Excel 2010 Can Make Your Reports Better

And More Detailed Than Ever

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Mon 19th July 2010

Reporting has always been an important function of Microsoft Excel. However, the latest edition
of the application has taken this to a whole new level, offering both a greater depth and
accessibility than ever before, and also an unmatched ease in creating the reports.
Tempo-Tech has been growing significantly over the past few years, successfully combining
cutting edge IT and gadgets with a commitment to friendly customer service and welcoming
stores. One significant growth area for the business has been their in-store technical support, and
they've recently moved on from this to providing IT maintenance for businesses at the clients'
own premises. However, management have begun to doubt whether this venture was a wise idea,
or if they should perhaps have continued focusing solely on their core retail enterprise.

The management haven't got where they are today by making rash decisions, though, so they'll
be looking at the situation over a period of time, taking into account the difficulties of
establishing the new arm of the company and looking for signs of reliable growth. It's down to
Jake to come up with these reports, making them as clear, perceptive and impartial as can be.
When the time comes to decide whether to keep the on-site maintenance sideline or to close it
down, management will have expected Jake to provide them with as much evidence as possible.

Jake has long used Microsoft Excel for analysing key business data, and he's considering
whether to step up to Excel 2010. He's unsure whether the new edition can really offer him
something beyond what he's always got from Excel, but some of his more tech-savvy friends
have suggested that 2010's novel PowerPivot technology might offer him just the solution that he
needs.

More and better analysis

Excel has always been able to produce reports. However, PowerPivot technology offers a great
deal more analytical power, which can benefit Jake in a variety of different ways. One of the first
benefits he notices is that PowerPivot can analyse huge amounts of data with ease – millions of
rows can be processed in order to produce the most accurate and thorough results. But even if he
doesn't have quite so much data to transform into compelling reports, he'll still benefit from
being able to introduce data from almost any source. PowerPivot automatically integrates
information from databases, internet feeds and text files, as well as Excel spreadsheet data,
giving Jake the most thorough assessment of the company's position.

Jake can then combine PowerPivot's capacity for bringing data together with Excel's established
reporting tools. He produces a dashboard of key data, both in graphic and numeric form, so that
management have all the data they need at their fingertips. And PowerPivot also plays a role in
creating this dashboard, and making it more effective.

Enhanced sharing

With Excel and PowerPivot working in tandem, a great quantity and variety of data can not only
be used to create the dashboard, but can then be filtered and separated using Excel's slicer
technology. Jake shares his report with those who need to see it through Microsoft SharePoint,
and the reader can then drill down into the data as deeply as they like, by creating slices of
specific data. So, for instance, if Jake provides a display of work requested in the northwestern
region, managers can break this down by different types of work done, or by different clients –
and all at the touch of a button. In this way, Jake isn't just creating what the managers see when
they open the report, but a range of reports providing as much detail as is needed. All this takes
no more time or effort than creating the standard report; PowerPivot provides the extra data that
can be sliced and pulled out at will, and allows management to see the big picture and the finer
details simultaneously.

Running Excel with PowerPivot and SharePoint also allows much greater collaboration, should
Jake need some assistance in bringing the data together. The work can be designated a shared
application, allowing Jake to give anyone he chooses equal access to the piece, wherever they
may be. His work can even be accessed via an ordinary web browser, giving Jake the power to
stay in control at all times, regardless of whether or not he's near his own computer.

The impact of PowerPivot has convinced Jake that Excel 2010 represents a great leap forward
for his work. A short training course will help him fully to get to grips with the power and
versatility of the new software; could it do the same for you? After all, PowerPivot with Excel
2010 can help anyone take control of a range of data – and take control of their business in the
process.