MicroStrategy Cloud Personal: Create Dashboards From Excel Spreadsheets

MicroStrategy Cloud Personal is a web service which makes it possible to create data visualizations and dashboards out of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Anyone who has used Microsoft Excel will be aware of its ability to create data visualizations by using filters, VLookup, charts, etc. However, not everyone is skilled enough to use Microsoft Excel to its full potential. Moreover, sharing spreadsheets online might result in compatibility issues as the other user might not have MS Excel installed on his/her device. However, with the help of MicroStrategy Cloud Personal you can simply upload your spreadsheet and use the various available options for creating custom dashboards and visualizations for your data and even share it online.

Data obtained from dashboards created with MicroStrategy Cloud Personal is available in an easy to grasp format which can be quite useful for sharing it online with other users, using it in MS PowerPoint presentations, creating sales forecasts, making graphs for analyzing trends and the like. To get started, simply sign up and click on the activation link that you will receive via email.

Once logged in, click New Dashboard. You can also try out some premium features during your 30-day trial period by going to New Team option, which provides access to Advanced Templates, Database Connectivity, Automated Deliveries and the Team Launchpad feature.

After selecting the New Dashboard option you will be asked to upload a spreadsheet or to specify a file via URL. You can also use sample sheets to get started. Sample sheets might be helpful in understanding how to use use MicroStrategy Cloud Personal dashboards by creating a sample dashboard.

Once your file has been selected, you can use templates to visualize your data by adding filters and visualizations (e.g. by transforming your data to a graph).

The below image displays data organized from an excel sheet using MicroStrategy Cloud Personal. It is worth mentioning here that you will require clicking on the Save option and naming your dashboard to before you close the window in which you have been working on your spreadsheet data.

Using the Share option you can also share your dashboard via Facebook, Twitter, by email or embed it to a blog. You can even save a PDF view of your Dashboard using Adobe Reader.