to JasperReports for a Leading Insurance Provider

Client Overview

A Commercial Insurer Running Reporting at Scale

The client is a leading commercial insurance provider with significant operations in the Canadian market. Its reporting environment supports day-to-day underwriting, claims, and financial operations, so accuracy and reliability are non-negotiable.

Because these reports inform regulated, business-critical decisions, the migration had to preserve every value exactly and keep reporting running across the client's existing multi-server, multi-database environment throughout the transition.

Customer Storeis
Executive Summary

A Modern, Open-Source Reporting Estate on JasperReports

A leading commercial insurance provider serving the Canadian market relied on a large portfolio of SAP Crystal Reports to deliver business-critical operational and financial reporting. Built up over many years, these reports had become costly to license and maintain, drew on data spread across multiple databases and servers, and depended on increasingly scarce Crystal Reports expertise.

DataTerrain was engaged to migrate the full portfolio of 67 Crystal Reports to JasperReports, consolidating them onto the open-source Jaspersoft platform while reproducing the exact output of every report. Using its automated Jasper conversion solution, DataTerrain analyzed each report's native functions and embedded logic, generated equivalent JasperReports, and then validated every report against its Crystal source.

The result was a modernized, maintainable reporting estate on JasperReports Server, connected to the client's Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and other data sources, with output parity confirmed report by report and every data question resolved with the client before sign-off.

The Challenge

Years of Embedded Logic Across Many Servers and Databases

The existing reporting stack was built on SAP Crystal Reports and had accumulated years of embedded business logic spread across dozens of reports, several servers, and multiple databases. This created a number of compounding challenges:

Complex embedded logic

Crystal formulas, running totals, grouping, and conditional logic built up over years, tightly coupled to each report's layout and difficult to reproduce exactly on a new platform.

Multi-database, multi-server estate

The 67 reports drew on several databases (Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and others) and ran across multiple report servers, so every connection, driver, and data source had to be mapped individually.

Stored-procedure decimal handling

Numeric values returned by database stored procedures exhibited precision and rounding behavior that caused decimal discrepancies between Crystal and Jasper outputs.

Layout and sub-report fidelity

Crystal's sections, sub-reports, grouping, and formatting had to be faithfully reproduced in JasperReports' JRXML to ensure the migrated reports matched the originals.

Parameters and scheduling

Report parameters, filters, and run schedules had to be recreated as Jasper input controls so reports ran reliably for users and job schedulers.

Output parity

With reporting tied to regulated insurance operations, every migrated report's totals, rows, headers, and summaries had to match the original Crystal output, report by report.

Our Approach

Automated Conversion, Expert Engineering, and Report-by-Report Validation

DataTerrain addressed each challenge with its automated Jasper conversion solution, backed by hands-on engineering and validation of every report before sign-off.

1
Automated conversion engine

DataTerrain's Jasper conversion automation parsed each Crystal report, analyzed its native functions and embedded logic, and generated equivalent JasperReports (JRXML) files, accelerating conversion of the bulk of the 67-report portfolio while preserving report structure.

2
Multi-source connectivity

Configured JasperReports Server against each database, Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and others, and mapped every report to the correct data source and server.

3
Decimal issue resolved with the client

Traced the decimal discrepancies to the values returned by the database stored procedures, reproduced the behavior transparently, and raised it with the client; the client reviewed the values and formally accepted them.

4
Layout and sub-report reproduction

Rebuilt Crystal sections, sub-reports, grouping, and conditional formatting in JRXML to preserve the original look and structure of each report.

5
Parameters and scheduling

Mapped parameters, filters, and date options to Jasper input controls, and recreated run schedules on JasperReports Server, ensuring reports ran reliably after cutover.

6
Report-by-report validation

Compared every JasperReports output against its Crystal source, totals, rows, headers, and summaries, and resolved every difference to root cause before the report was signed off.

Before & After

From Licensed, Fragmented Crystal Reports to a Governed JasperReports Estate

BEFORE — SAP Crystal Reports
SAP Crystal Reports on legacy infrastructure
Per-report proprietary licensing
Logic locked inside Crystal formulas
Fragmented multi-server, multi-database setup
Manual upkeep and scarce Crystal skills
Unexplained decimal differences from procedures
AFTER — JasperReports
JasperReports on JasperReports Server
Open-source Jaspersoft platform
Standardized JRXML with reusable patterns
Centralized server connected across all data sources
Maintainable, source-control-friendly reports
Values traced, explained, and client-accepted
Results & Outcomes

Outcomes That Mattered to the Business

67 Reports Migrated

The full Crystal Reports portfolio converted to JasperReports across multiple servers and databases.

Exact Output Parity

Every report validated against its Crystal source; totals, rows, and summaries reconciled before sign-off.

Multi-Database Coverage

Reports connected cleanly to Azure SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and other sources on JasperReports Server.

Open-Source Platform

Moved onto Jaspersoft, reducing licensing costs and easing long-term maintenance.

Bottom Line

Why Choose DataTerrain

DataTerrain specializes in automated, any-to-any BI and report migration. With 17+ years of experience, 400+ customers, and 27,000+ reports migrated, DataTerrain pairs a proven automated conversion solution with deep hands-on expertise and rigorous, report-by-report validation, modernizing legacy reporting onto platforms like JasperReports without disrupting the business outputs organizations already depend on.

legacy reports conversion connect with us