Ten Points – Why Spreadsheet Automation?

( see LinkedIn Group Spreadsheet Automation )

3 of 10 – Like Google  (Only Better )

Many users ( especially new Financial Directors taking over established systems ) are surprised and disappointed in the management reports available  i.e. the software author’s standard offerings and any customised ones that have been generated - often at a huge cost.  In particular they have a strong desire to replicate reports they considered vital in their past roles, so they can implement their own controls and processes and they  feel unable to quickly react to urgent requests or business changes.  They are dismayed at the lead time and expense of provision of these essential enhancements and resort to cut and paste or rekey of data into Excel to operate their new roles.

At the same time, their IT resource providers get frustrated about users always changing their minds over their requirements which they view as an inability to define and specify their requirements which leads to dissatisfaction on both sides.

In a PC application, the user expectations are MUCH higher -   to survive and prosper, PC software developers provide superior user-oriented tools  and this level of ease of use is what business system users are now expecting or demanding.  For example, GoogleMaps/ Streetmap allows non-IT experts to access geographic information, to select, view, drill down, print, send location information, create driving directions and view others' images and share these.  Just a few years ago, these capabilities would have been unavailable, required specialist personnel, considerable delay and/or horrendously expensive.  Spreadsheet Automation provides a modern PC style of user based tool for business data - 

Spreadsheet Automation offers facilities equivalent to GoogleMaps/Streetmap  for your data ( only BETTER J ).

• Enter an address or postcode     - enter filters into templates, display basic data and then refine.
• Zoom  in and out of the map       - Aggregate data, drill down to detail or source transactions.  Use existing Excel skills to format and produce graphics          
• Driving directions                            - refresh and send out reports to management and key users.
• Change  view to Streetmap         - create customized queries with their own drill down capabilities
• View Photos provided by others   - access information extracts created by other users and published on the Cloud

Like Google, Spreadsheet Automation can be used with a minimum of training, and allows users to create formatted reports, ad-hoc analyses and graphics slowly - starting off with a basic concept and  enabling rapid and easy improvement.  But, here’s the fundamental advantage - unlike Google which presents data as-at some date in the past ( as does traditional Business Intelligence ), Spreadsheet Automation provides LIVE views of the business data. At critical times of the business reporting cycle this is a major business benefit.

Excelogy has experience of many evaluation installs of Spreadsheet Automation on client sites.  Almost always, the users involved ( often Financial Directors )  view the decision to go ahead and implement Spreadsheet Automation as a “no-brainer” and will ask to retain the evaluation software on their own system going on to implement fully.   Our own team view Spreadsheet Automation as a joy to present and implement – A rare WIN-WIN situation.   

 

 

 

Any data, any ERP - any time……  If you are interested in Spreadsheet Automation, come & see us at the Movex User Association Conference in October or contact us for an informal no-obligation chat or to attend one of our free webinars -  info@excelogy.co.uk