Microsoft’s product development and marketing strategies have long been a topic of interest, especially as the company pivots to keep pace with competitors like Google. As a power Excel user and consultant, I’ve found myself wondering: Is Microsoft deliberately downplaying the power of Excel to bring out “new” products that capture social media attention? After all, their innovations in the late 1990s set the foundation for modern data access and management tools, but those breakthroughs won’t win the market today.
Competing in a Modern Marketplace
In today’s marketplace, staying relevant means creating buzz. Microsoft, like any other company, needs to bring out products that generate excitement on social media platforms. For influencers and content creators, new features and updates to familiar tools fuel fresh content. And for Microsoft, this keeps Excel in the public eye without relying on “old” technology. Promoting old tech doesn’t cut it. And even acknowledging that old tech exists might be a bad idea.
However, when you dig deeper, many of these “new” features in Excel are built on functionalities that have been around for decades. For example, ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) has shipped with Excel for a long time, but we don’t see Microsoft heavily promoting it. Why? Because ADO, while powerful, doesn’t play into the narrative of innovation or newness. It’s “old” technology. Yet, it’s precisely this kind of core feature that enables enterprise-level data access and manipulation—something that’s crucial but often overlooked in favor of flashier updates that actually don’t do the job. Not even designed to do the job.
The Focus on Power Query
Power Query, while incredibly useful, is an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool designed primarily for data import. It shines in situations where data flows in one direction—from external sources into Excel for reporting and analysis. However, when it comes to scenarios where data needs to flow both ways, as in universal enterprise methodologies, Power Query is limited. This is where I see the opportunity to go beyond Power Query—something I’ve started calling “Beyond Power Query.”
To set up true hub-and-spoke architecture, where multiple spreadsheets or data sources feed into a central hub and communicate in real time, we need more than Power Query. We need to access the underlying data access layer, such as that Power Query uses, and for us in most cases that’s ADO.
Why Microsoft Won’t Promote ADO
ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) provides the data access layer that can turn Excel into driving a hub for more advanced data management. However, Microsoft has no incentive to promote ADO, because doing so would mean highlighting a decades-old technology that doesn’t sound revolutionary; and show up the limitations of shiny tools like Power Query. Promoting ADO isn’t sexy—it won’t grab headlines, and it doesn’t fit into the narrative that Microsoft needs to push for social media and influencer-driven content (even though many of the influencer community have little to do with Excel in the enterprise, or anywhere).
Yet, ADO is essential for creating scalable, enterprise-level solutions with Excel. It’s not complicated. In fact, compared to Power Query, ADO is kids play. But there’s no buzz around it, and Microsoft can’t win against modern competitors like Google by promoting something they innovated decades ago.
Playing the Game
In today’s world, both businesses and influencers need to play the game. I don’t want to be seen as promoting outdated technology, and Microsoft won’t push ADO for the same reason. Instead, the focus shifts to newer, shinier tools like Power Query. But the reality is, to build truly flexible, scalable data systems, we need to go beyond Power Query.
Perhaps Microsoft should promote ‘Beyond Power Query’ as the upgrade to Power Query?
By embracing ADO and understanding how it interacts with Excel’s core functionality, we can develop solutions that Power Query simply wasn’t designed for. One of the simplest examples is consolidation—bringing together data from multiple sources that’s updating in real time. It’s a solution I’ve used successfully, yet there’s no need to complicate it with fancy, new features when the old tools work perfectly well.
Beyond Power Query: A Hub-and-Spoke Vision
This is the foundation for what I’m calling “Beyond Power Query.” To build a hub-and-spoke architecture, we need to leverage the tools that Excel already has, and also designed for this purpose. Power Query is great for certain tasks, but for real-time, multi-directional data flows, it is not. We need to tap into ADO. It’s not about embarrassing Microsoft for not promoting ADO—it’s about taking the best tools available and using them in innovative ways that go beyond what’s currently popular or trendy – but doesn’t work.
While Microsoft may not see value in promoting ADO, as Excel Professionals, we can see the value. The future isn’t just about shiny new products. It’s about using what works, even if it’s not in the spotlight. By thinking beyond Power Query and tapping into Excel’s deep, underlying potential, we can create solutions that scale, simplify processes, and deliver real business results.
Ultimately, the question isn’t whether Microsoft is downplaying Excel’s power—it’s whether we, as Excel users, are willing to look beyond the marketing noise and unlock the real capabilities that are already at our fingertips.
This article explores my thoughts on the intersection of Microsoft’s product strategy and the deeper potential of Excel that often goes unrecognized in the quest for new features. It’s time to go beyond Power Query, tap into ADO, and unlock the full power of Excel.
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