What Does Your Company's Use of Spreadsheets Say About Your Technology Maturity?

Spreadsheets can be a dead giveaway of where your company stands on the technology maturity curve.

Most companies either don't understand the value of spreadsheets, just using them as glorified tables, or rely on them too heavily

While spreadhseets are incredibly versatile and powerful tools, an over-reliance on spreadsheets often signals deeper inefficiencies in how a business leverages technology.

This page is part a series on using technology well in your bussiness

The Telltale Signs of Low Technology Maturity

Whenever I assess a company's tech stack, one of the first things I examine is how they use spreadsheets. Your spreadsheet usage reveals a lot about your technology maturity. Here are some common signals:

Minimal Spreadsheet Usage: Companies that rely on spreadsheets solely for basic, unstructured tasks often indicate a broader lack of technology adoption. These businesses may not yet understand how technology can enhance efficiency, collaboration, and scalability.
Overly Complex Spreadsheets: When businesses have spreadsheets filled with macros, multiple sheets, and convoluted formulas, it shows that their processes have outgrown this tool. At this stage, spreadsheets are more of a crutch than a solution. While they may still "get the job done," they slow down decision-making and obscure critical business insights.

Why Spreadsheets are Popular, but Problematic

Spreadsheets are powerful tools. They can be used for everything from simple to-do lists to complex financial models with intricate formulas and macros. It's not uncommon to see them playing a critical role in managing core business processes. However, their very flexibility is also their downfall. When spreadsheets become a go-to solution for managing key operations, companies often face:

Lack of Scalability: Spreadsheets were never designed to handle large-scale, dynamic data environments.
Maintenance Nightmares: As spreadsheets grow, they often become overly complex, leading to errors and inconsistencies.
Risk of Dependency: Many companies find themselves dependent on a handful of “spreadsheet experts,” creating operational bottlenecks.
Version Control Chaos: Different versions of the same spreadsheet often float around, making it difficult to identify the most up-to-date or accurate data.
Spreadsheet “Personalities”: Every complex spreadsheet has a history—created by someone with specific logic that only they understand. These bespoke systems are difficult to modify without breaking things, turning spreadsheets into untouchable “magic messes” that no one dares to update.

These issues are all markers of a company struggling to adopt more efficient, scalable technology solutions.

How Spreadsheet Chaos Impacts Your Business

At a glance, a tangled web of spreadsheets may not seem like a critical issue. But in practice, it creates several negative ripple effects:

Data Accessibility Issues: Employees struggle to find or use the data they need efficiently.
Decreased Productivity: Valuable time is lost trying to track down the right version of a spreadsheet or troubleshoot errors.
Lower Employee Morale: Working in a chaotic, data-fragmented environment leads to frustration and disengagement.
Poor Customer Experience: When employees can't access timely information, the customer experience inevitably suffers.

These are all common problems experienced by a company with poor technology.

Is It Time to Move Beyond Spreadsheets?

If your company is heavily reliant on spreadsheets, it's likely a sign that your technology stack hasn't evolved to meet the demands of a modern, data-driven business. Moving away from manual spreadsheet management to more sophisticated software solutions can streamline your operations, enhance collaboration, and improve data accuracy.