Excel and SQL Server can work together to inspect and prepare datasets. Some older tutorials used the former SQL Server Analysis Services data-mining features and Excel add-ins.
Concepts and context
Start by defining a question, producing a clean dataset with T-SQL, examining distributions and missing values, and selecting appropriate modelling tools. SQL Server can store and prepare data without itself performing the final machine-learning training.
Practical application
For instance, group order data by customer and calculate count, total purchases and recency. Explore the results in Excel, then validate predictive models using a maintained analytics environment.
Compatibility and cautions
Microsoft deprecated SSAS data mining in SQL Server 2017 and discontinued it in SQL Server 2022. The historical add-ins should not be recommended for a new deployment.
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