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What are the limits of Excel for business analytics?
Excel struggles with very large datasets, automatic refresh from many systems, multi-user collaboration, audit trails and version control. Formulas can contain hidden errors, and files get copied and diverge. It remains excellent for modelling and ad hoc analysis, but weak as a shared reporting system.
Specific pain points:
- Row and performance limits on large files
- Manual copy and paste from sources
- Errors in complex formulas are hard to spot
- Limited access control
- Many conflicting copies
Power Query and Power Pivot extend Excel considerably, and can be a reasonable stepping stone before a full BI setup. If your spreadsheets are central to operations, treat them like any system: restrict editing, document formulas and keep backups.
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