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Spreadsheets versus BI tools: which should a growing business use?
Use spreadsheets for small datasets, one-off analysis and modelling, and move to a BI tool when data comes from multiple systems, needs regular refreshing, or must be shared with many people. BI tools add automation, consistent definitions, access control and interactive dashboards that spreadsheets handle poorly at scale.
The comparison is not either/or. Many companies keep spreadsheets for planning and what-if analysis while BI tools handle recurring reporting.
BI tools generally win on:
- Automatic refresh from source systems
- Handling millions of rows
- Permissions by user or team
- A single shared definition of each metric
Spreadsheets win on flexibility and familiarity. The best setup uses each for what it does well.
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