Short answer: If your SaaS product runs on .NET and SQL Server, look for embedded analytics that connects natively to SQL Server, supports Windows and Active Directory sign-in, runs on Windows Server or in your own Azure account, and embeds without rewriting your front end. SSRS still works but is getting no new versions, Power BI Embedded is strong but cloud-only and capacity-billed, and building it in-house means owning a reporting product. Yurbi is built on .NET, recommends SQL Server as its own backend, and embeds with an API call and an iframe — from $10,000 a year, flat.
A lot of the embedded analytics conversation assumes a JavaScript-first app sitting on a cloud data warehouse. Plenty of real software doesn't look like that. Many ISVs run on ASP.NET with SQL Server underneath — on-premise, in Azure, or shipped to customers' own servers — and they've been delivering reports to customers for years, often through SSRS or Crystal Reports.
If that's your stack, this guide covers what to look for, how the common options compare, and what a move off legacy reporting actually involves.
What .NET and SQL Server teams need from embedded analytics
The requirements are different from a cloud-native startup's. These are the ones that usually decide the shortlist:
- Native SQL Server performance. Reports should query your SQL Server database directly through a native driver, not through an ODBC layer or a nightly copy into a warehouse.
- Azure SQL and Managed Instance support. If you've moved to Azure, the same tool should work against Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance without changes.
- Windows and Active Directory sign-in. Many .NET products run in domain-joined environments. Reporting should be able to use the same identity.
- Runs where your app runs. Windows Server, IIS, your own Azure subscription, or a customer's server — not a separate vendor cloud your customers' security teams have to review.
- No front-end rewrite. Embedding shouldn't require adopting a new JavaScript framework in a mature ASP.NET or Blazor app.
- A path off SSRS or Crystal. Most teams on this stack already have a report library. The new tool has to connect to the same databases and let you rebuild it.
The options, compared
| Option | How it works | Where it runs | Pricing model | Customer self-service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stay on SSRS | RDL reports in Report Server | Your servers | Included with SQL Server | Limited |
| Power BI Report Server | Paginated and Power BI reports | Your servers | SQL Server or Power BI licensing | Limited for embedding |
| Power BI Embedded | Power BI in your app via Azure | Azure cloud only | Capacity, billed hourly | Yes |
| Build it in .NET | Your own charts, grids, and exports | Anywhere | Engineering time | Whatever you build |
| Yurbi | Iframe plus REST API | Your servers or Azure account | Flat annual, $10K–$30K | Yes, no-code builder |
SSRS: still supported, but the roadmap is closed
SSRS has been the default reporting layer for .NET products for two decades, and it still works. But Microsoft has confirmed there will be no new versions: SQL Server 2025 shipped without SSRS, and SSRS 2022 is the last release, with security support through January 11, 2033. Microsoft points customers to Power BI Report Server instead.
That's real runway, but it isn't a future. SSRS was built for developer-authored reports — every new report or change goes back to your team — and it was never designed for multi-tenant, customer-facing self-service.
Power BI Report Server: the Microsoft-recommended successor
Power BI Report Server hosts paginated RDL reports and Power BI reports on your own servers, so it's the most familiar step for an SSRS shop that's staying fully inside Microsoft. It's a reasonable choice for internal reporting. For customer-facing, multi-tenant embedding inside your product, it's a harder fit — per-tenant branding and self-service report building for your customers aren't what it was designed for.
Power BI Embedded: powerful, but cloud-only and capacity-billed
Power BI Embedded puts Power BI visuals inside your app and has strong .NET SDK support. It's billed by the hour for the capacity you provision (A and F SKUs) — roughly $740 a month for A1 at continuous use — and capacity doesn't autoscale, so heavy customer usage slows reports until you move to a larger tier, with each step roughly doubling the cost. It runs only in Azure, which matters if your customers need data to stay on their own servers.
Building it yourself in .NET
There are excellent .NET charting and grid libraries, and a capable team can ship a first dashboard quickly — faster still with AI coding tools. The work that never ends is everything around it: per-customer data isolation, a report builder so customers stop filing report requests, scheduling, exports, permissions, and maintenance as your schema changes. We covered that trade-off in Vibe-Coded Dashboards vs. Embedded Analytics.
