Name: Anaconda at FinovateFall 2023 – Python in Excel
Uploaded: 2023-10-03T15:32:47.376Z
Duration: 399.56
Description: At the FinovateFall 2023 conference in New York, FinTech Futures caught up with Albert Gashi, SVP Revenue at Anaconda, and Timothy Hewitt, Senior Product Manager, Python in Excel at Anaconda, to discuss the company’s partnership with Microsoft and how it is making Python a powerful tool for financial analysis and modelling within Excel.

FF.INT.003_V04 (1).mp4

FF.INT.003_V04 (1).vtt

ENGLISH

{{00:00:07}}
My name is Albert Gashi, just call me Al.

{{00:00:09}}
I'm the Chief Revenue
Officer for Anaconda.

{{00:00:13}}
I'm Timothy Hewitt.

{{00:00:13}}
I'm the Senior Product Manager over
the Python and Excel Initiative.

{{00:00:17}}
Anaconda

{{00:00:24}}
is a Python based platform that
has over 35 million users that'll

{{00:00:30}}
allow these users to perform complex
data science, analytics, and AI.

{{00:00:44}}
We're very excited about this partnership.

{{00:00:46}}
We do a number of things with Microsoft.

{{00:00:48}}
So this was a a natural
progression of the relationship.

{{00:00:53}}
What we're doing is providing these Excel
users, these Microsoft Excel users with

{{00:01:00}}
the same powerful tools that we've been
giving to data scientists and allowing

{{00:01:04}}
them to perform these predictive analytics
and very cool AI and data science.

{{00:01:11}}
Yeah, so in a past life, I used
to be a data worker and data

{{00:01:14}}
muncher and everything like that.

{{00:01:16}}
And my workflow was.

{{00:01:17}}
Start in Excel, and then go to, start in
Python, and then go to Excel, and then go

{{00:01:21}}
back to Python, and then go back to Excel.

{{00:01:23}}
Stakeholders always wanted
the Excel files, so I was

{{00:01:25}}
constantly going back and forth.

{{00:01:27}}
But to have everything in one place
is such a more efficient work stream.

{{00:01:33}}
Having all of your data in
one place, having all of your

{{00:01:36}}
presentation in one place, and have
that place be the same, oh yeah.

{{00:01:41}}
Timothy's also very excited.

{{00:01:43}}
Yeah.

{{00:01:52}}
As Timothy just mentioned, we're in
the past, so I used to be an analyst

{{00:01:56}}
in my, former life, but you would want
to do a lot of these complex exercises,

{{00:02:01}}
like you do some in Excel, then you
jump out, then you jump back in.

{{00:02:04}}
This brings Python directly into Excel.

{{00:02:07}}
There's no there's no
going in between tools.

{{00:02:11}}
It's directly integrated within
the Microsoft Excel license.

{{00:02:15}}
And not only that you get an ease
of use that's never existed in

{{00:02:20}}
Python, in Excel before, where
you can do seasonality of data.

{{00:02:25}}
You can do forecasts with just a few
lines of code and then create these.

{{00:02:29}}
Amazing visualizations that
just weren't there before.

{{00:02:34}}
It's a world of power that, like I
said, hasn't existed before, and it's

{{00:02:38}}
really exciting to be a part of that.

{{00:02:49}}
It's open source, but securing that
open source, knowing who's authored

{{00:02:52}}
the packages and who's providing
the technology, that's important.

{{00:02:55}}
That's our specialty.

{{00:02:56}}
And working with Microsoft,
it was just a natural team.

{{00:03:01}}
Yeah, working with Microsoft, it
was amazing how concerned they were

{{00:03:06}}
about the security of users data.

{{00:03:08}}
So how they've set it up, because
it's running on Azure Cloud, it has no

{{00:03:12}}
access to your system, it can't run any
malicious code on your computer because

{{00:03:15}}
it isn't running on your computer.

{{00:03:17}}
So that's part of their data story and
teaming up with Anaconda's data story.

{{00:03:21}}
You can feel pretty confident,
you can feel extremely confident,

{{00:03:24}}
I should say extremely, you can
feel extremely confident that your

{{00:03:27}}
data is secure and your system is
secure against any malicious threat.

{{00:03:41}}
Excel has never had this idea of
pre written code, of pre written

{{00:03:44}}
packages that you can just reference.

{{00:03:46}}
So they get something new and exciting.

{{00:03:48}}
But as a Python developer, which is
where I live, we've never had a great

{{00:03:52}}
place where we could play with data.

{{00:03:54}}
We've never had a great place for
authoring and experimentation.

{{00:03:57}}
It's always been, if I want to run
five different scenarios, I need to

{{00:04:01}}
change my variables five different
times and run it over and over again.

{{00:04:04}}
But now, because it's in Excel, I put
all of my variables that I want for a

{{00:04:08}}
scenario in one place and click and drag.

{{00:04:10}}
And all of a sudden I'm writing
10 scenarios at the same time.

{{00:04:13}}
And that's just something that
it, it, creates a data playground.

{{00:04:18}}
That's something entirely new.

{{00:04:20}}
And I, yeah.

{{00:04:22}}
All those powerful tools that we mentioned
earlier now, putting them in the hands of

{{00:04:26}}
financial analysts and giving them that
same ability is for us very exciting.

{{00:04:41}}
So for my, just getting up and started,
Microsoft has made it very easy.

{{00:04:44}}
Right now, if you're a member of the
Microsoft Insiders, it's enabled for you.

{{00:04:48}}
When they go to General Availability,
it will be a paid add on feature.

