An Industry Survey of Analytics Spreadsheet Tools

Information Systems Education Journal (ISEDJ) 21 (5)
ISSN: 1545-679X November 2023
An Industry Survey of Analytics Spreadsheet Tools

Adoption: Microsoft Excel vs Google Sheets
Carl M Rebman, Jr.

[email protected]
Knauss School of Business
Department of Supply Chain, Operations, and Information Systems
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA 92110, USA
Queen E. Booker
[email protected]
Department of Management Information Systems
College of Management
Metropolitan State University
Minneapolis MN. 55403, USA
Hayden Wimmer
[email protected]
Department of Information Technology
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA 30460, USA
Steve Levkoff
[email protected]
Knauss School of Business
Department of Economics
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA 92110, USA
Mark McMurtrey
[email protected]
School of Business
University of Central Arkansas
Conway AR 72035, USA
Loreen Marie Powell

[email protected]
Department of Information Technology, Analytics, and Business Education
Commonwealth University of PA, Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA
©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 29

https://isedj.org/; https://iscap.info
Abstract
Spreadsheets have long played a key role in business decisions and operations. The use and adoption
of data analytics has substantially increased over the last few years and amplified this role. Spreadsheets
are often a first tool for data analytics as such applications provide ease of calculation with basic statistics
and chart development. For much of the last two decades universities have provided training in Microsoft
Excel because that was what companies used and demanded. Since mid-2020, there has been an
increase in use of Google Sheets causing some faculty to believe that MS Excel should be replaced.
Faculty should always be aware of current and future employer demands and ensure programs meet
the expectations of both employers and recent graduates. This study reviews business job postings
seeking employees with two or fewer years of work experience between 2019 and 2021 and examines
demand for spreadsheet application experience. Results overwhelmingly indicate that Microsoft Excel
still is the most required spreadsheet application by employers. Faculty should pause before changing
MS Excel training or removing certifications.
Keywords: Curriculum, Spreadsheets, Skills, Position Analysis, Business Education, MS Excel, Google
Sheets
1. INTRODUCTION review recent position descriptions, survey

employers and recent graduates, and review
Graduate employability is a concern for all other external sources to ensure that the
academic programs as graduate employability curriculum provided meets the current and future
has become a measure of program health for expectations for both students and employers.
program investment at many colleges (AACU,
2021). For business, tools knowledge and Spreadsheet tools and concomitant skills are an
expertise are prominent in job descriptions. One area of interest, especially since spreadsheet
such tool that is popular in job descriptions is dominance has changed through the years. For
spreadsheet and concomitant skills such as data example, Lotus 1-2-3 replaced VisiCalc, Microsoft
analysis and visualization. With an increase in Excel replaced Lotus 1-2-3, and now Google
remote work, collaboration is also becoming a Sheets is emerging as a potential tool to replace
more common skill. Microsoft Excel. Understanding how spreadsheet
interest is changing in the marketplace helps
Lawson et al. (2009) reported electronic faculty know when or if a switch in tool emphasis
spreadsheet usage in business had been around in the curriculum is necessary to ensure graduate
25 years. Since their study was published in employability.
2009, it is feasible to extend the time to almost
38 years. According to Melissa James from This study examines position descriptions posted
GreyCampus (2015), spreadsheets are important on indeed.com, a popular online job posting site.
to business as financial accounting tools, tracing The positions examined were posted between
product sales, accessing customer data, January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2021.
analyzing return on investment, and work The descriptions were limited to business
scheduling. According to Rahman et al. (2020) program titles requiring a bachelor’s degree, and
and Mack et al. (2018) “spreadsheets are two years or less of work experience. The position
everywhere.” In addition to business applications, analysis focuses on requirements for spreadsheet
they are used for a wide range of activities such knowledge, skills, and abilities such as data
as, but not limited to, managing diets, scientific analysis and visualization, and on collaboration, a
experiments, real estate inventory, managing popular skill requirement for remote workers. The
grades, managing financial portfolios, and remainder of this paper is structured as follows:
managing real estate inventory. Thus, having
good spreadsheet skills is beneficial beyond just The literature review includes a discussion and
knowing how to use them for their business comparison of Excel and Google Sheets. It also
applications. includes information regarding using position
descriptions to examine knowledge, skills, and
Higher education business programs play a role abilities. The literature review is followed by the
in developing students’ spreadsheet skills. A research methodology and study, results, and
recurring question when performing curriculum then conclusions and next steps.
review is whether faculty are teaching the right
skills and tools for employability. To help shape
curriculum, it is not uncommon for faculty to

