PowerPivot Data Refresh

In this posting we will take a look at the data refresh facility in PowerPivot for SharePoint and show you how to use it for maximum benefit. To start off, let’s begin with a simple question: So . . . what is data refresh? And why should I care? Data refresh is all about keeping your data current. It ensures that your users are making decisions based on the most current and up-to-date information possible. This is done with as little investment of your time as possible. We want to make it easy and straightforward to have your data be as current as it can be. Set it up once and it runs until you tell it to stop.

Example: Suppose you have spent several hours, maybe days, on an important workbook. You have gather data from five sources: three corporate IT databases, a local spreadsheet provided by a colleague with market share information, and finally a local table embedded in a worksheet that you have typed in by-hand. The local table drives a market penetration forecast that is the whole point of the workbook. The business problem at hand is this forecast. And you publish the workbook to your local PowerPivot for SharePoint site --- and all of your fellow team members LOVE IT! Excellent work. Your boss walks in the door and says “Nice work. But we’ve just published this month’s data, can you update the numbers?” Aww, Oh. Now what do you do? Updating the data wasn’t in your original plan.

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