The Excel / Access Trap
Excel and Access are both extremely useful and powerful tools, most businesses could not operate without them. But…overuse of spreadsheets and Access databases could become a problem.
Have Excel and Access have become a problem or too inefficient?
Getting Excel Under Control
Symptoms
- Where do I get the latest copy of this SS. Report?
- Has anyone modified the Macros since last week/month?
- Can unauthorized people see salary/personal information?
- Is the data secure?
Potential Solutions
- Host SSs on a shared drive; limit access rights; hide / lock columns/sheets
- Document management systems
- Excel Services and SharePoint
- Consider replacing some spreadsheets with line of business applications
Beware of Access ‘databases’
It’s NOT a database, it’s an APPLICATION
- It’s “free” and “easy” (at first!)
- The code is hard to maintain & you soon outgrow it (but you are now dependent)
- The business logic and UI are embedded in database (Worst Practice 101!)
- Access does not scale well, and relies upon file access mechanisms for security
Potential Solutions
- Use Access only as the UI, use a true RDBMS for the database
- Remember SQL Server Express and MySQL are FREE
- Consider replacing the access database with a line of business application
Final Thought
Understand your processes before automating them!
Business owners often think that by purchasing a software package that will improve their processes when all they are doing is automating a broken process!
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
- Bill Gates