The integration between Excel and Python is a significant evolution of the analytical capabilities available in Excel. The real innovation is combining the power of Python with the flexibility of Excel.
With this integration, you can write Python code in Excel cells, create advanced visualizations using libraries like matplotlib and seaborn, and even apply machine learning techniques using libraries like scikit-learn and statsmodels.
Python in Excel will certainly open up a number of new possibilities in a spreadsheet. This will change the way both Python and Excel analysts work. That's how.
Excel is probably the most popular tool for data analysis due to its usability and flexibility.
Excel users don't need to know how to program to clean data or create views and macros. With a couple of formulas and a few clicks, we can manage data and create pivot tables and charts in Excel.
Excel alone was great for performing basic data analysis, but its limitations didn't allow data analysts to perform complex data transformations and create advanced visualizations (let alone apply machine learning techniques). In contrast, programming languages like Python can handle complex calculations.
Now Excel analysts will have to learn Python to future-proof their careers.
But will they adapt?
Well, the programming language closest to most Excel users has been Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but even those who write VBA code don't know defiThey end up being “programmers”. That's why most Excel users consider learning programming as something complex or unnecessary (why learn to program when you can get a pivot table with one click?)
Hopefully Excel analysts adapt. The good news for them is that Python is an easy language to learn. Excel users won't even need to install Python on their computers and download a code editor to start writing Python code. In fact, there is a new PY function in Excel that allows users to write Python code in an Excel cell.
Amazing, isn't it? Now we can write Python code in a cell to get a dataframe and views inside our worksheet.
This is definitely an evolution in Excel's analytical capabilities.
This will benefit both Python and Excel analysts
Now you can use powerful Python libraries like pandas, seaborn, and scikit-learn in an Excel workbook. These libraries will help us perform advanced analytics, create stunning visualizations, and apply machine learning, predictive analytics, and forecasting techniques in Excel.
Excel analysts who don't know how to write Python code will have to make do with Excel pivot tables, formulas, and charts, but those who adapt will take their analytical skills to the next level.
Here are some examples of what data analysis with Python will look like in Excel.
With Python in Excel, we will be able to use regular expressions (regex) to locate specific strings or text patterns in cells. In the following example, a regex is used to extract dates from text.
Advanced visualizations like heat maps, violin maps, and swarm plots are now possible in Excel with Seaborn. Here's the typical couple plot we would create with Seaborn, but now displayed in an Excel worksheet.
Last but not least, you can now use machine learning models like DecisionTreeClassifier in an Excel worksheet and fit the model using pandas dataframes.
Python in Excel will bridge the gap between Python and Excel analysts
The days when Python and Excel analysts had trouble working together will be over when Python in Excel becomes available to all users.
Excel analysts will need to adapt to these new changes to not only have Python as a new skill on their resume, but to future-proof their careers. Learning VBA won't be as relevant to Excel analysts as learning Python libraries like Pandas and Numpy.
Python calculations will run in the Microsoft Cloud, so even analysts using resource-limited computers will experience faster processing for complex calculations.
On the other hand, Python analysts will be able to collaborate more easily with Excel analysts, bridging the gap between them.
Python in Excel will definitely change the way Python and Excel analysts approach data analysis in the future. After Microsoft's announcement, the number of Excel analysts who will start learning Python will grow.
Python in Excel is currently available to users running Beta Channel on Windows. To access it you must join the Microsoft 365 Insider program. For more information read here.
Ercole Palmeri
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