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Excel vs database
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2025
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Programming
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A database can be used to plug into any number of applications that run on top of it as well as be easily shared by multiple people and centrally backed up. Auditing, logging, and row and table level access controls, and other measures can be easily added.
Excel files (or even MS Access files) as "databases" are often just people emailing around a file or accessing it from a shared drive. You end up with a split-brain situation at best and at worst you're dealing with constant file corruption from multiple people thinking they can access it from a shared drive at the same time.
Then you get vendor lock in and are forced to keep MS Office professional licenses because Shawn created some stupid Access "app" 10 years ago which is "THE DATABASE" and no one understands how it works.