Spreadsheets and databases are two of the most popular tools used to store and analyze data. Both technologies have been around for a long time; databases date to the early 1970s and spreadsheets are a more “recent” evolution (with VisiCalc’s debut in 1979) offering greater flexibility and scalability.
Spreadsheets: Pervasive, Approachable Data Analysis
It’s no surprise that spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, are ubiquitous in business settings (there are conservatively 750M users worldwide), due to their easy-to-use interface and ability to quickly generate charts. However, spreadsheets do have some drawbacks; they can become difficult to manage when dealing with large datasets (over 1 million rows), and require manual updates if the underlying data changes.
