Excel has been declared to be dying more times than can be counted, but there has to be something that has kept it surviving and relevant for all this time, even in the presence of tools like power bi and python, but I guess it is fair to ask Is excel still relevant?
My short answer, Yes.
INTRODUCTION
Excel is where most people begin to make sense of data, maybe the approachable simplicity? Where you start typing and instant results. We could say that the immediate feedback builds an intuition about how data behaves. This is where core logic lies behind all the data work: filtering, aggregating, and visualizing even in tools like Power BI.
Hidden power of excel
With features like power query, power pivot and DAX it could be considered a mini data engine. You can clean,model and analyze millions of rows of data, all without writing a single line of code. Like how you build a pivot table, like the data modelling power BI does behind the scenes. Like the old question of what came first? egg or chicken, here we could ask what birthed what, was power BI born out of Excel's "power" tools only difference being the presentation. Think of Excel as a full analytical platform hiding in plain sight.
AH Then Python
Python brings scalability, automation, and sophistication. You can build predictive models, automate cleaning, or analyze millions of rows in seconds. It’s a data powerhouse but not everyone wants to code just to find out their best-selling product.
That’s where Excel still shines. It’s immediate. You open it, drag a few fields, apply a filter, and the insight appears. No dependencies.
Sweet Spot
each tool has its place:
-Excel for flexibility, reporting, and hands-on exploration.
-Power BI for interactive dashboards and storytelling.
-Python for automation, advanced analytics, and data science.
The trick is know how to move between them. You might clean data in Excel, publish visuals in Power BI, and automate analysis with Python. Together, they form a complete ecosystem.
So is Excel still relevant?
Absolutely. Excel is a gateway to data literacy. It's where business users become analysts and analysts become data scientists. It is intuitive, immediate, and endlessly adaptable.
Power BI may tell the story beautifully.
Python may do the heavy lifting.
But Excel? Excel teaches you how to think with data.
And I think that is where the relevance lies.
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