Microsoft has announced the general availability of Python in Excel for their Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise users on Windows. This integration, first introduced in collaboration with Anaconda last year, allows users to leverage Python’s data analysis capabilities directly within Excel workbooks.
The integration brings popular Python libraries like Pandas, Matplotlib, and NLTK into Excel, enabling users to perform advanced analyses without requiring additional setup. Users can now perform actions such as running Monte Carlo simulations, creating network visualisations, and analysing text data with natural language processing tools.
Additionally, Microsoft has introduced a Python Editor to simplify coding and a public preview of Copilot in Excel, as part of the second wave of capabilities of their AI model. This uses AI to generate Python code based on natural language prompts.
Microsoft has also been careful to emphasise to the tech community that Python in Excel operates securely on the Microsoft Cloud and with enhanced security measures, including isolated containers for Python code execution.
Python in Excel is available to all Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise subscribers, with premium features and faster calculation offered through an additional paid licence. You can get in touch with us to request this add-on licence for your Microsoft 365 subscription.