- Courses
- Microsoft Excel
- Data Analysis Fundamentals for Business
Data Analysis Fundamentals Training for Business
Data Analysis Fundamentals for Business
Build the core skills to work with data confidently. This one-day course teaches you to frame good questions, clean and summarise data, choose the right chart and present findings your colleagues can act on.
Not sure this is the right level? Compare all Microsoft Excel training courses.
- 1 day
- Virtual or on-site
- Private team training
Trusted by teams at
Course overview
Every role now involves some data, but few people are taught how to approach it. This course gives you a reliable process: start with the question, check and clean the data, summarise it, visualise it and explain what it means.
You work in Microsoft Excel throughout, because it is the tool most people already have. You practise cleaning messy data, using PivotTables to summarise it, spotting trends and outliers, and choosing charts that make the point clearly. Along the way you learn to avoid the common mistakes that lead to wrong conclusions.
The course is a strong foundation for our Excel, Power BI and SQL courses. You will understand where each tool fits and which one to learn next.
Who it's for
- Professionals who need to report on or make decisions with data
- Managers who review figures and dashboards
- Staff starting out in reporting or analyst roles
What you need before you start
- Basic Excel skills, such as entering data and simple formulas
What you'll learn
What you will be able to do by the end of the course.
- Turn a business question into a clear analysis plan
- Check data quality and clean common problems
- Summarise data with PivotTables and key measures
- Recognise trends, outliers and misleading results
- Choose the right chart for the message
- Present findings clearly to a non-technical audience
- Decide which tool to use next: Excel, Power BI or SQL
Course outline
6 modules across 1 day.
1Thinking Like an Analyst3 topics+
- Start with the question
- Types of data and measures
- A simple analysis process
2Getting Data Ready4 topics+
- Check completeness and consistency
- Remove duplicates and fix formats
- Split, combine and tidy text
- Introduction to Power Query for repeatable cleaning
3Summarising Data4 topics+
- Sort, filter and use tables
- Key measures: totals, averages, medians and percentages
- Summarise with PivotTables
- Compare periods and groups
4Finding the Story3 topics+
- Spot trends and seasonality
- Identify outliers and check them
- Avoid common traps in interpreting data
5Visualising Data3 topics+
- Choose the right chart for the message
- Design charts that are clear and honest
- Build a simple one-page summary
6Communicating Findings3 topics+
- Structure a clear data story
- Write headline findings and recommendations
- Where Excel, Power BI and SQL fit next
Get a quote
Run Data Analysis Fundamentals for Business for your team
Delivered for your organisation alone, on a date you choose, online or at your offices.
Or call 0333 305 8855
What happens next
- 1We reply with available dates and a price for your team
- 2You pick a date that suits your team — we work around you
- 3We tailor the examples and exercises to the work your team does
- 4We confirm the delivery details and next steps in writing
Booked with a 100% money-back guarantee
Every course we run is covered. Book with confidence — if it isn’t right, you aren’t left out of pocket.
Why Future Savvy
Practical training, backed properly
Rated 4.72/5
From 696 reviews by learners and clients.
Money-back guarantee
A 100% money-back guarantee, for peace of mind.
Up to six learners
Small enough that every delegate gets trainer time on their own work.
Trainers who do the job
Practitioners who use these tools on real work, not career instructors.
Support after the course
Email your trainer when you hit something back at your desk.
What delegates say
Independently verified reviews, alongside quotes collected from delegates after their course.
I had a good experience with this Microsoft Excel training course! Mark the trainer was exceptionally knowledgeable, patient, and engaging, taking the time to explain complex functions and formulas in a way that was easy to understand. The pace of the class was well-managed, and there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions without feeling rushed. I left the session feeling much more confident, efficient, and equipped with time-saving shortcuts. Highly recommended for anyone looking to upgrade their spreadsheet skills!
good value for money, I understood notions that were very not clear to me. Thanks to Mark.
Very good communication and an excellent tutor.
Very happy with Mark's training ethos and training he provided.
Excellent course and really well presented. Starting from basic knowledge the course guided you through step by step and was well paced for all.
Really enjoyed the course. Tutor was knowledgeable, friendly and gave real-world, practical advice to get the most out of the training.
The trainer really tailored the course to our needs, encouraged us to ask questions, and was knowledgeable and really helpful.
The trainer was very patient and did not mind having to explain things a few times to make sure we were all on the same page, was very helpful for someone like myself who sometimes misses details on the first go around
Excellent trainer, the format of the training was fantastic and I got a lot from the course.
This was, by far, one of the best training courses I have had the pleasure of attending. The trainer was extremely knowledgeable and delivered a great course!
This was the first time I have joined an excel course and I found it very informative and very helpful.
I liked how the trainer tailored the training around what our needs and roles are.
A great pace for somebody just starting and never an issue with questions, and always had a good way of answering.
From knowing nothing to what I know now and in less than a day I would highly recommend as it was extremely useful, and has made my understanding of MP a 100x better. Thank you the trainer for the great lesson!
Excellent course, definitely the best 'power' course I have attended. The trainer was enthusiastic about the material and kept it relevant to our needs
The trainer was really knowledgeable and extremely helpful in helping us to build our own reports.
It was very productive as a working session. I learnt a lot.
His careful delivery of the course really made the difference not only in its usefulness but in how well we, as learners, will retain and apply this new information.
Verified reviews are published on our Reviews.io profile, where anyone can read every one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need advanced Excel skills?+
No. Basic Excel skills are enough. The course introduces PivotTables, Power Query and charts as part of the analysis process.
Is this course about statistics?+
It covers the practical measures used in everyday business analysis, such as averages, medians and percentages, without heavy theory.
Which course should I take after this one?+
Excel Intermediate or Advanced if you will stay in Excel, Power BI Introduction for interactive dashboards, or SQL Introduction to Querying if your data lives in databases.
How is the course delivered?+
Live with an instructor, in a virtual classroom or at your offices.
Can we use our own data?+
For private courses, yes. We can build exercises around anonymised data that reflects your work.
Training where your team works
Microsoft Excel training by location
See local delivery details, nearby course options and practical information for your area.
