MS Excel — Getting Started With Data Analytics
“KISS” — Keep It Simple…And Build From There!
Introduction
I speak at conferences and conduct training on using MS Excel.
I frequently hear that “Excel is not a true data analytics tool…”, “there are other software applications that are so much better…”, “I want to learn, but I don’t have a data set to work with”.
Each of those statements is true. BUT, they usually are stated by someone that has not developed their Excel skills beyond the basic level, or their organization utilizes some of the more advanced tools, such as Tableau or Qlik (some do, many don’t).
Since I encounter this so frequently, I decided to post this. Why? Because going forward, it will save me the effort of providing my usual observations!
Here’s What Others Say…
“Although there are more sophisticated softwares, I consider Excel very profitable for companies, especially SMEs which do not have a strong economic capacity to afford more sophisticated software, although we know that there are softwares with a public licenses, for example, R. there are a lot of ignorance in the use of the tool. This is also one of Excel’s gifts, most people know Excel. Basically any company has Microsoft.”
“ This means that it does not depend on software to be considered a data scientist, the important thing is to apply statistics to large amounts of data to find inferences between variables and Excel allows it. Then, I think that a data scientist can be using Excel, in fact, I would dare to say that all data scientists started in Excel.”
To me, two key points are made in the above article:
Everyone “knows” Excel at a basic level. Virtually every company has Microsoft Excel.
- Right in front of you, on your computer today, is a tool that is the foundation to start building your data analytics skillset.
Most professionals that develop skills in data analytics / data science likely started in Excel. It is typically the first tool we are exposed to to manage data and develop reporting and insight from the data.
Gartner’s Magic Quandrant 2018 Business Intelligence Ratings
PowerBI, which is Microsoft’s business intelligence offering, is rated very high as a competitive offering. Microsoft Excel tools — including Power Query, Power Pivot, etc. and the related skill set — serve as the launch pad into strong PowerBI skills.
“ As we forecasted earlier this month, Tableau and Microsoft continue to dominate the marketplace, offering unmatched portfolios that cover the “two modes” that Gartner talks about in the report. Tableau offers perhaps the best set of data viz capabilities in the marketplace, and Microsoft’s Power BI features an expansive set of deployment methods and feature capabilities for virtually every use case. Qlik rounds out the leaders in this iteration, with strong pursuit of market supremacy for the embedded use case.”
Professionally, You Will Benefit The Most Broadly from Strong Excel Skills
Solid MS Excel skills are simply expected in the workplace.
Any professional position that requires working with data will likely make reference to “proficient Microsoft Excel skills”. Although “proficient” has varying degrees of perceived skill level, the fact is you will be well positioned if you have demonstrated a high level of understanding and application of Excel capabilities.
A recent job description for a VP, Data and Analytics posted by VaynerMedia highlighted the following skill need:
Working knowledge of basic analytic tools, with intermediate/advanced experience in Excel.
Obviously, this position requires much more than Excel skills. Nevertheless, the foundation of excellent Excel skills is expected.
Conclusion
A lot has been written recently about the need for MS Excel to “go away” (just search Google to check it out).
At least for the forseeable future, that is not going to happen.
Sharpen your Excel skills and build a foundation of knowledge of data analytics. It will serve you well!
