Excel vs Power BI

Both power BI and excel belong to Microsoft and are both used for data processing and analysis. 


Excel, which is part of Office 365, is a program known by everyone in today's online world. Excel has the layout of a spreadsheet that puts data into rows and columns and also can perform calculations and mathematical formulas easily. Similar to power BI it's also used to convert data sets into visual information. 


Power BI is a set of online tools, software services and business intelligence applications to do with business. It's a platform with more specific objectives compared to excel. Although it can be used in other sectors. An advantage of power BI is it's capable to connect with a large number of data sources. Such as excel spreadsheets, databases, cloud services, files in different formats, big data tools, and web applications etc. 


Excel strengths and weaknesses


Strengths:


Quick calculations - Allows you to make calculations, operations and create formulas in your data fast and easily. 


Multifunctional - It can be used for a range of issues and allows you to work with your data on a range of ways without having to switch applications. (More diversified than power BI).


Tables - Excel has more advanced functions compared to Power BI.


Weaknesses: 


  • Collaborative work is more difficult 
  • Limited amount of data


Power BI: Strengths and weaknesses


Strengths:


Superior connectivity - More complete then excel when it comes to connectivity. Can access and extract data from any system or application. 


Collaborative work - Files can be published and multiple people can work on them at the same time. 


Automatic update - Updates the data automatically. (Not possible in excel).


Designed for the big data - Can handle large amounts of data. 


Ideal for dashboards and KPIs - Provides you with a blank canvas and a variety of visuals that can be fixed so you can create your own custom dashboards and reports. 


Alerts - Has options to schedule alers that can notify you via email when your metrics either increase or decrease.


Better visuals - Are much more impactful than Excels and can connnect to data models and analyze data visually. 


Weakness:


  • Not for tabular reports


If you are not sure where to start and need help, get in touch today!


Get in Touch

Excel data cleansing techniques
By Benedict Wallis November 16, 2023
Excel data cleansing techniques
Why Your Business Needs Excel Now More Than Ever
By Benedict Wallis November 14, 2023
Benefits of Excel for businesses
Power BI Training
By Benedict Wallis November 10, 2023
Power BI training guide
Mastering Small Business Finance:
By Benedict Wallis November 7, 2023
Creating the Ultimate Finance Tracker
Excel Data Analysis
By Benedict Wallis November 3, 2023
Data analysis trends in Excel
Power BI Publishing
By Benedict Wallis November 1, 2023
Power BI collaboration and publishing guide
Master Excel Charts
By Benedict Wallis October 26, 2023
Advanced Excel charting techniques
Excel Tips
By Benedict Wallis October 24, 2023
Excel's lesser-known tips
Power BI Performance
By Benedict Wallis October 19, 2023
Power BI performance optimisation
Excel Data Visualisation
By Benedict Wallis October 17, 2023
This is a subtitle for your new post
More Posts
Share by: