What are some disadvantages of using spreadsheets?
Easy to overwrite and susceptible human error
All spreadsheets, when shared between large teams and across multiple locations can fall foul of accidental overwrites of crucial information, loss of data and accidental edits. Whilst both Excel and Google sheet have some security functions such as ‘read only’, ‘comment’ or ‘view’ versions or password protection, this limits the ability for staff members to easily collaborate with each other and any external agencies. As a result editable versions become the default and thus any risk mitigation is forfeited.
Not very secure and vulnerable to data breach
With the Edit version being the default and a need for quick access to improve workflow, security is very minimal on the majority of spreadsheets. Given that there are hefty penalty fines to be awarded to companies trading in Europe who break GDPR, poor security or badly stored and carelessly shared spreadsheets can be costly indeed.
Inconsistencies and multiple iterations of the the same sheet
For Excel in particular, spreadsheets can often fall prey to multiple copies being stored in weird and wonderful locations across your business’s file storage systems. This can lead to accidental deletion, incomplete or inconsistent data and some of the security and human error issues already explored.
Lack of scalability
As the size of your organisation grows, processes may become more complicated as they involve more personnel, more data and more spreadsheets! These spreadsheets can also grow in size, becoming unwieldy. With this growth the risk of the issues we have already identified are scaled up rather than down.
It may be that your organisation has already encountered one or more of these frustrations, but fear not, we can help! Our experienced Web team can design and build a custom web application that will address these issues and create a bespoke system for your business to dodge the data storage headaches.