Accelerate Decision-Making with Excel & Excel Add-Ons

The quickest decisions determine which organization gets out on top of the competition, capitalizing on trends, adapting to changing scenarios, and even initiating fixes for areas of concern. However, these decisions must be informed by extensive and accurate data analysis. The movement towards cloud-based ERP systems like Oracle Fusion Cloud has helped facilitate real-time reporting for voluminous datasets. Tools like Microsoft Excel continue to be the first choice for enterprises to aid with ad-hoc reporting and streamlining data. However, as businesses deal with increasingly complex datasets and demand more sophisticated analytics, the need for specialized add-ons has grown. AirQuery’s SQLEdge, XLEdge, and GLSense are good examples of Excel add-ons for decision-making. They help with data integration, management, and processing, generating accurate reports faster and enhancing decision-making across the board. Let’s take a closer look at how these tools aid in propelling enterprises forward.

Why Does Excel Continue To Remain The Tool Of Choice For Reporting & Analytics?

There is little debate that Microsoft Excel is the most extensively used spreadsheet software across the globe, one that has endured - despite new technologies and innovations. Excel reporting capabilities are revered for their simplicity and familiarity. Understanding how it functions allows them to implement tasks effectively, taking advantage of all its unique features.

The tool’s grid-like interface is intuitive and accessible to users with varying levels of expertise. Excel data visualization tools like graphs and arrays, along with their extensive set of functionalities, enable users to know more about drawing insights from data, which may sometimes be difficult to perceive. In addition, Excel reporting is valued for the tool’s ability to modify fields and functions when working with complex datasets and customized spreadsheets. It also supports a wide range of data import and export formats, allowing users to unify and work with data from multiple sources for in-depth analysis and enabling easy data segregation of relevant data, while features like PivotTable and PivotChart help users to perform multi-dimensional analysis to quickly generate meaningful insights. 

Learn more about Oracle Fusion Cloud Reporting With Excel.

The Challenges With Excel Reporting For Oracle Cloud

The value of using Excel for business intelligence is uncontested. It can seamlessly integrate with numerous data sources and analyze and present data in a format that a majority of users are familiar with. Excel reporting for Oracle Cloud data is thus the tool of choice for many organizations. However, using Excel for Oracle reporting is not without its challenges. These include…

• Excel is not equipped to access real-time data from cloud ERP systems and requires manual refreshes to update information.
• Cloud ERP systems impose security restrictions on data access, which add a layer of complexity when accessing data from Excel, leading to discrepancies between real-time and actionable data.
• Excel and cloud ERP integration requires custom coding or cloud APIs, which requires additional setup and configuration.
• Excel may not be equipped to handle large datasets that cloud-based systems store.
• Excel’s data transformation capabilities are limited, and complex data transformations may require manual intervention, leading to loss or misinterpretation of data.
• Accessing contextually relevant data in Excel with standard SQL scripts is limited because of limitations on accessing data. Availing contextually relevant data may require advanced SQL and data analysis skills.
  

Enhancing Excel Reporting & Decision-Making With Excel Add-Ons

The solution to optimizing Excel for data-driven decisions is add-ons. These are external software applications that seamlessly integrate with Excel to offer enhanced features and functionalities. Excel data analysis add-ons  enhance data integration, visualization, customization and flexibility, taking efficiency and functionality to the next level and making it easier for enterprises to comprehend data at the drilled down level and make intuitive, well-informed business decisions.

AirQuery’s add-ons, namely SQLEdge, XLEdge, and GLSense are proving to be efficient decision-making tools in Excel. Each of these plugins has unique features that enhance and simplify the experience of using Excel for cloud ERP data analysis and visualization. They streamline data accessibility and enable the drilling-down of data for contextual relevance to provide a clear picture of operational and financial performance - irrespective of the volume of the dataset. They also offer a layer of security, ensuring that only authorized users can access relevant data. In short, data analysis and reporting is faster, smoother and more accurate, allowing for well informed, data-driven decisions at varying levels of an enterprise.

