By Hiran de Silva
In Part 1, we explored a provocative challenge: a seemingly simple spreadsheet operation that worked perfectly for one call handler—but fell apart at scale. The moment the business grew to include 20 warehouses and 50 call handlers, the consensus from industry experts was unanimous: This is no longer a job for Excel.
The verdict was clear: attempting to scale a spreadsheet-based operation like this was outdated, irrational, even dangerous. It was labeled as a foolish attachment to a familiar tool that couldn’t keep up with business growth.
The phrase used was: “You need a proper system.”
But what if that verdict was wrong?
What if the real problem wasn’t the tool itself—but the widespread failure to understand it properly?
Let me now show you what they didn’t think was possible.
Scaling Excel: The Secret No One Told You
What you’re about to see isn’t a hack. It isn’t a workaround. It’s not some obscure programming magic. It’s a standard, built-in capability of Microsoft Office that’s been there for over 30 years.
The only difference is… very few people know about it.
And yet, it solves the exact challenge that so many influencers claimed required abandoning Excel entirely.
Let’s revisit our original setup.
The Working Spreadsheet That Apparently Couldn’t Scale
At the start of this story, we had one spreadsheet with cascading drop-downs that helped a single call handler:
- Select a brand
- Choose a product line
- Pick a color
- Filter by available sizes
- Display current stock
This was all driven by in-workbook data. And as long as there was one warehouse and one operator, everything worked fine.
But now we have 20 warehouses. And 50 call handlers. And everyone said this setup could no longer function.
Why?
Because each spreadsheet would need to pull data from 20 others. And none of the 100+ YouTube tutorials on cascading dropdowns explain how to pull live data from multiple external files. So even seasoned Excel experts concluded: “This cannot be done.”
But it can.
What If One Button Could Scale Everything?
Let’s flip the script.
Instead of having each of the 50 call handlers pull data from 20 spreadsheets (which would be chaos), we change the architecture:
- Each warehouse maintains its own spreadsheet, just as before.
- Each of those spreadsheets has a button called “PUT.”
- When the button is clicked, the stock data from that warehouse is automatically uploaded into one central Access database table—no opening Access, no manual data entry, no hassle.
From that moment:
- All 50 call handlers can use their cascading drop-downs…
- …which now reference one live data source (the Access table).
- And when an order is placed, a second button called “GET” updates the stock level in that table, instantly.
- Every call handler’s spreadsheet reflects that new reality—live, in real time.
No broken links. No version chaos. No emailing files back and forth. No copying and pasting. No over-engineered Power Queries.
Just… Excel working as it was designed to work.
What Made This Possible?
The entire system works thanks to a long-forgotten but incredibly powerful technology that’s already built into Microsoft Office:
ActiveX Data Objects (ADO).
ADO was introduced by Microsoft in the early 1990s. In fact, at a 1993 technical showcase called DevCast, a young Microsoft developer named Satya Nadella—yes, the current CEO—demonstrated this technology’s potential. A few years later, it was fully embedded into Office Professional 97.
With ADO, Excel can read from and write to databases—without leaving Excel.
Think about that. Microsoft gave us the ability to combine the spreadsheet paradigm with the database paradigm seamlessly. Yet almost no one teaches it today.
Why?
Because Excel education has become shallow, fragmented, and overrun by social media noise.
The Real Meaning of “Digital Nervous System”
In 1999, Bill Gates wrote a book called Business @ the Speed of Thought, where he described a concept called the Digital Nervous System. The idea was simple: when something happens in one part of the business, it should automatically trigger updates everywhere else.
That’s exactly what we’ve done here.
- A call handler takes an order.
- That transaction reduces the available stock in the central table.
- All 49 other call handlers see the new stock level instantly.
- The system self-updates with no IT intervention, no downtime, and no waiting for batch jobs or reports.
This isn’t theory. This is Excel and Access working together as intended—with nothing more than the built-in features of Microsoft Office.
From Local Spreadsheets to Global Systems
What we’ve just described works beautifully on a shared network. But here’s the kicker: it doesn’t have to stop there.
If the central database is hosted in the cloud (using SQL Server or even cloud-hosted Access), this same system can go global.
- Warehouses in different countries? No problem.
- Remote call handlers using Excel or even Power Apps? No problem.
- BI dashboards, automated workflows, phone apps, even Google Sheets integration? All possible.
Once you switch to this architecture—Excel + database synergy—you unlock a world of scalability and integration that no single spreadsheet file could ever achieve.
Why No One Is Talking About This
This raises an uncomfortable question:
Why is this not being taught?
Why are the same influencers who promote modern Excel tools like Power Query and dynamic arrays completely silent about Excel’s ability to integrate with databases?
It’s not because it doesn’t work. We’ve just proved that it does.
It’s not because it’s hard. In fact, it’s easier than building complex Power Query setups once you understand it.
It’s not even because it’s outdated. ADO is still supported across all Microsoft platforms and remains central to many enterprise-grade applications.
The real reason?
Nobody taught them. And so they can’t teach you.
One Small Step, One Giant Leap for Excel Users
All we did was:
- Create a simple Access database.
- Add a table called
Stock. - Connect Excel to it using ADO.
- Use simple buttons to PUT and GET data.
That’s it.
The result?
- Scalable, live stock data.
- Real-time decision-making.
- Zero chaos.
- Zero cost.
- Zero disruption.
Management, expecting to endure major upheaval, suddenly sees that none of it is necessary. The fear evaporates. Control remains in-house. The business continues to grow—without breaking anything.
And the person who made that possible?
Becomes the hero of the boardroom.
Final Thoughts: The Real Cost of Not Knowing Excel Properly
So let’s return to the theme of this series:
The cost of not understanding Excel properly.
In this case, that cost would have included:
- A six-figure capital expenditure
- Months of development time
- Organizational disruption
- Loss of agility
- Dependence on external systems and vendors
All avoided… with one Access table and a few buttons in Excel.
Let’s be clear: this is not advanced magic. This is basic if you understand Excel properly.
And if you do, your value to any organization will be instantly recognized.
Because value, at its core, is the ability to remove pain, reduce cost, and unlock opportunity.
And that is exactly what understanding Excel properly allows you to do.
Thank you for reading Part 2. If this opened your eyes, imagine what happens when more people start learning Excel the right way.
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