80% of Midsize Companies Have 'Significant' Problems with Spreadsheets
Four fifths of mid-market organisations admit to having significant problems with spreadsheets, revealed research sponsored by IBM. The study of 100 board-level decision makers of mid-market organisations by Quocirca also found that despite numerous problems with data duplication and inaccurate information, 68% of midsize organisations still use spreadsheets as the staple information provider to support business decisions.
The research also found that 35% of businesses provide data only on request, rather than proactively in rolling reports, which can be viewed by executives to gain visibility across the whole organisation at any time. Worse still, over one third (35%) of companies said that spreadsheet use has a marked detrimental impact on the business.
“In a challenging economic climate, it’s staggering that mid-market companies are gambling critical company decisions on unreliable spreadsheets and dodgy data,” said Clive Longbottom, service director at Quocirca. “These firms are far too established to rely on the roll of the dice when it comes to business critical decisions. Budget and resource planning cannot be left to chance by using systems that allow poor quality data to fester.”
Ged Simmons, country manager, IBM business intelligence and performance management, UK and Ireland, said: “If organisations wish to gain better insight from their data and make accurate decisions to ensure success in the long term, they need reliable data to give them confidence. Tailor-made software exists that provides enterprise-level analysis with a mid-size price tag. Mid-market companies would be wise to consider the choices. Hoping for the best is simply not a viable option.”