Alteryx vs Excel

[Zaldivarc]

Hello,

Just began using Alteryx, wanted to ask the more experienced community, what is something very useful in Alteryx that cannot be done with excel or would be extremely difficult if tried in excel?

thanks,

[FrederikE]

Hey @Zaldivarc,

1. Working with multiple Data Sources

Excel is horrible at this, as changing aggregation levels and joining is often overly complicated. Anything that changes the aggregation level is much easier with Alteryx.

2. Automation

Excel has macros, but they are an additional step to take (never used them so idk so much about them). In Alteryx automation is the default and not an additional option. 

3. Calling Databases, APIs, etc.

4. Anything advanced (which is business-wise not that important) like Spatial, Predictive, Apps, etc. 

5. Advanced Transformations (automated), like generating Rows, parsing, etc. 

Most of the things Alteryx does, Excel can do aswell. But often it requires a lot of additional work and is not automateable. 

Excel is for manipulating spreadsheets. Alteryx is to build a data process. 

[caltang]

In addition to what @FrederikE mentioned, Alteryx can process large amounts of data at a greater capacity and speed than Excel can. Sure Excel is flexible in allowing you to key in figures and do edits freely, but once it becomes something mundane and repetittive, that's where you need to automate.

If you try automating with Excel, it's a real slog. Sometimes you may even run into a complete crash on the VBA end. More intuitive and easier to do automation on Alteryx for sure.