Many times "it" started as one worker in the office who needed to get something done. And they figured out that Excel (or Access) could do "that thing". So they

Many times "it" started as one worker in the office who needed to get something done. And they figured out that Excel (or Access) could do "that thing". So they used Excel to automate it. Then "that thing" ended up doing more, and getting more complicated, until one day people realize that the company depends on this (now) business critical process. Excel was more likely because it came in almost every version of Microsoft Office. Access tended to come in only the more expensive suites. That's why I call Excel & Access "gateway drugs" - they're the tool that got a lot of people into programming. They didn't wake up one morning and say "hey, I want to be a programmer!". Instead they figured out how to do their work with the tools they had, and then one day woke up and realized "OMG! I've become a programmer without noticing."