A Spreadsheet or A Database-
Which is Best for Me?

by Kurt Stickney, Software Engineer

Everyone builds databases to store data. Right?  Wrong! 

The primary reason of a database is to retrieve information from all the data that has been entered into the database.

Why would you need a database?

Databases expedite information flow. You need information to flow effortlessly between you and your customers, vendors and employees. Without concise, accurate data, a businesses can be crippled or lose incredible amounts of money and time tracking down obscure information or worrying about losing valuable data.

Small and medium-sized businesses can compete with larger business by building efficient and scalable databases. When marketing trends, client mailings, and vendor requests can be generated efficiently and accurately by just a few button clicks that business can move faster than its competitors. This translates into the competitive edge and increased profitability.

Why Not Use A Spreadsheet?

Certainly, most numerical analysis software includes the capability to sort, filter, and reposition data for a variety of analysis options. However, each spreadsheet is like a flat file: Each sheet can contain many instances of data redundancy, and creating a query across sheets can be difficult or impossible.

With a high degree of data redundancy, data integrity cannot possibly be guaranteed. Spreadsheet applications cannot gather and relate data as needed, nor do they offer sophisticated report capabilities.

The problems start when the spreadsheet can’t keep up with your data needs. Spreadsheet applications don’t provide the depth of functions that ensure good data such as restricting data to specific ranges or formats and maintaining links among related data.