{{00:04:51}}
There's a button that you can push to
get a Python code view, or you can just

{{00:04:55}}
type equals PY and when you push that
first open paren it turns green and

{{00:05:01}}
you're in a code view automatically.

{{00:05:04}}
It's so well integrated, it
just enables it as Timothy said,

{{00:05:08}}
just by a very simple function.

{{00:05:13}}
As a developer, like if you're an
Excel, Python can be very intimidating.

{{00:05:18}}
So my intro to development
was I was a linguist.

{{00:05:22}}
I wanted to stay far away from
code until I had a crazy idea.

{{00:05:25}}
My boss told me, go learn Python.

{{00:05:27}}
I tried it a few, I tried
programming a few different times

{{00:05:30}}
with a few different languages.

{{00:05:31}}
Python is so easy to approach.

{{00:05:34}}
It's so easy to use, especially
compared to some of the Excel nested

{{00:05:38}}
ifs that can get five lines long.

{{00:05:40}}
Yeah, if then, yeah we started with a
base layer of packages and functionality

{{00:05:52}}
for Excel for Microsoft and the users.

{{00:05:55}}
And as that As that continues to grow,
what we'll look to do is to add more

{{00:06:00}}
functionality and more more packages
that will be more popular and allow

{{00:06:05}}
folks to do more and more things.

{{00:06:08}}
And so that's the way that that I see it.

{{00:06:11}}
We're spending a lot of time looking
at the different packages that we've

{{00:06:14}}
included in our default distribution.

{{00:06:18}}
Just because we have this new use case.

{{00:06:20}}
Python has always been for everybody,
for everywhere, but now we have this

{{00:06:24}}
really specific one and we want to
make sure that we're catering to that

{{00:06:27}}
specific audience as well as we can.

My name is Albert Gashi, just call me Al.

I'm the Chief Revenue
Officer for Anaconda.

I'm the Senior Product Manager over
the Python and Excel Initiative.

is a Python based platform that
has over 35 million users that'll

allow these users to perform complex
data science, analytics, and AI.

We're very excited about this partnership.

So this was a a natural
progression of the relationship.

What we're doing is providing these Excel
users, these Microsoft Excel users with

the same powerful tools that we've been
giving to data scientists and allowing

them to perform these predictive analytics
and very cool AI and data science.

Yeah, so in a past life, I used
to be a data worker and data

Start in Excel, and then go to, start in
Python, and then go to Excel, and then go

back to Python, and then go back to Excel.

Stakeholders always wanted
the Excel files, so I was

But to have everything in one place
is such a more efficient work stream.

Having all of your data in
one place, having all of your

presentation in one place, and have
that place be the same, oh yeah.

As Timothy just mentioned, we're in
the past, so I used to be an analyst

in my, former life, but you would want
to do a lot of these complex exercises,

like you do some in Excel, then you
jump out, then you jump back in.

There's no there's no
going in between tools.

It's directly integrated within
the Microsoft Excel license.

And not only that you get an ease
of use that's never existed in

Python, in Excel before, where
you can do seasonality of data.

You can do forecasts with just a few
lines of code and then create these.

Amazing visualizations that
just weren't there before.

It's a world of power that, like I
said, hasn't existed before, and it's

It's open source, but securing that
open source, knowing who's authored

the packages and who's providing
the technology, that's important.

And working with Microsoft,
it was just a natural team.

Yeah, working with Microsoft, it
was amazing how concerned they were

So how they've set it up, because
it's running on Azure Cloud, it has no

access to your system, it can't run any
malicious code on your computer because

So that's part of their data story and
teaming up with Anaconda's data story.

You can feel pretty confident,
you can feel extremely confident,

I should say extremely, you can
feel extremely confident that your

data is secure and your system is
secure against any malicious threat.

Excel has never had this idea of
pre written code, of pre written

But as a Python developer, which is
where I live, we've never had a great

We've never had a great place for
authoring and experimentation.

It's always been, if I want to run
five different scenarios, I need to

change my variables five different
times and run it over and over again.

But now, because it's in Excel, I put
all of my variables that I want for a

scenario in one place and click and drag.

And all of a sudden I'm writing
10 scenarios at the same time.

And that's just something that
it, it, creates a data playground.

All those powerful tools that we mentioned
earlier now, putting them in the hands of

financial analysts and giving them that
same ability is for us very exciting.

So for my, just getting up and started,
Microsoft has made it very easy.

Right now, if you're a member of the
Microsoft Insiders, it's enabled for you.

When they go to General Availability,
it will be a paid add on feature.

There's a button that you can push to
get a Python code view, or you can just

type equals PY and when you push that
first open paren it turns green and

It's so well integrated, it
just enables it as Timothy said,

As a developer, like if you're an
Excel, Python can be very intimidating.

So my intro to development
was I was a linguist.

I wanted to stay far away from
code until I had a crazy idea.

I tried it a few, I tried
programming a few different times

It's so easy to use, especially
compared to some of the Excel nested

Yeah, if then, yeah we started with a
base layer of packages and functionality

And as that As that continues to grow,
what we'll look to do is to add more

functionality and more more packages
that will be more popular and allow

And so that's the way that that I see it.

We're spending a lot of time looking
at the different packages that we've

Python has always been for everybody,
for everywhere, but now we have this

really specific one and we want to
make sure that we're catering to that

FinTech Futures

Expert Insight

At the FinovateFall 2023 conference in New York, FinTech Futures caught up with Albert Gashi, SVP Revenue at Anaconda, and Timothy Hewitt, Senior Product Manager, Python in Excel at Anaconda, to discuss the company’s partnership with Microsoft and how it is making Python a powerful tool for financial analysis and modelling within Excel.