Leverage the capabilities of the Microsoft Excel PowerPivot add-on to create advanced BI solutions

Overview

• Learn how to create advanced BI solutions quickly and efficiently using easy-to-follow, step-by-step examples
• Understand the key principles of PowerPivot with the help of real-time examples
• Discover more about some interesting DAX functions with examples of how they work

In Detail

Business intelligence technology gives an organization the power to make decisions using large volumes of data. By obtaining an adequate amount of data and integrating data from a variety of sources, a user can get a comprehensive knowledge of their business and business strategies. PowerPivot is a free add-in to the 2010 version of the spreadsheet application MS Excel. It extends the capabilities of the PivotTable data summarization and cross-tabulation feature with new features such as expanded data capacity, advanced calculations, the ability to import data from multiple sources, and the ability to publish workbooks as interactive web applications.

PowerPivot for Advanced Reporting and Dashboards will teach you the fundamentals of PowerPivot as well as how to use the different data types available. This book also discusses useful tips and tricks for handling and resolving errors that might pop up while creating your report. With this book, you will be able to create relevant BI reports quickly and efficiently.

Moving on from the basics, this book will explain the types of data sources that can be imported into PowerPivot. You will then delve into relationships, hierarchies, and data model creation using imported data. You will also learn how to employ DAX functions to transform unstructured data into structured data. Finally, this book will teach you how to create reports such as Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts, Slicers, KPIs, and Perspective reports using PowerPivot and how to publish them using the SharePoint server.

What you will learn from this book

• Install PowerPivot and discover how to use it
• Learn about the data memory constraints for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions
• Explore the list of data sources that can be imported into PowerPivot workbooks
• Understand the purpose of importing data
• Publish reports using the SharePoint server
• Learn about the data refresh method based on the data source

Approach

A step-by-step tutorial with focused examples that builds progressively from basic to advanced topics and helps you create business intelligence reports and dashboards quickly and efficiently using the PowerPivot add-in.

Who this book is written for

This book is ideal for data analysts, reporting and MIS professionals, business analysts, managers, dashboard makers, business intelligence professionals, self-service business intelligence personnel, and students. It is assumed that you have basic data analysis skills and intermediate level Excel skills. Familiarity with Pivot Tables as well as basic knowledge of VBA scripting and SharePoint will be useful but not necessary.