Written by Annette Wilson –Shackleton Technologies
Microsoft’s Power Apps and the wider Power Platform are gaining a lot of attention, and for good reason. They help streamline everyday tasks, reduce manual work, and make it easier for organisations to innovate quickly. But here’s the thing: even though these tools are designed to be user‑friendly, you can’t just jump in and expect magic to happen. A little bit of foundation makes all the difference.
Think of it like learning golf. The fun part is heading out onto the course, choosing the right clubs, and lining up those satisfying shots, but none of that matters if you haven’t mastered the basics. Grip, stance, posture, swing… they all come first. And honestly, if you’re anything like me, even after all the practice in the world, you’ll still have those days when the ball refuses to go where you meant to send it! It’s the same with Excel and Power BI. When you understand the fundamentals, everything becomes smoother, easier, and far more enjoyable. Most modern training guidance highlights this too: strong analytical and data‑handling skills form the core of successful Power Platform use.
Imagine this: you’ve decided you want to play in a PGA or LIV tournament (no bias from me!) with the world’s top golfers. You’re buzzing with motivation, but if you don’t yet know how to swing properly, read a green, or judge distance, you’re going to struggle out there. It’s not that you can’t learn… you just need to start with those basics.
And that’s exactly how data analysis works.
Excel and Power BI are your main tools. If you skip learning Excel properly, you’ll quickly feel lost when preparing, cleaning, or analysing your data. Power BI is incredible for insights, but it absolutely depends on well‑prepared data. This is something nearly every Power BI guide, course, and expert agrees on: good data in, good results out.
Think of Excel as your driving range. It’s the space where you practice, make mistakes, learn new techniques, and start building confidence.
Excel is still the world’s most widely used analysis tool, and for good reason. It’s where you clean messy data, test ideas, spot patterns, and get familiar with what your numbers are really telling you. Whether it’s formulas, PivotTables, lookups, structured tables, or even simple data visualisation, these are the skills that make everything else easier.
Skipping this part? That’s like entering a tournament after only a week of golf practice. You might hit a good shot or two, but you won’t be playing consistently or confidently.
If Excel is where you practice, Power BI is the main course, the big event.
This is where your refined skills come together so you can work with more complex data, build interactive dashboards, and uncover insights that genuinely guide decisions. But Power BI has one key requirement: it needs clean, well‑structured data to shine.
When your data isn’t organised or prepared properly, you’ll see issues like slow reports, strange results, or visuals that don’t quite make sense. And that’s where your Excel foundations become your superpower.
Power BI builds on concepts like:
Just like a golfer relies on solid fundamentals to stay out of the rough, you’ll rely on your Excel knowledge to make sure your Power BI work is smooth, accurate, and impressive.
Here’s how Excel and Power BI typically fit together in a simple, real‑world workflow:
This flow is considered best practice across most training providers, and it really reinforces the point: Excel and Power BI aren’t competitors, they’re partners.
Just like a golfer can’t compete at a professional level without solid basics, a data analyst can’t get the best out of Power BI without strong Excel foundations. The time you spend learning Excel pays off massively when you move into dashboards, modelling, and automation.
Building your foundational skills isn’t just a step, it’s the step that sets you up for long‑term success.
If you’d like support with your Excel or Power BI journey, why not reach out to see how we can help: M365academy@shacktech.co.uk
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Knowing the basics – with Shackleton Technologies
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