In the world of enterprise Excel, one of the most important concepts is the hub-and-spoke architecture, where a centralized library serves as the core repository for data. To manage this effectively, we need the ability not only to get data from the library but also to put data into it — across many different spreadsheets.
Power Query, while a powerful tool, was primarily designed for data retrieval. It excels at bringing data into Excel, but it is limited because it does not natively support the put operation — writing data back into a library or central source.
This is where Hiran’s methodology offers a breakthrough. Unlike Power Query, Hiran’s approach uses a single line of code to both put and get data, leveraging Excel’s native functionality. No need to learn complex M code or navigate Power Query’s extensive, sometimes overwhelming, feature set.
This simplicity is why we are calling this part of the course “Beyond Power Query.”
There are two main reasons for this title:
- Functionality: Hiran’s methodology enables both put and get operations seamlessly, something Power Query, by design, does not currently offer.
- Simplicity: While Power Query is comprehensive and can be quite complex — often requiring knowledge of M code for advanced tasks — Hiran’s method achieves powerful results with just one simple instruction.
Could Microsoft eventually build put capabilities into Power Query? Possibly. But it would require designing an interface just as complex as the existing get functionality, which would likely make Power Query even more complicated. In contrast, Hiran’s method achieves full bi-directional data interaction elegantly and efficiently.
In summary, Beyond Power Query is not just a catchy title — it reflects a real leap forward in how we think about data management in enterprise Excel environments. By simplifying what Power Query makes complex, and by completing the data interaction loop, Hiran’s methodology takes us truly beyond.
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