Microsoft Query (Excel - External Data Query)
The Microsoft Query ships with Microsoft Office and integrates into Microsoft Excel (and Word) to provide access to external data sources. This tool provides wizards to configure connect and download data from any MDAC compatible data source.

The MSQuery wizard allows you to download data in a number of ways:

· Raw data from database tables
· Raw data from a previously saved/defined SQL Query
· Structured data from previously created an OLAP data cube
· A customised SQL Query.

Once defined and embedded with in an Excel spreadsheet, the query object provides the ability to update data from the data source by using the 'Refresh Data' option to re-execute the query.

When imported into Excel, the data can be manipulated (sorted, graphed, referenced, etc) using standard Microsoft Excel methods and techniques.

Microsoft Access - External Tables
A Microsoft Access database has the ability to define external table connections. Rather than storing data within the Access database, pseudo table objects that refer to external data, are defined. The linked tables are then referred to in the same way as internal tables. Using these linked tables, you can create queries, reports and forms using the standard Microsoft Access tools.

In addition to referring to data via linked tables, Microsoft Access provides the ability to write Pass-through queries. A pass-through query is one where the query is executed completely on the server with the data only being returned. Standard Access queries perform client side parsing of the SQL statements with the additional overhead of filtering and sorting of data. The pass-through query is particularly useful for complex and server specific SQL statements (which are otherwise not available via MDAC/ODBC connections).

Microsoft Analysis Services (OLAP)
Microsoft Analysis Services is a middle-tier server for online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining. The Analysis Services system includes a server that manages multidimensional cubes of data for analysis and provides rapid client access to cube information. Analysis Services organizes data from a data warehouse into cubes with precalculated aggregation data to provide rapid answers to complex analytical queries.

Analysis Services also allows you to create data mining models from both multidimensional (OLAP) and relational data sources. You can apply data mining models to both types of data. PivotTable Service, the included OLE DB compliant provider, is used by Microsoft Excel and applications from other vendors to retrieve data from the server and present it to the user, or create local data cubes for offline analysis.

Generic ODBC
The Medipath Analysis database is currently deployed using Microsoft SQL Server. Given an appropriate ODBC driver for SQL Server and the necessary security clearances, the database can be accessed by any ODBC aware application.