SQLEdge

SQLEdge focuses on enhancing data analysis capabilities, allowing users to not just write but also execute SQL queries directly within Excel, without the need for a separate database management tool. It is designed to help maintain, distribute, and reuse scripts and helps further automate operations that otherwise become monotonous. It enables users to explore data and underlying application transactions and leverage Excel functionalities.

With SQLEdge you can:

• Generate real-time ad-hoc reports directly in Excel.
• Analyze and access data from multiple sources, including relational databases, data warehouses, and cloud-based systems.
• Perform sophisticated data comparison between the development instance and production instance of Oracle Fusion Cloud.
• Run custom SQL Queries, generate reports, and analyze real-time data.
• Perform data analysis within a spreadsheet rather than spending your time extracting data and analyzing it.
• Run multiple fetch requests, represented as tables within the same spreadsheet.
• Save SQLs to be used later and track the history of executions.

Dive deeper into SQLEdge

XLEdge

XLEdge extends the capabilities of Excel by providing advanced data visualization and analysis tools. Users can create interactive dashboards, charts, and graphs that help them visualize data in meaningful ways, providing valuable insights into trends, patterns, and outliers that may not be apparent from raw data alone.

With XLEdge you can:

• Connect directly to external data sources, such as databases and web services, importing data into Excel in real-time.
• Automatically refresh data periodically to maintain real-time data integrity. It also has a manual refresh capability that can be used as required.
• Choose from over a thousand finance, HR, supply chain, and other business report formats, all of which are certified for Oracle reporting.
• Use advanced data manipulation tools, such as pivot tables and data filters, which allow users to quickly analyze large datasets and extract relevant information.
• Automatically retain custom formatting, calculations, charts, and pivots that have been built, even after refreshing data.
• Take advantage of a business-user-first architecture, which makes it easy for users to adapt to and use without heavily relying on IT teams.

How can XLEdge help your business? Find out more.

GLSense

GLSense is specifically designed for financial reporting and analysis. It integrates directly with accounting systems, allowing users to import financial data into Excel for analysis. GLSense provides a range of financial reporting tools - these include cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements that are customizable to meet specific user needs. It helps enterprises simplify and automate cloud financial reporting in Excel.

With GLSense you can:

• Automate the financial reporting process by setting up predefined templates and schedules, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
• Use advanced financial analysis tools, such as ratio analysis and trend analysis, which can help users identify areas for improvement.
• Integrate data seamlessly from multiple sources into a cube for a comprehensive, holistic, real-time view of financial data.
• Avail a 360-degree view of General Ledger data while allowing users to get into the details at the sub-ledger level.
• Create and generate various FSG Reports and statements such as Trial Balance reports, Balance sheets, or financial statements straight from the Cloud or On-premise ERPs such as Oracle Fusion Cloud, E-Business Suite, NetSuite, etc.
• Create financial statements and share financial reports as Excel workbooks.  
• Display data across multiple sheets in customized formats, carrying out complex calculations with pivot tables, and drilling down to individual transactional levels.
• Consolidate data stored in multiple sources and eliminate the need for different tools, saving time and resources for finance teams. It enables breaking down of data silos to offer a single source of truth (SSOT).
• Harness the power of real-time data from ERP systems, enhancing decision-making and agility in financial reporting.

Learn more about why GLSense is the right tool for financial reporting.

Make A Decision

Enhanced decision-making with Excel plugins isn’t as far-fetched a concept as it may sound like. As we’ve seen, add-ons like SQLEdge, XLEdge, and GLSense bring ease and flexibility to data analysis and reporting for operational and financial data. They streamline and simplify processes, unlocking the true potential of Excel reporting for Oracle Cloud, ensuring better comprehension of real-time data and its implications - all the better to make decisions with. 

Find the right combination of tools to help your business excel at www.airquery.com. Visit today for a free demo.