Reporting for Duty: Why Architecture Matters

Amid all the noise of AI hype, one thing remains constant: organizations still rely on trusted, reliable reporting as the foundation for decision-making. In fact, reporting is becoming more critical in an AI-first world, because governed, auditable data underpins every intelligent outcome. The question is how to architect for performance, scalability, and user expectations. In this episode of DM Radio, Host Eric Kavanagh will be joined by Evelyn Chou and Jeff Hainsworth of insightsoftware Data + Analytics. We'll explore how architectural choices fundamentally shape reporting outcomes. Where should processing occur? There are key differences between web-based and server-side approaches, such as tradeoffs in interactivity, precision, scalability, and embedded analytics. We'll also discuss the growing case for a hybrid strategy, where multiple reporting engines work together to meet diverse enterprise needs. From high-volume, back-end report generation to rich, interactive user experiences, modern analytics stacks increasingly demand flexibility, which should ideally be baked into the analytic architecture, not bolted on.