Why Yurbi fits a .NET and SQL Server stack
Yurbi is a self-hosted embedded analytics platform, and its stack lines up closely with a typical .NET ISV's:
- Built on .NET. Yurbi itself runs on .NET 9 and installs on Windows Server (or Windows 10/11) using IIS or its built-in web server, on Linux, or with Docker.
- SQL Server first. Yurbi connects to SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Managed Instance through its native driver. Microsoft SQL Server is also the recommended backend for Yurbi's own configuration database in high-volume, multi-tenant deployments.
- Windows and Active Directory sign-in. When the Yurbi server is domain-joined, Windows authentication routes sign-in through your Active Directory — no separate LDAP setup. Built-in two-factor sign-in and Cisco Duo are also available.
- Query your database directly. Reports query your SQL Server tables, views, and stored procedures in place, read-only. No ETL, no warehouse, no data copy.
- Multi-tenant by design. Tenant isolation is enforced in the SQL query itself, and each customer can have their own branding. It works whether your customers share one database, have their own schemas, or have their own SQL Server instances.
- Flat pricing. $10,000 a year for 75 users up to $30,000 a year for unlimited users, with every feature in every plan.
How embedding works in an ASP.NET app
Embedding doesn't touch your front-end framework. From your .NET backend:
- Call Yurbi's DoLogin API with the signed-in user's Yurbi credentials. It returns a session token scoped to that user's permissions.
- Build the embed URL for a dashboard or report, adding the session token.
- Render that URL in an iframe in your Razor page, MVC view, or Blazor component.
Your customer lands on their analytics already signed in, already filtered to their data, under your brand. The full REST API also lets your backend create tenants, users, and data source connections automatically when a new customer signs up. Details are in the Yurbi developer docs.
Moving off SSRS, Crystal Reports, or Izenda
Most .NET teams aren't starting from zero — they have a report library. Here's what a migration typically looks like:
- Connect Yurbi to the same SQL Server databases. Read-only, no schema changes.
- Build the semantic layer once. Map tables to business-friendly names, define joins, and add calculated fields. This is what makes self-service possible.
- Set up tenant security. Configure Tenant Mode and data-level policies so each customer sees only their own rows.
- Rebuild your core reports. There's no automated import of RDL or Crystal report definitions, but rebuilding in a no-code builder is usually faster than maintaining the old library — and customers can build the long tail themselves.
- Embed and roll out. Swap the old report viewer for the iframe, beta with a few customers, then go live.
Most teams reach production in 4 to 8 weeks, and Yurbi's services team can handle the migration if your developers are busy. See Legacy Replacement, Yurbi vs SSRS, and Yurbi vs Izenda for more.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best embedded analytics tool for a .NET application?
It depends on where your app runs and who uses the reports. For customer-facing, multi-tenant embedding on SQL Server — especially self-hosted — Yurbi is built for that use case: it runs on .NET, connects natively to SQL Server, supports Active Directory sign-in, and embeds with an API call and an iframe. Power BI Embedded is a strong choice for Azure-only, Microsoft-centric products, and Power BI Report Server suits internal reporting.
Is SSRS being discontinued?
Microsoft has stopped releasing new versions of SSRS. SQL Server 2025 shipped without it, and SSRS 2022 is the final release, with security support through January 11, 2033. Microsoft recommends Power BI Report Server as the replacement.
Can Yurbi use Active Directory for sign-in?
Yes. When the Yurbi server is domain-joined, Windows authentication routes sign-in through your Active Directory, with no separate LDAP configuration. Yurbi also supports session-token single sign-on for embedding, built-in two-factor sign-in, and Cisco Duo.
Does Yurbi work with Azure SQL Database?
Yes. Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance use the same native SQL Server driver as on-premise SQL Server. Yurbi can run in your own Azure account or on your own servers.
Can I migrate SSRS reports to Yurbi?
Yes, by rebuilding them. Yurbi connects to the same SQL Server databases, so there's no data migration, but RDL report definitions aren't imported automatically. Most teams rebuild their core reports in Yurbi's no-code builder and let customers build the rest themselves. Yurbi's services team can do the migration for you.
How much does Yurbi cost for a .NET SaaS product?
Yurbi's published pricing is $10,000 a year for up to 75 users, $18,000 for 250, $24,000 for 500, and $30,000 for unlimited users, with every feature in every plan. Startup pricing is available for qualifying early-stage companies — ask at https://yurbi.com/contact/?topic=startup