Using a TM1 database as a data-source...

[Johnny]

To anyone and everyone out there:

While I am not at all new at using Cognos products, I am, however, new at using TM1.  TM1, so far from what I have been able to learn, shows itself to be an amazing product, actually, everything which Cognos Transformer as well as Cognos PowerPlay, together, should have been.

All that aside, I have been assigned the task to integrate a TM1 database as a data-source within Cognos BI 8.4.  I am aware that Cognos TM1 suppors the creation of views and that these views may be sliced and exported to MS Excel workbooks which remain active and dynamic, meaning that, if one were to open these MS Excel workbooks, these workbooks will display live and dynamic data, as they would connect directly to the cube from which 'twas created; as well, any changes which may be done to this MS Excel workbook will immediately update the data within the cube to which 'tis linked.

My question to any/all of you out there is whether anyone has been able to use any of these MS Excel workbooks and display them within Cognos BI 8.4+?  I have heard there are portlets out there which can do this but I have searched using Google's search tools and I have been unable to find anything which would allow me to integrate it.

Has anyone run into this and has all-ready solved or is actually in the middle of it and is making any headways along the lines?  I will gladly appreciate any information which would steer me in the direction or point me to an article in which this issue may have all-ready been resolved to help me put this solutions together.


Sincerely,
Johnny.