>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>a client is wanting to create their own reports from a SQL Server database (yeah right!). They must be able to export the results to Excel.
>>>
>>>I am familiar with Stonefield Query and SQL Server Reporting Services (I don't think they will be tech savvy enough to use SSRS). Are there any other tools out there that will be easy enough for an end user to use to query a database?
>>
>>Have you tried just using Excel?
>>
>>I have a client who uses Excel extensively for reports from a SQL database.
>>I supply the views and the client does the rest.
>
>One thing I have learned is that the more time a user can spend in Excel, as opposed to other some other mechanism for data exchange, the happier they are. Which I am fine with. Why not have a preference for something they are already familiar with?

Some users are completely fine with Excel, and it can be a great choice.

However, there's a business management issue that sometimes winds up being associated with Excel more than other user tools - and that's user deriving their own stats/numbers that don't exist anywhere else, creating versioning/interpretation/accuracy issues, and leading full circle back to a more centralized approach. Granted, it can happen with any end user tool, but winds up happening more with Excel.