Let’s get one thing clear up-front: Microsoft Excel is probably the best piece of software Microsoft has ever developed. It has a huge number of capabilities and that is why it is the go-to software for business operations and data management across companies worldwide.

But the Excel overhead currently in place across organsiations, no matter how big or small, is huge.  Why not carry out a quick audit in your business and try to add up the amount of time that your employees spend preparing data in Excel i.e. entering, collecting, consolidating and manipulating the data, before they are then able to actually analyse it.  You just might be shocked.

While Excel is undoubtedly a powerful tool for many tasks, the reality is that Excel is not always the optimal tool of choice for developing and delivering business intelligence and analytics to end users. Now don’t get us wrong, we love Excel and we are the first ones to admit that many businesses would grind to halt without it, but when you have 20+ sheets consolidating data from across your data silos, along with an array of complex queries/analysis, is this really a fit for purpose business tool, or an accident waiting to happen?

To sum it up, Excel is a powerful tool for many tasks. But is it helping or hindering your business. Here are some things to consider when looking at the Excel overhead in your business…

1. Time Overhead

• Manual Data Entry: A significant amount of time is spent manually entering, updating, and verifying data in Excel spreadsheets.
• Complex Formulas: Creating and managing complex formulas can be time-consuming and prone to errors, requiring significant effort to ensure accuracy.

2. Error Overhead

• Human Errors: Manual data entry and formula creation are susceptible to human errors, which can lead to inaccurate data and flawed analyses.
• Version Control Issues: Multiple versions of the same spreadsheet can lead to discrepancies and confusion over which version is the most current or accurate.

3. Scalability Overhead

• Performance Limitations: Excel has performance limitations, especially with large datasets, which can slow down operations and reduce efficiency.
• Data Volume Constraints: Excel is not well-suited for handling very large datasets or complex data relationships, leading to potential data management issues.

4. Collaboration Overhead

• Limited Multi-User Access: Excel is not designed for simultaneous multi-user access, making it difficult for teams to collaborate effectively in real-time.
• File Sharing Issues: Sharing Excel files via email or other methods can lead to version control problems and delays in information dissemination.

5. Security Overhead

• Data Security Risks: Excel files can be easily copied, shared, or accessed without proper security measures, posing a risk to sensitive business information.
• Lack of Audit Trails: Tracking changes and maintaining audit trails in Excel is challenging, complicating compliance and accountability efforts.

6. Maintenance Overhead

• Ongoing Updates: Regularly updating and maintaining Excel spreadsheets, especially those with complex data and formulas, requires continuous effort.
• Custom Solutions: Businesses often develop custom solutions within Excel to meet specific needs, which can be difficult and costly to maintain and update as requirements change.

7. Integration Overhead

• Data Silos: Data in Excel often exists in silos, making it difficult to integrate with other business systems and databases.
• Limited Automation: While Excel offers some automation capabilities through macros and VBA, these are limited compared to dedicated business analytics or ERP systems, leading to manual workarounds.

8. Analytical Overhead

• Limited Advanced Analytics: Excel is not well-suited for advanced analytics, such as predictive modelling or machine learning, requiring additional tools and processes.
• Static Reports: Reports generated in Excel are typically static, lacking the interactivity and real-time capabilities of more advanced analytics platforms.

9. Training Overhead

• Learning Curve: Advanced Excel features have a steep learning curve, requiring significant training for employees to use effectively.
• Dependency on Key Individuals: Often, expertise in managing complex Excel spreadsheets resides with a few key individuals, creating a bottleneck and risk if those individuals are unavailable.

So what is the alternative to Excel?

Moving away from Excel and implementing a business analytics platform can be a game-changer for your business.

For far too long businesses have been dependent on Excel as the key tool for delivering key reports and metrics. Rather than spending vast amounts of time using Excel to consolidate and manipulate your data so you can then finally start to analyse it, a dedicated analytics platform allows you to instantly access all your data, from across your data landscape, allowing you to view and analyse the data, through pre-developed visualisations and reports, all at the click of a button.

They allow businesses to remove whole layers of their Excel overhead, reducing costs in terms of time, resource and inaccuracies.

Analytics platforms are robust, scalable and supportable by design, so version control and audit trail issues, data volume constraints and unwieldy complex formulae become a thing of the past.

They also make it easy for staff to communicate, collaborate, and generate insights and reports that make full use of the data you already have. Excel data silos are no longer an issue.

With a consolidated view of the position of your business in real-time, smart companies can focus on making better, faster and more insightful decisions, even going as far as predicting future trends and business performance. Business clarity at the touch of a button. Moving away from Excel might just be the smartest move your business can make.

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