2. LITERATURE REVIEW businesses could suffer from loss of profit or

market share.
Spreadsheets have existed for several decades.
Many years before the first electronic spreadsheet Microsoft Excel vs Google Sheets
program, LANPAR (LANguage for Programming The exact current number of spreadsheet users is
Arrays at Random, Wikipedia, 2022), businesses debatable and still by all counts considered to be
used paper-based ledger systems to manage large. Statista (2019) did a study in Finland in
their financial operations. According to Dan Power 2019 and found that a little under 50% of their
of DSS Resources.com (2004), “in the realm of population used spreadsheet software and it was
accounting jargon, a ‘spread sheet’ or relatively evenly spread over different age
spreadsheet was and is a large sheet of paper demographics (Figure 1).
with columns and rows that organizes data about
transactions for a businessperson to examine, it
shows all the costs, income, and taxes for a
manager to examine when making a decision.”
Accountants primarily used these ledgers to
handle budgeting, accounts receivables, and
payroll. Accountants found spreadsheets were
important as they allowed for better organization
of data which enhanced decision making.
Spreadsheets
Since 1969 there have been many spreadsheet
applications. Some programs got their start as in-
house programs such as Autoplot (General Figure 1: Share of people who use
Electric), APLDOT (US Railway Association), while spreadsheet software in Finland, 2019
others obtained more commercial success and
adoption such as VisiCalc, SuperCalc, Lotus 1-2- A few others have tried to determine the actual
3, Microsoft Excel, and Google Sheets. It seemed number of users for spreadsheet software
as if the spreadsheet software world was like that programs. For example, in 2017 Simon Cocking
of worldwide boxing champions with each from Irish Tech News wrote about seven reasons
newcomer knocking off the reigning king. that a half a billion people still used Excel. Joseph
(2021) estimates that there are 750 million to 1.2
Research and practice have demonstrated that billion Microsoft Excel users and over 2 billion
spreadsheet software can be robust and versatile. Google Suite users world-wide. Elizabeth Gration
For example, Grossman et al. (2007) investigated (2022) reported that 1 in 8 people use Microsoft
18 different cases in the areas of application although her numbered quote included the entire
software development, executive information Office Suite.
systems, financial risk management, sales and
marketing business processes, business In fact, one of the challenges with determining
operations, and complex analytics. They found actual Excel and Google Sheets numbers stems
that spreadsheets could be more strongly from difficulties determining which exact product
protected as Excel contains tools to keep the in the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite is
developer’s source code protected. Large being used. Hjalmar Gislason (2018) discusses
complex spreadsheets can require programming how it is hard to differentiate between paying and
skills similar to a Fourth Generation and Rapid free accounts as well as the inclusion of GMAIL in
Development Language operating in an the Google Suite. To address this, Gisalsson
Integrated Development Environment. applied a 2/3 estimate reduction in numbers
when comparing MS Excel (800 million) and
Reschenhofer and Matthes (2015) discussed how Google Sheets (160 million).
spreadsheets have capabilities like formulae and
macros to support complex calculations or Gilasson (2018) provides an enlightening
automate processes, and spreadsheets have description of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
become an indispensable as a comprehensive users and is visually summarized in Figure 2. He
medium for data management and analysis. talks about how more young people and young
Frownfelter-Lohrke (2017) reported that if companies use Google Sheets while older and
companies did not create good spreadsheets or more mature companies use Microsoft Excel. He
conduct thorough spreadsheet analysis then their reports that Excel is more sophisticated and

preferred by ‘pros’ where Google sheets is more them to predict the future of Excel in Business
sluggish but good for quick and simple items. He Intelligence. Appendix 2 presents a few of the
also did note that Google sheets works better for quotes from the experts. 25 out of 27 felt that
collaboration and that even the pros were found Excel would always be important, at the heart of
to ‘sneak’ using Google sheets from time to time. data analytics and highly used and valued.
Nina Semczuk (2020) provides support for
Gilasson’s claims by confirming the benefits of The main differences noted between Microsoft
collaboration in Google Sheets as well as pointing Excel and Google Sheets were cost, maximum
out how frequently Google Sheets gets updated cells per sheet, the robustness, automatic file
and works well with real time data. saving, large datasets, the ability to collaborate
effectively, and certification.
In addition to research studies on specific

