Week 5 - BALT 4361 - Spreadsheets and BI Platforms

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Without analysis, data is not very useful to anyone. How can we analyze data accurately and efficiently? That is where spreadsheet platforms like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel come in. On the basic level, they make organizing information, lists, and performing quick calculations easy and efficient, saving time compared to manual work. I keep track of my workouts in Excel, and I can see if I am progressing the way I want to. For people who have more experience with spreadsheets, features like charts, pivot tables, and conditional formatting allow for deeper insights and better ideas of trends and patterns. I would say this is the level I am at right now. I use these features for work all the time and do a decent job of making the data easy to understand. 

At more advanced levels, both platforms offer powerful functions, complex formulas, automation with macros or scripts, and integration with other systems, making them great for financial modeling, project management, and analytical decision-making. Whether someone is tracking personal expenses, managing a team project, or analyzing large datasets, Excel and Sheets provide solutions that can be as simple or as sophisticated as the user needs.

While I have used the Business Intelligence (BI) platform Tableau before, it was for a school project, and I did not utilize many of its capabilities. I used it for data visualization purposes, and it has many features that spreadsheets do not. Spreadsheets require more manual input and formulas to keep track of, while Tableau can provide insights in a way that is visually engaging. Sometimes spreadsheets can be overwhelming to look at, or the numbers you are trying to present are hard to find. Tableau does a much better job with data visualization. 

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