Renowned DAX experts Alberto Ferrari and Marco Russo teach you how to design data models for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. How can you use Excel and Power BI to gain real insights into your information? As you examine your data, how do you write a formula that provides the numbers you need? The answers to both of these questions lie with the data model. This book introduces the basic techniques for shaping data models in Excel and Power BI. It’s meant for readers who are new to data modeling as well as for experienced data modelers looking for tips from the experts. If you want to use Power BI or Excel to analyze data, the many real-world examples in this book will help you look at your reports in a different way–like experienced data modelers do. As you’ll soon see, with the right data model, the correct answer is always a simple one! By reading this book, you will: • Gain an understanding of the basics of data modeling, including tables, relationships, and keys • Familiarize yourself with star schemas, snowflakes, and common modeling techniques • Learn the importance of granularity • Discover how to use multiple fact tables, like sales and purchases, in a complex data model • Manage calendar-related calculations by using date tables • Track historical attributes, like previous addresses of customers or manager assignments • Use snapshots to compute quantity on hand • Work with multiple currencies in the most efficient way • Analyze events that have durations, including overlapping durations • Learn what data model you need to answer your specific business questions About This Book • For Excel and Power BI users who want to exploit the full power of their favorite tools • For BI professionals seeking new ideas for modeling data

Microsoft PowerPivot for Excel 2010: Give Your Data Meaning introduces PowerPivot in Excel 2010 to power users and data analysts who want to give their data meaning by creating their own Business Intelligence models. And with Microsoft Excel 2010: Data Analysis and Business Modeling, you'll learn the best ways to use Office Excel 2010 for data analysis and business modeling. Award-winning professor and statistician Wayne Winston shares practical examples to help you transform data into bottom-line results. Web site includes practice files. The two books included in this kit are: 9780735640580 Microsoft PowerPivot for Excel 2010 9780735643369 Microsoft Office Excel 2007: Data Analysis and Business Modeling, 3E

Discusses the use of Microsoft's free PowerPivot add-in to analyse data in Excel 2010. Describes how to import and integrate data; analyse multiple tables together; format, sort and filter data; add calculated columns using Data Analysis Expression (DAX) functions; and create and format PowerPivot reports.

Analyze company data quickly and easily using Microsoft’s powerful data tools. Learn to build scalable and robust data models, clean and combine different data sources effectively, and create compelling and professional visuals. Beginning Power BI is a hands-on, activity-based guide that takes you through the process of analyzing your data using the tools that that encompass the core of Microsoft’s self-service BI offering. Starting with Power Query, you will learn how to get data from a variety of sources, and see just how easy it is to clean and shape the data prior to importing it into a data model. Using Power BI tabular and the Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), you will learn to create robust scalable data models which will serve as the foundation of your data analysis. From there you will enter the world of compelling interactive visualizations to analyze and gain insight into your data. You will wrap up your Power BI journey by learning how to package and share your reports and dashboards with your colleagues. Author Dan Clark takes you through each topic using step-by-step activities and plenty of screen shots to help familiarize you with the tools. This third edition covers the new and evolving features in the Power BI platform and new chapters on data flows and composite models. This book is your hands-on guide to quick, reliable, and valuable data insight. What You Will Learn Simplify data discovery, association, and cleansingBuild solid analytical data models Create robust interactive data presentations Combine analytical and geographic data in map-based visualizations Publish and share dashboards and reports Who This Book Is For Business analysts, database administrators, developers, and other professionals looking to better understand and communicate with data

Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Microsoft Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. Award-winning educator Wayne Winston's hands-on, scenario-focused guide helps you use today's Excel to ask the right questions and get accurate, actionable answers. More extensively updated than any previous edition, new coverage ranges from one-click data analysis to STOCKHISTORY, dynamic arrays to Power Query, and includes six new chapters. Practice with over 900 problems, many based on real challenges faced by working analysts. Solve real problems with Microsoft Excel—and build your competitive advantage Quickly transition from Excel basics to sophisticated analytics Use recent Power Query enhancements to connect, combine, and transform data sources more effectively Use the LAMBDA and LAMBDA helper functions to create Custom Functions without VBA Use New Data Types to import data including stock prices, weather, information on geographic areas, universities, movies, and music Build more sophisticated and compelling charts Use the new XLOOKUP function to revolutionize your lookup formulas Master new Dynamic Array formulas that allow you to sort and filter data with formulas and find all UNIQUE entries Illuminate insights from geographic and temporal data with 3D Maps Improve decision-making with probability, Bayes' theorem, and Monte Carlo simulation and scenarios Use Excel trend curves, multiple regression, and exponential smoothing for predictive analytics Use Data Model and Power Pivot to effectively build and use relational data sources inside an Excel workbook

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 Powe.

Reveal the insights behind your company’s data with Microsoft Power BI Microsoft Power BI allows intuitive access to data that can power intelligent business decisions and insightful strategies. The question is, do you have the Power BI skills to make your organization’s numbers spill their secrets? In Microsoft Power BI For Dummies, expert lecturer, consultant, and author Jack Hyman delivers a start-to-finish guide to applying the Power BI platform to your own firm’s data. You’ll discover how to start exploring your data sources, build data models, visualize your results, and create compelling reports that motivate decisive action. Tackle the basics of Microsoft Power BI and, when you’re done with that, move on to advanced functions like accessing data with DAX and app integrations Guide your organization’s direction and decisions with rock-solid conclusions based on real-world data Impress your bosses and confidently lead your direct reports with exciting insights drawn from Power BI’s useful visualization tools It’s one thing for your company to have data at its disposal. It’s another thing entirely to know what to do with it. Microsoft Power BI For Dummies is the straightforward blueprint you need to apply one of the most powerful business intelligence tools on the market to your firm’s existing data.