PowerPivot for the Data Analyst: Microsoft Excel 2010

by Bill Jelen

ANALYZE HUGE AMOUNTS OF BUSINESS DATA FASTER, MORE EASILY, AND MORE ACCURATELY! Use Microsoft’s free PowerPivot add-in for Excel 2010 to analyze immense amounts of data from any source, perform state-of-the-art business analysis far more easily, and make better decisions in less time! Simple, step-by-step instructions walk you through installing PowerPivot, importing data, using PivotTables with PowerPivot, using super-powerful DAX functions and measures, reporting to print or SharePoint, and a whole lot more. Whatever your Excel data analysis experience, this book will help you use PowerPivot to get the right answers, right now—without IT’s help! • Import and integrate data from spreadsheets, SQL Server, Access, Oracle, text files, Atom data feeds, and other sources • Analyze multiple tables together, without complicated VLOOKUPs • Format, sort, and filter data in the PowerPivot window • Add calculated columns using new DAX functions • Create powerful reports from PowerPivot data–and format them so executives instantly get your point • Discover PivotTable tricks that work even better in PowerPivot • Control multiple PivotTable elements on one worksheet, with one set of Excel 2010 Slicers • Use DAX Measures to quickly perform tasks that were difficult or impossible with Calculated Fields • Compare today’s sales to yesterday’s–or to sales from the parallel period last fiscal year. • Use Named Sets to prepare asymmetric reports, show actuals for past months and plan for future months. About MrExcel Every book in the MrExcel Library pinpoints a specific set of crucial Excel tasks and presents focused skills and examples for performing them rapidly and effectively. Selected by Bill Jelen, Microsoft Excel MVP and mastermind behind the leading Excel solutions website MrExcel.com, these books will • Dramatically increase your productivity–saving you 50 hours a year, or more • Present proven, creative strategies for solving real-world problems • Show you how to get great results, no matter how much data you have • Help you avoid critical mistakes that even experienced users make

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Bill Jelen is the host of MrExcel.com and the author of 50 books about Microsoft Excel including Pivot Table Data Crunching, Excel Gurus Gone Wild, and Guerrilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel. He writes monthly Excel columns for Strategic Finance magazine.
He has been awarded the MVP in Excel for 10 years by Microsoft.
He has made over 60 guest appearances on TV’s Call for Help with Leo Laporte and was voted guest of the year on the Computer America radio show.
His has produced over 2000 episodes of his daily video podcast Learn Excel from MrExcel.
Before founding MrExcel.com in 1998, Jelen spent twelve years “in the trenches”, as a financial
analyst for the accounting, finance, marketing, and operations departments of a publicly held company. Since then, his company automates Excel reports for hundreds of clients around the world. The website answers over 30,000 questions a year – for free – for
readers all over the world.

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

PowerPivot is an add-in for Excel. This program within a program is not really aimed at the average person, it is meant for high end analysis. Basically, if your data analysis involves millions of entries and requires that you compare several complex data sets, then PowerPivot might be for you. Otherwise, you might do better sticking with Excel.

With that said, the dashboard layouts by PowerPivot look fabulous. They look more like website layouts and less like Excel spreadsheets. Plus, they are fully interactive.

PowerPivot For the Data Analyst: Microsoft Excel 2010 recognizes the potential of PowerPivot while keeping a tight grip on the limitations and inherent problems. In this way, the author provides a more realistic view of using PowerPivot while giving plenty of tips about how to get what you need from your data.

[Mark Polino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. PowerPivot is a free Excel add on from Microsoft that allows for analyzing millions of rows in Excel using PivotTables. Bill Jelen does a terrific job of teasing out the good, the bad and the quirky in PowerPivot. The book isn't perfect, it could use a better cover and one more round with an old style, sharp eyed editor but I found that I didn't care. What this book did extremely well was strike the balance between new and experienced user. There is something in here for everyone who has to analyze data in Excel. i found myself want to loan this book to people who I know are starting to use PowerPivot, the I would selfishly worry that I wouldn't get it back. I don't give 5 stars lightly but PowerPivot for the Data Analyst deserves them, warts and all.

[Robert Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! The one and only book on PowerPivot you need to read in order to get up and running.

[Bill Jelen]

Get up the learning curve with Power Pivot