An Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel

What is Microsoft excel?

one of the most widely used application software's in businesses today, is a spreadsheet software which uses graphs,charts, pies, rows and columns to organize data. It can also manipulated formulas and allow the software to perform mathematical functions on the data .

Who produces and sells it?

Excel written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.[1

How many versions are there?

Since 1985, there have been ten different versions distributed for Windows, and twelve versions for Mac OS X.

Which type of organizations uses it?

It used by both big organizations as well as small ones.

How long has it been in the market?

Although Microsoft Excel has been in the market since 1987, it did not take off until 1993. In 2003 and 2007 Microsoft made Training and Demo application available.

Is it accurate?
Due to Excel's foundation on floating point calculations, the statistical accuracy of Excel has been criticized as lacking certain statistical tools.[2]

FOR MORE ABOUT MICROSOFT EXCEL:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/default.aspx

URL source:

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_excel

[2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V8V-4S1S6FC-5&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=

C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=131049fba0262749e45f7a9

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Microsoft Excel

Advantages:

1. Sent through Emails

Excel can be sent through email and viewed by most

smartphones which makes more convenient .

2. Part of Microsoft Office

Excel is a part of the Microsoft office which comes with most

PC so there is no need to purchase or install it.

3. An All in One Program

Excel is an all in one programme and does not need the addition

of financial subsets.

4. Availability of Training Programs and Training Courses

There is training programs and even training courses to make

users more familiar with Excel.

5. Secure

Excel files can be password protected for extra security. A

user can create a password through Visual Basic programming or

directly within the Excel file.[1]

6. Easy connection to OLAP

Excel is capable of connecting directly to OLAP databases and
can be integrated in Pivot Tables.[2]

Disadvantages:

1. Viruses

Viruses can be attached to an Excel file through macros. Macros

are mini programs that are written into an Excel spread sheet.

[1]

2. Slow Execution

Using only one file can make the file size very big and as a

result the program might run slowly.

3. Loss of Data

So you might have to break it into smaller files, by doing so

there is an increased risk in Excel data being lost.

4. Hard to Use

Although there are training programs, it is still hard to use

and some users might not get the hang of it.

5. Space Limit

It limits the number of rows and columns you can use.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/28/news/companies/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm

URL Sources:[1]http://www.ehow.com/facts_4814365_advantages-disadvantages-microsoft-excel.html

[2] http://msexcelvba.blogspot.com/2008/05/advantages-and-disadvantages-of.html