Rapid Application Development / Advanced Excel Development

Design - Excel or not

• Excel/VBA is often not technically the best solution
• Databases are better for large volumes of data
• Compiled languages better for security
• Spreadsheets are a 2 dimensional tool where most business problems are 5+ dimensions
• Excel (and VBA or another automation language) is good when considering
  • Initial speed of development
  • Cost of initial development
  • Current skill sets (beginning to change slowly)
  • Simple initial deployment
  • combining with other systems with complementary strengths
• Note: If you need to restrict Excel functionality you may be better outside Excel