Was chatting with coworker about self-service.
One aspect we agreed was presently lacking was an ad-hoc ETL environment.
Many analysts are running their personal Data Warehouse via the computer under their desk.
What we propose is setting up a managed server with all the necessary tools specifically for ad hoc purposes. Thus when a new user gets their database account, they also get their managed server credentials.
Basically we enable easier access to a managed yet free ETL environment better facilitating scripted ad hoc analysis.
