Excel and Power BI are two of the most used Microsoft tools in business. Although both are useful for processing data, they have different purposes. Here's how to transform an Excel file into a Power BI report in only 6 steps.
More and more companies are looking for professional profiles with expertise in data processing and data analytics. Nowadays, pretty much all companies need qualified professionals that help them transform data into information that supports data-driven decisions. Thus, business intelligence, data analytics and data visualization tools have become essential.
Microsoft is currently leading the BI and analytics tools market thanks to Power BI, the most comprehensive and strategically insightful business intelligence platform on the market, according to Gartner. However, Excel is undoubtedly Microsoft's most used data processing tool and probably one of the most tools in general.
In this blog we have already explored the differences between both tools, providing a complete comparison between Excel and Power BI and their functionalities. As we concluded in that article, it is not accurate to say that one tool is better than the other, as they serve different purposes.
Excel is probably one of Microsoft's best tools as well as one of the most used. However, Excel has a generalist approach and is made for working individually. Excel spreadsheets are focused on statistical analysis and are ideal for creating tabular reports.
Power BI, on the other hand, is a business-focused platform designed exclusively for enterprise use. Power BI was conceived for companies to generate business insights from data, as well as to transform data files into stories that promote decision making. Stories are built through reports and dashboards that lead to conclusions for the definition of better strategies. Power BI encourages collaborative work and allows multiple users to work on multiple reports using the same data set at the same time. Power BI is the ideal business intelligence platform.
Ultimately, Power BI and Excel serve different purposes.
Power BI allows companies to transform data into complete stories through customizable reports and dashboards that contain visual objects and interactive, navigable charts. Excel, on the other hand, presents data in tabular format, and while we can create charts in Excel, the process is much more complex than in Power BI.
In short, Excel is for individual statistical analysis. Power BI is for data visualization and business intelligence generation at the enterprise level.
We can use Excel files to create a report in Power BI, but we can also import data in many other formats.
Transforming an Excel file into a Power BI report is not too complex. However, in order to learn how to do it, it is necessary to follow the correct steps to avoid getting lost in the process. For this reason, we have created a specific guide with the 6 steps you must follow to transform your Excel file into a Power BI report, where you will find a detailed description of the steps to follow.
You can download the guide below for free.
There is a good reason why Power BI is the leader of the business intelligence market. Its business perspective and its analysis and visualization possibilities, in addition its collaborative environment, make of it an essential tool for monitoring business activity.
At Bismart, as a preferred Microsoft Power BI partner, we use Power BI's suite of services for the design and development of our business solutions.
Some of Power BI's most valued capabilities are:
👉Learn how to increase the security of your Power BI environment by implementing data governance policies to Power BI.
Now it's your turn! Transform your Excel file into a Power BI report in 6 steps: