I've got to keep 200 DB servers up and running with typical specs of 16 CPU 24GB RAM replicating across 3 sites.

Even at my most cynical (and I can be more cynical than most) I wouldn't describe my job as facilitating Excel.

I agree that Analysis Services should be utilised more. If anyone knows how to integrate cubes with reporting services I would be very interested.

The problem with ad-hoc queries is do you dare let someone run an ad-hoc query on a multi terrabyte database albeit a reporting server. Great fun fielding angry customers complaints that they can't generate their reports because someone ran a query with a dodgy join and non-existent of crazy WHERE clause in it. The last time I saw a reference to that much OR was in King Solomons Mines.