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> There isn't an IT department in the world that can develop centralized IT solutions fast enough to keep up with the ways employees slice & dice data. That's w

> There isn't an IT department in the world that can develop centralized IT solutions fast enough to keep up with the ways employees slice & dice data. That's why Excel is "overused". It wasn't very long ago that I realized that my two decades in IT could be summed up as: making proper applications out of Excel workbooks with feeble macros. I hate Microsoft as much as the next Linux zealot, but dang if they didn't create a world in which I've made a career. Where I'm at now, I'm drowning in opportunities to ameliorate horrific Excel-based workflows, and I'm fairly confident that there's enough work out there to last me until another 20 years to retirement.

jasode 9y ago
>making proper applications out of Excel workbooks Yes, exactly. If we're being uncharitable, we can spin Greenspun's 10th rule[1] of programming as: >"Any sufficiently complicated Excel spreadsheet contains an ad-hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of a proper centralized database." Or, if we're being charitable, we frame it as an internal MVP (Minimum Viable Product): >"Spreadsheets are the internal 'mvp' that proves the business value before you build the centralized systems. When the spreadsheet becomes unmaintable spaghetti formulas and the xls email workflow crushes under its own weight, that will give the company the evidence and the confidence to spend $1 million and migrate the spreadsheet to a proper centralized database." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenspun%27s_tenth_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenspun%27s_tenth_rule
- wainstead 9y ago
  Henceforth known as "jasode's corollary."
- fjsolwmv 9y ago
  A database is not a spreadsheet replacement. A database backed application is a spreadsheet replacement.
- ComodoHacker 9y ago
  >that will give the company the evidence and the confidence to spend $1 million and migrate the spreadsheet to a proper centralized database ...along with understanding that migrating at earlier stage would cost only $100K.
  - noobiemcfoob 9y ago
    Migrating too early before a business flow is properly understood could lead to that reduced cost but also a product that doesn't quite fit the actual needs.
- thibautg 9y ago
  I’ve just done exactly this: replace an old xls file which was sent each month by email with a simple web based application. The app includes some nice dataviz. But then the people keep asking “how can I export to excel”. One user was copying an html table split in 20 pages one by one to excel. So I found a elegant and simple solution: an excel spreadsheet linked to the PostgreSQL db of the app via ODBC. Now users can just click on Refresh All in excel and get the latest data. I’ve also added an “click here to open” link in excel which opens the form with the row’s id in the web app. Now everyone is happy: the data is kept centralized and available to everyone in real time. And users can make all the pivot tables and pivot charts that they want natively in excel. Do not underestimate the power of ODBC with excel! (may not work for big data though, but most business app do not contain more than a few thousand rows)
Yhippa 9y ago
How did you build that career if you don't mind me asking? I've moved on from that stuff in my early career but would love to get back into it.

jasode 9y ago

>making proper applications out of Excel workbooks Yes, exactly. If we're being uncharitable, we can spin Greenspun's 10th rule[1] of programming as: >"Any sufficiently complicated Excel spreadsheet contains an ad-hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of a proper centralized database." Or, if we're being charitable, we frame it as an internal MVP (Minimum Viable Product): >"Spreadsheets are the internal 'mvp' that proves the business value before you build the centralized systems. When the spreadsheet becomes unmaintable spaghetti formulas and the xls email workflow crushes under its own weight, that will give the company the evidence and the confidence to spend $1 million and migrate the spreadsheet to a proper centralized database." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenspun%27s_tenth_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenspun%27s_tenth_rule

wainstead 9y ago
Henceforth known as "jasode's corollary."
fjsolwmv 9y ago
A database is not a spreadsheet replacement. A database backed application is a spreadsheet replacement.
ComodoHacker 9y ago
>that will give the company the evidence and the confidence to spend $1 million and migrate the spreadsheet to a proper centralized database ...along with understanding that migrating at earlier stage would cost only $100K.
- noobiemcfoob 9y ago
  Migrating too early before a business flow is properly understood could lead to that reduced cost but also a product that doesn't quite fit the actual needs.
thibautg 9y ago
I’ve just done exactly this: replace an old xls file which was sent each month by email with a simple web based application. The app includes some nice dataviz. But then the people keep asking “how can I export to excel”. One user was copying an html table split in 20 pages one by one to excel. So I found a elegant and simple solution: an excel spreadsheet linked to the PostgreSQL db of the app via ODBC. Now users can just click on Refresh All in excel and get the latest data. I’ve also added an “click here to open” link in excel which opens the form with the row’s id in the web app. Now everyone is happy: the data is kept centralized and available to everyone in real time. And users can make all the pivot tables and pivot charts that they want natively in excel. Do not underestimate the power of ODBC with excel! (may not work for big data though, but most business app do not contain more than a few thousand rows)

Yhippa 9y ago

How did you build that career if you don't mind me asking? I've moved on from that stuff in my early career but would love to get back into it.