Powerpivot as data source for Performancepoint Services 2010 - Whitepaper

Performancepoint 2010 supports different kind of data sources that can be categorized into Analytical data sources and Tabular data sources. Analytical (Multidimensional) data sources include any data from SSAS cubes and Powerpivot, Tabular data sources include data from sources like Excel spreadsheets, Sharepoint lists, SQL Server tables, MS Access tables and finally custom data sources. For custom data sources, one needs to use PPS SDK.

Using powerpivot as a data source is not straight forward or I can say that it's different. The reason it's different is that, powerpivot is something that is neither completely multi-dimensional, nor completely tabular. It can be seen as an intermediate between the two types of data sources. So if you are trying out your hands-on for the first time using Powerpivot as a data source with Performancepoint, it can baffle your mind by the way data from powerpivot is classified in hierarchies, measures and dimensions in your PPS Dashboard Designer 2010.

Answer to the above prospective challenge is a whitepaper from Microsoft. This whitepaper explains how to use powerpivot as a data source in performancepoint services 2010 ( in sharepoint server 2010 ). This whitepaper can be downloaded from here.