You’re under pressure to deliver accurate reports, manage tight timelines, and keep your team aligned – yet you’re still waiting on developers to wrangle SharePoint data. Sound familiar?
For many Project Managers, the decision to build vs. buy a SharePoint-to-SQL integration solution can determine whether projects stay on track – or stall entirely.
While building an internal solution may seem flexible or cost-effective upfront, the hidden costs quickly add up:
Delayed delivery: In-house builds often take months to scope, code, test, and maintain.
According to McKinsey Digital, 45% of IT projects run over budget, and 7% run over time – often because the scope and complexity of custom builds are severely underestimated.
Budget uncertainty: Scope creep and maintenance consume more time and money than planned.
The Harvard Business Review similarly warns that in-house tools are especially prone to scope creep, maintenance burdens, and unforeseen security and compatibility challenges.
Team inefficiency: Valuable developer time gets pulled from core initiatives.
For Project Managers, this translates to increased overhead, delayed timelines, and more dependence on developers – at the exact moment when agility and speed are most critical.
That’s why more PMs across industries like government, financial services, and healthcare are choosing AxioWorks’ flagship product SQList – a ready-made solution that offers near real-time SharePoint-to-SQL data integration without the typical delays and resource drain of in-house development.
Why Choose AxioWorks SQList Over In-House Solutions
1. Faster Time to Value
Building a custom SharePoint-to-SQL sync solution can take months of scoping, coding, testing, and debugging. In contrast, AxioWorks SQList can be deployed in just hours, delivering real-time access to project data almost immediately.
This speed not only accelerates reporting and decision-making but also eliminates the need to align developer availability with project milestones – a common bottleneck for busy PMs overseeing multiple initiatives.
2. Predictable Costs and Lower Risk
Custom builds often come with hidden costs: unexpected licensing needs, dev rework, or scope changes that affect budgets. According to a 2021 PMI study, only 58% of projects met their original budget and business intent, often due to cost unpredictability in custom-built IT components.
AxioWorks’ SQList offers transparent, fixed pricing, making it easier to plan, approve, and control costs without compromising functionality. With SQList, you get a clear ROI with no surprises.
3. Real-Time Access – Without Developer Bottlenecks
Many PMs report frustration waiting on dev teams to update or extract SharePoint data for progress tracking. SQList provides continuous, automated synchronisation between SharePoint and SQL Server, so your project dashboards, Power BI reports, and status trackers are always current – no developer intervention required.
This empowers PMs to act quickly and confidently using live project data, while also reducing back-and-forth communication and delays.
4. Enhanced Reporting With the Tools You Already Use
With data centralised in SQL Server, project teams can harness Power BI, SSRS, or Excel for rich, visual reporting. This removes SharePoint’s limitations and allows dynamic, near real-time views of project health, resource allocation, timelines, and risks – all accessible without needing to build custom reporting infrastructure.
5. Seamless Microsoft Integration, Minimal Setup
Built for Microsoft environments, AxioWorks’ SQList fits directly into existing SharePoint and SQL Server ecosystems with minimal configuration. This avoids the technical friction common in third-party tools and significantly shortens onboarding time for both devs and non-technical stakeholders.
Even better, your team already has the skills they need – SQList leverages your existing knowledge of SQL Server and SharePoint, eliminating the need to learn custom APIs or unfamiliar platforms.
6. Scalability Without the Stress
As your project portfolio grows, so does your data footprint. AxioWorks’ SQList is built to handle complex SharePoint environments, including hybrid and online setups, ensuring that your data integration solution can scale without adding complexity or maintenance burdens.
7. Opportunity Cost
Every hour spent developing, testing, and maintaining a custom tool is time not spent on delivering core project value. When PMs greenlight internal builds, they risk diverting dev resources from strategic initiatives, leading to longer project cycles and missed opportunities.
By choosing a purpose-built, ready-to-go solution like SQList, you free up your team to focus on what really matters – delivering business outcomes, not building infrastructure.
For Project Managers, the Decision is Clear
If your goal is to accelerate timelines, simplify reporting, reduce dependency on IT, and manage risk, buying AxioWorks SQList is the smart move.
With AxioWorks SQList, as a Project Manager you will gain:
- Real-time project data with zero developer dependency
- Centralised, scalable access to SharePoint content
- Faster, more accurate reporting with familiar tools
- Lower upfront and ongoing costs
- Minimal setup and maintenance overhead
See SQList in Action – Book a Demo
