When I explore the requirement “Export to Excel” more with end-users, the use-cases can be boiled down to two main categories, probably split 50/50: tactical operational and / or ad hoc reporting needs. Typically the Excel work-around is due to technical debt, and while perfectly solving for it is likely not feasible, there are ways to mitigate and minimize.

As a data professional, a necessary skill is Data Archaeology (Archeology). This requires persistence, detective skills, and technical reverse-engineering techniques.