Spreadsheets in Business
Having started using a calculator, for most of us spreadsheets were the next experience of data manipulation and calculations. Spreadsheets are used because of their simplicity of initial calculations and quick results without the involvment of IT-Support. Spreadsheets are ...
a powerful, intuitive, low cost and flexible business modelling tool.
freely accessible, independently of the IT department.
easily distributable by mail.
a common language of business communication.
... indispensable in business. Over time, the capabilities and opportunities of using spreadsheets increased and led to its usage for more and more complex business models, including critical ones, which are shared by more and more people.
Finally, a limit is reached where spreadsheets can threaten productivity and safety in a company.
Some figures about spreadsheets
800 million users worlwide use spreadsheets
90% of all analyses with business critical impact are based on MS Excel
88% of spreadsheet calculations contain major errors
7 billion $ losses annually from errors in spreadsheets
Ø13 Users working together on one spreadsheet
>100 Emails daily containing spreadsheets happening in companies
Spreadsheet based financial calculations are a business critical tool in many companies. With an unmanageable number of files, users and increasing complexity, they become a risk and a costly problem.