Remote Access to Web Database Through Excel!

Excel may use different databases. It can pull data from databases such as MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle, MYSQL using SQL codes, and after processing this data it can bring them to the reports in Excel pages. For example, we can reach a website that uses MySQL database from our own computer, and we can move the information in the site to an Excel page with one button. Moreover, we can record the entries we make to Excel to the database of the web site. Excel is able to use different databases. We can draw data from databases such as MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle and MYSQL by using SQL codes, and bring them to reports in Excel pages by processing such data. For example, we can access a website which uses MySQL database through the Excel file on our computer, and draw the data in the website to Excel page. Moreover, we can rerecord the data that we have entered from Excel before to the database of the website.

The sites that broadcast over the Web communicate with the databases installed in their websites in the background. All the web content is recorded in this database, necessary information is taken according to browsed page and displayed in browser. Entering data to site can be done by either knowing web programming codes (html, php, asp, etc.) and through the use of these codes, or through some Content Management Systems (Joomla, Drupal, etc.) or through the admin panel as in ready-made e-trade systems (Virtuemart, etc.).

In situations when multi-data entry and update is necessary, for example in shopping sites that makes a lot of product entries, entering the products one by one from admin panel causes boredom and loss of time for the user. Whereas, you can arranged the data entries in Excel in any way you want and record it our site’s database with a single button.

Excel has the ability to develop application with the Visual Basic Programming Language within its body. We can automize the activities to be conducted in Excel and form new user-defined functions by using this ability referred to as Visual Basic for Application (VBA). Excel macros is a programme that records a serial command, re-runs it and enables the commands recorded to operate again automatically. In this way, we can automize many activities such as forming, shaping, changing and printing Excel pages and save time. While macros can be recorded data that carry out recurring activities, they can also be programmes that develop application by using different database sources through complex inquiries.

Example: a sales analyst prepares daily reports using the data formed at the end of the day. He/she conducts performance analyses with information on daily sale amount, sale price, customer and sale representative of all products and sales channel in a firm with 30 products and 5 sales channel. Given the fact that these analyses are carried out for customer performance, representative performance, product and price and that this is repeated for all sales channels, a significant amount of time will be spent by sales analyst for this. However, the programmes we will develop as Excel Solutions will automize all these activities, narrow the error margin and will save you more time.

Data quality means the data being high-quality. Data which can satisfy our needs and help us take correct decisions is high-quality. Data that causes us to receive incorrect reports is data which has lost its quality. Many companies incur profit losses as a result of incorrectly-prepared reports due to data of poor quality and misleading of decision-makers. Therefore, many large companies employ personnel who will boost data quality through data management within its body.

The things that can be done to increase data quality can be listed as data evaluation, data standardization, data comparison and “data monitoring” to achieve sustainability.

Mathematical programming or optimization terms in Mathematics refer to examining or solving a problem systematically by selecting the integer or real values in a defined range and placing them on the function for the purpose of minimizing or maximizing a function.

We would like to find the best way to conduct many activities in our business life such as minimizing labor costs and input costs, providing the highest return on the investments and highest profit related to production amounts. The best way is sometimes the way which maximize or minimize or zero the function. It is used continuously in private and public sectors on many business administration and economics problems. Many companies what carry out activities in the fields which requires technical business administration such as transportation, energy generation and distribution, telecommunication, industrial production use optimization frequently. Many problems such as planning, time scheduling, job and employee assignment, decreasing loss and maximizing financial return can be solved through optimization.

Models which are the most frequently used ones in optimization are mathematical models which are called lineer and non-lineer programming. Excel Solver add-in is developed to be used for the solution of both lineer and non-lineer models.

To define it simply, data mining is the activity of accessing information among large-scale data and mining information or, in a sense, searching for the correlations which can enable us to make a prediction related to the future from among large data stacks by using a computer programme.
 
The most popular use of data mining is Knowledge Discovery From Databases (KDD). As an alternative, data mining is actually recognized as a part of knowledge discovery process.

These steps are:
Data Cleansing, Data Integration, Data Selection, Data Transformation, Data Mining, Pattern Assessment (finding correlations within data), Information Presentation 

The data mining step is in interaction with user and information base. Interesting patterns are shown to the user and are further recorded on the database if desired. Accordingly, the process of data mining continues till hidden patterns are found.
Data mining is extraction of, implicit but potentially useful information which was not known before and is not very clear from the data available in hand. This involves a certain number of such technical approaches as clustering, data summarizing, analysis of alterations and detection of deviations. In other words, data mining is discovery of the patterns, relations, changes, irregularities, rules and statistically important structures within data.