__NOEDITSECTION__{{TOC right}}The primary purpose Two of any most important purposes of an information system must be to are:* ensure high quality of data and* support operational use of the information .One important use of the data is reporting. If it collectsnot possible in an easy way to create reports/statistics which reflect the data correctly the credibility of the data is lost. That’s why {{IMSMANG}} was designed with a robust reporting and analysis component that supports various reporting options. These options include:
<center>
{{IMSMANG}} also allows information managers to connect advanced reporting tools such as Crystal Reports or ArcGIS Desktop directly to its relational database for highly advanced report generation. With this capability, information managers can use custom reporting solutions to connect with {{IMSMANG}}, allowing for complete control of {{IMSMANG}} outputs. Or, managers can modify existing reporting solutions to connect to {{IMSMANG}}, which leverages technology already implemented in the programme and limits the need for retraining.
{{note|Using When using external reporting tools is a complex activity requiring an advanced understanding we recommend to connect to the '''[[IMSMA Staging Area | Staging area]]''' instead of SQL, reporting tools and the {{IMSMANG}} database. It does require knowledge about the IMSMA data model. Contact contact your [[Information Management Team | GICHD IM advisor]] if you have questions.}}
===Connecting other External Reporting Tools===__NOEDITSECTION__