Microsoft Project is becoming easier to use and easier to develop very sophisticated reports at both the desktop and enterprise levels.

Both Microsoft Project Professional and Project Server 2010 now integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Excel and Excel Services. This enhanced integration allows novice and expert users to quickly get up to speed and develop meaningful reports that provide valuable insight to their project performance over time.

At the desktop level Project 2010 now supports time-phased reporting, which used to reside in Project 2003 but was removed in Project 2007, unless you upgraded directly from 2003 to 2007 Professional or Standard. At the server level the Data Analysis views and reports have been replaced with Excel Services integration, so now users are able to manipulate enterprise data in a tool they’re very comfortable with and have used for many years. The server environment comes preconfigured with a number of critical reports that will allow an organization to reap value from the initial implementation of Project Server from day one.

Project Professional reporting now includes enhanced visual reporting, time-phased report (such as Earned Value over Time), the ability to copy from Project to Office and have the Project files format preserved or vice versa, timeline reports, an integrated project comparison feature, and Backstage View print preview and configuration options.

Project Server reporting now includes the New Business Intelligence Center, enhanced Excel web access, dashboard and key performance indicator support, Performance Point Service integration, multiple OLAP databases, flexibility in data within the database, department level filtering for data in the cubes, Visio Services integration, SQL Server reporting services, and Power Pivot Services. And — Wow! — all of this is in the SharePoint environment.

Microsoft has listened to what its customers have been asking for in a reporting solution, and I can really say, I love this tool.