Is it possible to easily use a Powerpivot to work like a cube?

Question

Hello,
I don't have much knowledge in Powerpivot, so I'm trying to see if what I want to do is feasible in Powerpivot before delving further into it.
I have a database with multiple tables that is quite de-normalized, and I want to allow end-users to use Excel and check off boxes on a field list to give them more or less information. There is nothing setup in SSAS for me, no fact tables, no dimensions,
nothing - and I most likely will only have access to SSMS & Excel to produce this.
For example, the database has one table listing all the sales orders, another listing the possible payment methods, another listing the customers, another listing the products, etc all linked together via various keys. If I write a query to join everything
together so that each of the results says "Order #, Payment Method, Customer, Products Purchased", I can get a Powerpivot made from it, but it is very slow and it behaves like it is summing everything when most of the data I need it to produce is
text (in fact, I don't really need any aggregation done at all, but I want the ability to use slicers, connect to SQL, etc.). Is there a way in powerpivot I can link a bunch of tables together (based on their PK/FK) and then the user can pick the items they
want from a field list and have it populate like a cube? This way, a manager could open the file and only show how many customers they have, only show which sales were done via credit card, etc. I want to provide a cube/data dump/operational reporting replacement
as our current reporting solutions are inadequate.
Sorry for the vagueness, but I feel like Powerpivot can do what I want it to, but I'm also fearful of investing a lot of time learning it and building it only to have the end result not be what I'm expecting.
Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
RU

Answer 1

in fact, I don't really need any aggregation done at all, but I want the ability to use slicers, connect to SQL, etc.
Hello Richie,
The main task and the great power of
PowerPivot is in aggregate
data. But if you want you can use it as a plain reporting tool. You can import data into a workbook and create relations between tables.
In Internet there are several examples available, the most base on the sample database "AdventureWorks", which is a ERP database for products/customers/orders and so on. Some examples can be found here:
http://www.codeplex.com/site/search?query=powerpivot
http://powerpivot-info.com/post/174-step-by-step-guide-for-creating-demo-powerpivot-workbook-from-adventureworksdw-sql-tables
Olaf Helper
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