By Hiran de Silva
ABSTRACT
This article discusses the contrasting reactions to using Excel for enterprise-grade solutions, where some dismiss advanced applications as “not Excel,” while others recognize its powerful capabilities. The author, Hiran de Silva, explains that skepticism often stems from viewing Excel as a standalone spreadsheet rather than a component of a larger system leveraging databases like Access for centralized data. He argues that Excel, when used with its built-in features to connect with data stores, enables scalable and collaborative business tools, a concept demonstrated even by Satya Nadella in the past. Ultimately, the piece champions a paradigm shift in understanding Excel’s potential as a dynamic part of an enterprise network, illustrated by client success stories.
Over the years, I’ve seen two diametrically opposed reactions to my demonstrations of enterprise-grade Excel solutions—such as the Annual Budgeting Model, the Budget Review System, or the Reg Call Handler. These reactions fall into two camps: one side exclaims, “That’s not Excel!” while the other insists, “You wouldn’t believe what Hiran can do with Excel.”
Let’s unpack these reactions.
The “That’s Not Excel” Crowd
This skepticism isn’t new. The very first time I encountered it was over a decade ago on LinkedIn. I was responding to one of those “You can’t do that with Excel” comments. My explanation involved using Microsoft Access—not as a replacement for Excel, but as a data store, a librarian. Access was inert, simply holding tables centrally rather than embedded in spreadsheets.
But the knee-jerk reaction was: “So your answer to Excel’s problems is… Access?”
That missed the point. This isn’t about replacing Excel—it’s about enhancing it. Storing data in Access (or any relational database) enables a hub-and-spoke architecture. It’s not like the 1990s, when managers would declare Excel had outgrown itself and commission Access developers to rebuild the solution—only to realize that path was unsustainable, costly, and eventually led everyone back to Excel.
There’s still a lingering memory of that era. As recently as 2023, during a Vegas tech gathering, Jordan Goldmeier posted that “there’s nothing you can do with Access that you can’t do better in Excel.” It was an interesting thread, but again, it missed the point. It’s not about Access versus Excel. It’s about Excel leveraging a central data store to enable scalable, collaborative enterprise solutions.
Some even argue that what I’m showing isn’t real Excel—especially when I use VBA or when architecture starts to look like a client-server system. But that’s a misunderstanding. These are native Excel capabilities, introduced over 30 years ago.
In fact, Microsoft quietly enabled this architecture back in 1993 during a developer conference called DevCast. There, a young Satya Nadella (yes, the future CEO) demoed Excel 5 pulling stock control data from an IBM AS/400 corporate database. It was a three-hour show, and his 15-minute demo wasn’t aimed at IT professionals—it was aimed at power users. There was no conflict between Excel and IT back then. That divide emerged later.
The “You Wouldn’t Believe What Hiran Can Do” Supporters
On the other side are those who’ve seen the potential firsthand. People like John Hornak, Ed Cruz, Craig Hatmaker, and Hamilton GoGoGo have publicly praised my work. One uploaded a clip from my annual budgeting video, specifically the drill-down from consolidation with audit trail, saying, “You wouldn’t believe what Hiran can do with Excel.”
That’s the thing—this isn’t some theoretical or gimmicky use of Excel. These are live, real-time, mission-critical solutions solving real business problems, especially the most fundamental one: the reliability of financial data coming out of ERP systems.
Take the Budget Review process. It’s a ubiquitous challenge in every company worldwide. If your budgeting and financial planning tools aren’t reliable, then your entire FP&A operation is built on shaky ground.
And no, spreadsheets alone can’t solve it. Nor can ERP systems on their own. Power Query and modern tools (Group B) fall short. External Windows apps (Group D) can’t do it either. Only Group C—the Excel methodology I’ve honed—can. It works because it centralizes data, separates it from spreadsheets, and leverages Excel’s built-in plumbing for bi-directional database communication.
Why the Confusion?
The passionate divide exists because many still see Excel as just a digital version of a large sheet of paper. Collaboration, to them, means emailing copies of spreadsheets back and forth. That model is outdated.
The other group—the ones who “get it”—were awake during the client-server revolution. They’re not surprised when Excel acts like an enterprise-grade application, because that’s exactly how it was designed.
Let me illustrate this with two analogies:
1. The Librarian Analogy:
In my architecture, Access (or another database) acts like a librarian. Instead of books (data) being scattered in different rooms of a house, they’re stored in a central library. Everyone can access the latest version, collaborate seamlessly, and contribute meaningfully.
2. The Horse-Drawn Car Analogy:
Imagine people driving a fully-featured BMW—but with horses still hitched to the front. That’s what some are doing with Excel today. When I demonstrate how to unhook the horses and start the engine, the results are transformative. Suddenly, ten times more deliveries can be made in a day. The power was always under the hood. I didn’t invent it—I just knew it was there.
Real-World Impact
This isn’t just theory. My clients have literally tripled my pay—on four separate occasions—after seeing these solutions in action.
One memorable example: an SAP-based budgeting and forecasting implementation failed after nearly a year of effort. Over the Christmas holidays, my colleague and I built a working Excel prototype that outperformed SAP. Why did SAP fail? Because users had to wait up to 40 seconds for a single update. The architecture wasn’t fit for purpose.
Excel, when used the way it was designed to be used, solved the problem in days.
Wrapping It Up
So yes, there are two reactions. One camp insists “That’s not Excel.” The other says, “You wouldn’t believe what Hiran can do with Excel.”
But at the heart of this debate is a paradigm shift. The spreadsheet is no longer a static document—it’s a live, dynamic node in an enterprise network. And the sooner we recognize that, the more we can unlock Excel’s true power.
Solution C is not a hack or a trick. It’s the only game in town.
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