Librarians are among the most essential and underappreciated professionals in the world. Their work ensures that knowledge, stored in books, remains neatly organized and easily findable. If you need a book, they can tell you exactly where it is. If someone has borrowed it, they know who has it and when it will be returned. This skill—organizing and tracking information—allows a librarian to provide immediate access to knowledge when needed.
Now, contrast this with the average person. Most of us struggle to remember where we left a book, let alone who we lent it to. We may have a system, but it is nowhere near as efficient or reliable as a librarian’s. This is why we entrust the organization and safekeeping of books to them.
The Digital Librarian: Databases
When digital technology entered the workplace, two essential tools emerged: spreadsheets and databases. They serve complementary roles, much like accountants and librarians in the pre-digital age.
Spreadsheets, like Microsoft Excel, are designed for analysis, calculations, modeling, and reporting. They allow users to process data, visualize insights, and interact with structured information. Before computers, accountants would manually gather information from stockroom records and input it into paper spreadsheets for analysis.
Databases, on the other hand, serve the role of the librarian. They are designed to store, organize, and retrieve data efficiently. Like a well-managed library, a database ensures that data is centrally stored, updated in real time, and available to all who need it.
The Role of Excel and Access
When Microsoft introduced Excel and Access as part of Microsoft Office in the mid-1990s, the vision was clear:
- Excel was to be used for analysis, modeling, and reporting.
- Access (or any database) was to be the structured repository where Excel could retrieve and store data.
This synergy between Excel and a database allows for efficient data management, eliminating the chaos of scattered spreadsheets. When data is stored centrally, collaboration becomes seamless, accuracy improves, and efficiency skyrockets.
The Problem with Storing Data in Excel
Unfortunately, most Excel courses—even advanced ones—teach users to store data inside the spreadsheet itself. Even when data is imported via Power Query, it remains locked within the workbook, leading to:
- Data Silos – Each workbook contains its own version of the truth.
- Version Control Issues – Workbooks are shared and edited separately, creating inconsistencies.
- Collaboration Challenges – Multiple users working on different versions of the same data.
Contrast this with a centralized database, where all spreadsheets pull from the same live data source. This approach revolutionizes productivity, particularly for global teams handling shared processes.
Scaling Excel with Databases
When Excel works in harmony with a database, its power multiplies exponentially. Instead of maintaining countless spreadsheets with outdated or duplicate data, a single database serves as the source of truth for all users.
- Spreadsheets retrieve and update data in real time from the database.
- Multiple users across different locations can work with the same dataset.
- Scalability is limitless, whether it’s ten users or ten thousand.
Becoming the 1%
This course is designed to bridge the gap between spreadsheets and databases. By mastering this synergy, you position yourself among the top 1% of Excel professionals—the ones who employers seek out and are willing to pay three times the standard Excel rate.
As we progress, we’ll start slow, covering the fundamentals, and then dive into real-world applications. By the end, you’ll have the skills to revolutionize how data is managed, analyzed, and used in business.
Good luck, and enjoy the course!
This is an extract from the HIRAN Global Excel training course. Expected March 2025.
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