You can directly run SQL queries on a database from Excel. The traditional method was to create a Macro and write a long Visual Basic code by using ADO connection to get connected with the source.

Not surprisingly, Microsoft itself uses this to provide Big Data services right within Excel – Excel is one of the primary clients to enable big data analytics on Microsoft platforms.

Data comes from all kinds of sources and Microsoft Power Query can you when you need to combine foreign data. It’s a bit easier than trying to do so in Microsoft Excel sometimes.

Master advanced filtering techniques in Excel & Power Query to transform data, extract insights, and streamline your analysis process.

This month’s column shows how to clean and join data using Excel’s Power Query.