Using PowerPivot for SharePoint 2013

When do I use PowerPivot for SharePoint?

After you have created PowerPivot workbooks by using your desktop Excel application, you’ll probably want to do the following:

• Refresh workbooks periodically and automatically
• Ensure that all the workbook’s users see its most current version
• Turn your workbook into a web BI application, viewing and interacting with it in the browser
• Make your workbook a data source for others
• Have a special SharePoint document library with enhanced functionality and visualization modes, called PowerPivot Gallery
• Empower the IT professionals with tools to assist with the management of the PowerPivot workbooks.

PowerPivot for SharePoint is designed to meet the requirements of all the preceding scenarios, giving you a way to share, refresh, and update workbooks in a secure manner that adheres to IT security policies while providing users with the means to interact with the content of the workbooks from their browsers.

Getting started

This section briefly introduces you to installing PowerPivot for SharePoint 2013.

Installing PowerPivot for SharePoint

An IT professional must perform the installation of PowerPivot for SharePoint because it will require administrative access to servers. It can potentially be a very complex task depending on how your SharePoint farm is configured. Here are a couple of good white papers on how to set up PowerPivot for SharePoint that the IT professionals can review:

• Installing Analysis Services Server in SharePoint Mode for SharePoint 2013:

  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219067.aspx

• Installing PowerPivot for SharePoint Add-In:

  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/fe13ce8b-9369-4126-928a-9426f9119424