Is there a way to build a site that connects to Microsoft SQL Server without using Sharepoint?

I'm on a job where they are considering using Sharepoint to connect/interact with a database that is on Microsoft SQL server.

In fact, they are looking for a Sharepoint developer to implement thi开发者_C百科s solution.

My question is, is Sharepoint really the best way to go about doing this? What are some other options?

It really depends on what kind of integration they want, but any standard report building tool (e.g., Crystal Reports, there are many others) should work just fine. They all support connecting to a variety of DBs and allowing one to build reports either by demonstration or through SQL. There may be some specific advantage to the presentation/integration aspect of things your supervisors are interested in, but Sharepoint itself isn't any better of a report writer than these tools.

They started using sharepoint in my work a few years ago. While it does the job, it is lacking in the User experience IMO. It can be frustrating.