Spreadsheet Remediation

Excel and MS Access are cheap and effective tools that allow subject matter experts to quickly model solutions in their domain of expertise.

However, useful applications created in Excel and Access typically become basic building blocks for successive spreadsheet applications.

Almost inevitably, this process gives rise to fragile ecosystems of interlinked documents. "Fragile" because something as simple as inserting a row might silently break dependent spreadsheets in a way that doesn't show up for months.

In worst case, reporting structures based on Excel often depend on individual people knowing "how the system works". At reporting time, spreadsheets are emailed around and the contents copied and pasted. This complex and undocumented algorithm is as much a part of getting the right results as the spreadsheet formulae themselves

Thus, in addition to locking up valuable information, inconsistent or missing data and ineffective re-use of logic, spreadsheets can expose companies to considerable emergency remediation if certain individuals leave or retire.

"Spreadsheet remediation" refers to a class of software projects where key data is moved or "upsized" from a spreadsheet into a relational database. This is usually an opportunity to add a web-based user interface, to secure and expose the data to the wider organisation.

KSC has a variety of proven approaches to this class of problem as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We can handle dependency-tracking, data-cleansing, database re-design and application implementation.

The driver behind spreadsheet-upsizing projects is often regulatory compliance, accountability or reputational risk. However, management who initiate such projects on these grounds are often pleasantly surprised when the end result has standalone business value - when reports can be reliably generated, and management decisions can be based on complete, unambiguous and definitive data.