The following related posts (Part 2 – 4) will build on the file we create here. This first post will cover getting started in Power Query. I will include sample data, discuss key concepts, and how we now leverage both in our business today. In this blog series I will share some of the key milestones in my journey that led me from Excel to Power BI. I consider myself an Excel diehard, but since Power BI essentially mirrored the same DAX functional language and use of Power Query, I gave it a shot and haven’t looked back! Although it shared similar technology with Power Pivot, it was a completely different visual approach to sharing insights. Just two years later (2015), Power BI emerged as a completely new business tool. Power Pivot and Power Query in Excel, has proven to be a great enhancement in Excel.
Matt was talking about the early beginnings of Power Pivot in Excel (2013), and how it brought the Excel user with a “good mix of business skills and technical understanding” a new way to share insights. The other night I listened to the Lars Schriber podcast with Matt Allington from Excelerator BI.