Business use -- and misuse -- of spreadsheets is the topic a recent benchmark study conducted by Ventana Research. The study was sponsored by Actuate, Compassoft and eXpresso Corp. Half of survey participants reported they find major errors in data and formulas in the most important spreadsheets they use. Plus, 42 percent find out-of-date information in spreadsheets frequently or all the time.

Ventana Research believes that people are either unaware of the productivity drain that results from extensive use of spreadsheets in collaborative and repetitive business processes, or they are in denial both of the inefficiencies and of the business risks spreadsheet errors pose.

“One of the most striking findings from our research is the degree to which people who use spreadsheets have become numb to the real risk of losses and difficulties they pose. Individuals do not realize the extent to which using spreadsheets hinders their efficiency,” said Robert Kugel, Ventana Research’s Senior Vice President and research director who heads the company’s financial performance management practice.

Kugel notes that alternative software can help "solve the issues that frequently arise whenever spreadsheets are used in collaborative, repetitive, enterprise-wide processes.”

About this study

Ventana Research’s new benchmark research, “Requirements for 21st Century Spreadsheets: Uses and misuses of a critical business technology” confirms the widespread use of spreadsheets and details the problems they pose. The research, sponsored by technology providers Actuate (www.actuate.com), Compassoft (www.compassoft.com) and eXpresso Corp (www. eXpressocorp.com) is based on an analysis of 297 validated respondents of companies from all major industries. The survey was conducted with the assistance of media partners BI Review, DM Review and Intelligent Enterprise.

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