We use IBM Cognos Connection. I'm not entirely sure how it works. But we login on the web and run queries off it.
I am aware that Excel can use ODBC to directly import data from a database into the spreadsheet.
What I am unsure of is that - is IBM Cognos Connection a database? or just a reporting tool? I would like to get the data directly into excel, instead of running reports online. Is this possible, if so how?
IBM Cognos is a Bi tool it is sophisticated than a regular reporting tool. It is not a database rather it needs one to work with.
IBM Cognos comes with a tool called report studio where you can assemble the data sources and perform manipulations to view a neat report with a chart or a table.
You can however replace using Cognos with an Excel, provided you understand all the logic that has gone into stitching the report in Cognos. You will need to write all those logics in SQL to get the report in excel.