Thread: MS SQL server 2008

Hello! Iam totaly new to what has to do with databases.. In company we are setting up a new MS SQL 2008 server. What i want and look for is a reporting tool that will be used by people that have zero IT experience good excel skills, no computer knowledge and skills so i want something simple to use in order to have some reports from our database. IT people will be using something like Crystal reports but i need to have some reporting activity from people out of IT department. Simple reports based on our database data in excel. As i understand this is the tool i am looking for, right? Has anyone used it with SQL 2008 or am i the first one testing it? :P Thank you very much in advance!

Hi

There should be no problem using SQL 2008. Havent used it myself yet but maybe someone else here has and can let us know.

The addin is for running imports / ad hoc queries etc. If you have specific reports that you need to run, then you might be better looking into setting up some VBA macros to import the data and format it in a way that is good for the users.

Another simple way, would be to use the addin (or MS query) to setup embedded queries within workbooks. This way the user could open up a workbook and use the data toolbar to refresh the data from the SQL Server database.

Another way, would be to use MS Access - which has reports functionality built in as a front end for SQL Server. Alot of companies take this approach and it works fine when the users like working in access.

If you are familiar with VBA already then, I would suggest that writing the vba macros will be a good way to to do this. If you dont want to, as a rough way of getting something going you could go the embedded queries way (have the queries embedded in sheets so they load the data on demand)

Hope that is some help.

Good luck on that. Please let me know how it goes with 2008 if you try it out.

Thanks and bye for now
Al