11 Aug 2009
More than two-thirds of mid-sized UK businesses still rely on spreadsheets as the main tool to support decision-making, according to research.
The study of 100 directors of mid-sized firms by analyst Quocirca and IBM also shows that 80 per cent of respondents say they have significant problems as a result of using spreadsheets, with issues cited including duplicated data and inaccurate information.
And 35 per cent went as far as admitting that using spreadsheets has a noticeably detrimental affect on the business.
“In a challenging economic climate, it’s staggering that mid-market companies are gambling critical company decisions on unreliable spreadsheets and dodgy data,” said Quocirca service director Clive Longbottom.
“These firms are far too established to rely on the roll of the dice when it comes to business critical decisions. Budget and resource planning cannot be left to chance by using systems that allow poor quality data to fester.”
Whether you're at the helm of your company or a time-pressed employee trying to get your job done, the last thing you want is to be slowed down by complicated software that seems to do everything apart from the one thing you really need. So why is it then that so many businesses are held back by the very software that was supposed to make their work easier?
Whilst spreadsheet based systems and Microsoft Access databases may have worked fine at the start of the business, these types of tools are not effective or efficient as the company grows and establishes itself in its market.
By modernising the company's software and hosting it centrally (somewhere where it's safe, backed up, and always available), organisations will find they are able to do things they couldn't do before, such as access all of their files and data remotely, using whatever device is at their disposal. Through the use of a web-browser and all of the cutting-edge technologies that work behind this, businesses will benefit from affordable, customised applications that can be up and running in as little as four to six weeks!
In addition, applications will be more flexible and dynamic too, enabling even the most IT-illiterate user - or indeed, customer - to search authorised records or generate easily-digestible reports on the fly.
By ditching complicated, heavy software for light, user-friendly cloud-based applications business owners can watch their business requirements come back down to earth as their employee productivity sky-rockets!
Yours Sincerely,
Nick Thompson
Managing Director
DCSL Software
www.dcsl.com
Posted by: Nick Thompson 21 Sep 2009
The results of the survey are exactly what we come across when speaking to businesses across the UK. Unlike firms in northern Europe, UK businesses rely heavily on spreadsheets when it comes to business processes such as account reconciliation. Organisations reliant on manual reconciliations are often exposed to errors that could result in a financial misstatement and must consider moving to a more accurate and cost efficient solution to streamline business processes.
Michael Coppack, Adra Match (www.adramatch.com)
Posted by: Michael Coppack 13 Aug 2009
The use of spreadsheets in IT systems and decision making is not the issue - its the method of implementation that is the key. To make a sweeping statement that spreadsheets are a bad idea in IT systems shows a complete lack of understanding in their power when integrated correctly. This sounds like a standard service provider trying to drum up business by bad mouthing a technology across the board. Garbage!
Posted by: SIM 12 Aug 2009
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