Despite heavy investments in Snowflake’s modern data platform, many business users still default to Excel for day-to-day analysis. The result? Stale extracts, inconsistent KPIs, and a frustrating disconnect between centralized data and the tools people actually use.
The AtScale semantic layer platform closes that gap — connecting Excel directly to live Snowflake data while ensuring performance, governance, and consistency.
The Excel-Snowflake Disconnect: What’s in the Way?
Connecting these two essential tools presents both technical and business challenges:
Technical Barriers:
- Complex connection setups and driver requirements
- Performance bottlenecks with large datasets
- Limited querying capabilities for non-technical users
Business Challenges:
- Conflicting KPIs and metric definitions across teams
- Lack of centralized governance
- Reliance on outdated data pulled into spreadsheets
- Difficulty scaling self-service analytics
AtScale: The Bridge Between Snowflake and Excel
With AtScale, Excel users get governed, real-time access to Snowflake — no ODBC drivers, no complicated setup, no slowdowns.
Seamless Excel Integration
AtScale supports native MDX so Excel PivotTables can:
- Connect directly to live Snowflake data
- Use Excel’s built-in data tools — no new training required
- Skip data extracts and manual refreshes
Live Data Without the Performance Hit
With AtScale under the hood:
- Queries return in sub-seconds, even for large datasets
- Smart caching reduces repetitive queries
- Optimized SQL cuts down on compute time and cost
Business-Friendly Data Models
AtScale transforms Snowflake’s technical schema into a language that business users understand:
- Replaces cryptic column names with clear terminology
- Adds hierarchies and dimensions that reflect how your business operates
- Aligns pre-built metrics with organizational definitions
Built-In Enterprise Governance
Security and governance are built into AtScale:
- Enforces row- and column-level security
- Integrates with enterprise directory services for seamless SSO
- Applies consistent access controls across Excel, Tableau, Power BI, and more
What Organizations Are Seeing
Teams using AtScale to connect Excel and Snowflake have reported:
- Excel refresh times dropping from hours to seconds
- Standardized KPIs across hundreds of Excel users
- HIPAA-compliant self-service analytics for healthcare analysts
Your Implementation Game Plan
Want to bridge this gap in your organization? Here’s how:
- Deploy AtScale: Available as a Snowflake Native App for fast setup
- Define Your Semantic Model: Create a business-friendly view of Snowflake data
- Connect Excel: Use the AtScale Excel Add-in for instant access
- Train Users: Basic PivotTable and semantic model training go a long way
- Monitor and Optimize: Use built-in analytics to fine-tune performance and usage
Have Your Snowflake and Excel, too
You don’t have to choose between Snowflake’s power and your familiarity with Excel. With AtScale, you get the best of both worlds: governed, performant, live access to Snowflake data — right from the spreadsheet. Check out this interactive demo to watch a live MDX connection between Excel workbooks and cloud data sources. Or reach out to us for more information.
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