Over the course of my career, 20+ yrs, I have found the "spreadsheet" to be an indispensable tool.  Spreadsheets serve the needs of many functions across an organization.  From the accounting clerk, who needs to organize some journal entries, to the senior engineering who needs to create a complicated model, spreadsheets serve a plethora of needs.  Many would argue that the spreadsheet is to finance/accounting types as a saw is to a carpenter.  The bottom line, then, many of us cannot survive in the workplace without a good spreadsheet program.

Back in 1979, when Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankstron invented the first-ever spreadsheet program (VisiCalc), the goal was simple: change the numbers in a formula or calculation in order to get a final answer.  This allowed Mr. Bricklin, as a Harvard MBA student, to quickly compute financial ratios based on different sets of assumptions.  Today, spreadsheets still serve the same fundamental role.  However, as the size of data and processing speed have grown, spreadsheets now act as a repository for large datasets.  For some, the number of tabs, columns, and rows seems dizzying.  So, then, does this seem normal or a little crazy?

For ad hoc analyses, spreadsheets are great, even when working with a large dataset.  However, once the dataset reaches critical mass, using a database instead of a typical spreadsheet is a good option.  A database allows for a more organized approach to data, and provides more advanced tools for sorting and grouping.  Databases also allow for multiple users, thereby avoiding the dreaded "read-only" errors (let's ignore the cloud solutions for now). More, databases provide organizations with greater collaboration, and provide a clearer path to creating a single source of truth.  As for those die-hard spreadsheet users, modern tools provide connections to databases.  This allows users to leverage the advanced tools of spreadsheets, while still maintaining a sense of order with respect to data.

Below are a few questions to ask yourself when determining if it is time for a database.

     1. Are multiple users working with the same dataset(s)?

     2. Is your spreadsheet growing in size?

     3. Are you becoming dependent on vlookups and filters to understand the structure of your data?

     4. Are you constantly copying and pasting a large dataset on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis?

     5. Do you spend a lot of time formatting your results?

In 1979, Mr. Bricklin and Mr. Frankstron invented an amazing tool that dramatically changed how people interact with data.  This dependence, though, has prevented many in the workforce from considering its proper place in working with datasets.  If you feel that your current spreadsheet needs a little more horsepower, it may be time to consider the use of a database.