PyCon Pune 2018

With 1 billion+ plus installations of Mircrosoft Powerpoint across the world, most of us have attempted to create a PPT/PPTX presentation at somepoint. Creation of a PPTX “deck” manually is a hassle that most business teams go through. Content in these reports are either visual representation of data or bulleted text or screenshots of existing visual dashboards or all of the above. These reports get generated periodically after content refresh. Clients have asked for a way to automate the creation of PPTX reports. Automating the PPTX creation not only reduces time spent on creating the deck, increasing productivity of teams and reduces human error.

At Gramener we took on the challenge to automate the creation of PPTX files based on pre-defined layout and content. We started off exploring python-pptx library created by Steve Canny and created a custom product called - PPTGEN. This product has been integrated into our Visualization and Analytics platform - Gramex. PPTGEN simplifies the process of creating PPTX file by a) providing an easy way to configure the PPTX file layout b)provides an ability to connect to different data sources c) create the PPTX file with native components, this allows users to edit the content if required.

Outline

The conversation would follow the path

1. Why is PPTX creation such a time consuming activity in Enterprises
2. Evaluation of commercially available solutions
3. Approach for creation of PPTGEN
4. Demonstrate a usecase

Requirements

Approach this chat as a way to look at mundane enterprise problems (non-jazzy stuff) and how open-source solutions like python can aid in solutions.

Speaker bio

Sundeep heads the Product Development Practice at Gramener, wherein he takes on the mantle of creating IP Solutions. His mandate is to identifying opportunities for product innovation or identifying solutions for horizontal business problems or focus on commercialisation of innovative ideas. Sundeep holds a B. Tech from GPREC,Kurnool and MBA from SCMHRD, Pune.

Links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundeepreddym/
• https://python-pptx.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
• https://gramener.com/appstore/appstore.pptx