Many companies that decide to implement Power BI for data analysis are sooner or later confronted with the argument that “we don’t need Power BI because we can evaluate everything in Excel”. In reality, Excel offers a lot of possibilities to evaluate data, and in some cases, this may be sufficient. However, when it comes to comparing spreadsheets, reports or data files, Microsoft Power BI is a considerably more powerful tool than Excel. It is easier and more intuitive to use than Excel.
We compared the two tools below to help users decide whether Power BI is right for them. Have a look.
1. The Amount Of Data To Process
Power BI can process large amounts of data that cannot be opened in Excel on a standard computer. You can create analyses and reports from large files and use different data sources in one statement without splitting the files into several similar ones. Power BI also makes it easy to add new data and create relationships between files.
2. Connecting To The Cloud
Power BI provides access to local data and cloud services. The small selection of possible data sources includes Excel, Sharepoint, Azure, Salesforce, Google Analytics, GitHub, etc. Excel cannot provide such a wide range of functionality.
3. Publishing & Sharing
If you want to share a chart created in Excel, you can send it by email or save it to a network drive or SharePoint. With Power BI, you can upload a report to the cloud with a single click, and users can access the updated information.
4. Predictive Forecasting
Predictive forecasting in Power BI uses built-in forecasting models to automatically identify data phases and automatically generate forecasts for the future. It analyzes data and selects the best analyzing algorithm. This forecasting tool allows Power BI users to apply artificial intelligence to their data.
5. Intuitive Usability
Creating charts in Excel can be time-consuming, especially if they need to be customized. In Power BI, you can create and enhance reports with drag-and-drop functionality. Filtering a simple data set can be done quickly with a single click.
6. Security
Some security features can be built in Excel, but they are not as user-friendly or comprehensive as in Power BI. For example, the row-level security (RLS) feature allows users to see only the data they need. Likewise, you can publish reports to specific work spaces so that only users belonging to that workspace can access them.
7. Scheduled Data Update
Power BI (Premium) makes it easy to update your data daily or even hourly. Users benefit from faster and more reliable data updates, which reduces resource consumption.
8. Mobile View
Have you ever opened an Excel file on your smartphone and been confused by the appearance? That’s because Excel is not designed to be viewed on mobile devices. Instead, Power BI offers iOS, Android, and Windows mobile apps that provide easy access to reports and dashboards.
9. Interactive Dashboard
Another great benefit is that clicking on any part of a report or dashboard will automatically filter the entire report to include all the data and metrics for that product group. This gives you quick access to more detailed information on a specific part of the report or dashboard.
Conclusion
The comparison shows that Power BI has a significant advantage over Excel. Has Excel become unusable with the introduction of Power BI? Not at all. Excel still offers many valuable, multipurpose features and is one of the most comprehensive programs in the Office family.
Excel is an early Microsoft product, while Power BI was released a few years earlier. I think 95% of Windows users have used Excel at some time. Excel is a well-known product. Power BI is a Microsoft product for data analysis and visualization. Excel and Power BI are almost 80% identical in development time.
Power BI allows the entire data model to be transferred from an Excel report to the Power BI dashboard with a single click. Power BI and Excel have advantages and disadvantages regarding data visualization. Power BI’s benefits lie in its web and visualization features, while Microsoft Excel is for data analysis, mining, and pivot tables.
The best thing about this comparison is that you don’t have to choose one. Excel and Power BI work very well together, mainly if you use Excel for data processing and Power BI for presentations and sharing.
As an Excel user, I’m certainly a fan of all its capabilities, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use Power BI to create my reports and dashboards if needed.
So, if you need to access multiple data sources, if you need to manage large amounts of data, if you want reports to be available only to specific users, and if you are interested in attractive dashboards, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We will work with you to develop a concept that meets your needs.