spreadsheet software skills required by
employers, our literature review found that
studies on spreadsheets focused on two other
areas: how to ‘teach’ spreadsheet software to
students in specific domains (e.g., economics,
statistics), and the value of certification in
spreadsheet skills. Most of the articles were
focused on Microsoft Excel, although there were
some older articles on VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3.
Figure 2: Comparison between Excel and Those articles were not included because the
Google Sheets (Source: https://grid.is/) software is retired. Articles on Google Sheets are
starting to appear and those have focused on how
Perhaps examining the technical differences
to use and introduce Google sheets either in
between the two programs might shed some light
general terms or towards a specific domain. There
on use and adoption. Appendix 1 presents a
was little in term of direct comparison between
comparison of the technical differences taken
MS Excel and Google Sheets
from three sources: Simplilearn, EDUCBA, and
WallStreetMojo.com.
Formby et al. (2017) found that 94% agreed or
strongly agreed that being able to create
All three sources provide the same pros and cons
spreadsheets, charts and analyze data were
of the two programs. Their analysis reinforces
especially important skills and that data analytics
previous research that Excel is more robust by
was also an important skill for students. They
being able to handle more cells and data.
reviewed job postings for 5 different states and
Conversely, Google Sheets is better for sharing,
found that on average approximately 50% of
collaboration, multi-user, and for updating data.
employers had a strong spreadsheet knowledge
Excel tends to be faster and much better at data
requirement, specifically Microsoft Excel.
visualization, especially with the newer versions
of Excel that contain PowerBI integrations and
Treadwell et al. (2013) found that industry
connect to Tableau seamlessly. PowerBI and
demands were strong for spreadsheet skills. Their
Tableau are products that allow for easier
study sought to determine important spreadsheet
generations of complex data visualizations.
skills and then test students on Microsoft Excel.
They felt the students’ performance was declining
Newer versions of MS Excel, such as Office 365,
and that could cause students to have difficulties
contain the Microsoft One Drive feature which was
finding jobs after graduation.
designed to address collaboration and sharing
issues. One Drive still has its limitations as it
Coleman and Blankenship (2017) attempted to
requires more setup than Google Sheets. By
determine the linkage between academia and
comparison, Google Sheets is considered simpler
businesses. They surveyed faculty and area
and is continuously updated in real-time as data
businesses and asked about 18 different MS Excel
is entered. For example, Google Sheets
and MS Access attributes and found many
automatically updates and saves when users
synergies and alignments between what was
engage with the file, when the file is shared, and
taught and what was needed by employers. Their
it always tracks changes.
study reaffirmed that analytical skills and
specifically spreadsheet skills are important to be
Investintech.com (2022) conducted personal
taught, and to be mastered by students.
interviews with 27 spreadsheet experts and asked

Raglan and Ramachandran (2014) investigated From the certification perspective, Clairborne
student’s perception of their MS Excel knowledge (2017) did a comprehensive review of employers
and perceived readiness for accounting positions. and employer desired certifications in prospective
Their study was helpful in aligning the skills employees. They discovered that spreadsheet
perceived as necessary and important by new skills were viewed very positively, and the
hires with those of current students. They also Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Exam in Excel
found that Excel is the most common analytical was considered the most valuable out of all the
tool used by accountants, that public accounting Microsoft Office suite products. Rebman et al.
firms are emphasizing an interest in recruiting (2019) found that certifications help prepare
accounting students with proficiency in Excel, and students to compete in competitive job markets
they want to hire new staff who know MS Excel. and showcase their marketability while they are
still in school.
Lee et al. (2018) reviewed job postings and
surveyed accountants. They found that over 50 Most of the studies involving Google Sheets were
percent of postings required spreadsheet skills, focused on introducing a new alternative to Excel
specifically MS Excel. They found that most or how to apply Google Sheets to classroom
accountants felt that spreadsheet skills were very instruction. For example, Parra et al. (2021)
important. Their study even identified specific created a teaching case to teach cloud-based
skills in MS Excel such as ‘Lookup and Pivot Google Sheets using Shippy Express. The goal of
Table’, ‘Data entry, format, and calculations’, and the teaching case was to have students use
‘Logic’ as necessary for new hires. Their results Google Sheets to develop summaries of their
further indicated that “educational institutions financial transactions to help them make
should place emphasis on spreadsheet training decisions. Blair and Mahoney (2022) present a
for accounting students, if they have not already method for using Google Sheets to provide a
done so” (Lee et al., 2018). step-by-step system for creating graphs for
research designs and clinical applications.
Many of the studies on how to teach spreadsheets Ovezmyradov (2020) illustrated a way to use
to students are predominately focused on Google Sheets to teach the classic supply chain
Microsoft Excel. Barreto (2015) provided an beer game.
interesting review of Microsoft Excel pedagogical
history in Economics. They found spreadsheets There were a few studies that conducted
improve learning outcomes across the Economics comparison studies. Lawson et al. (2009) to 1600
curriculum and are increasingly being used. His subjects and put them into two groups of
article was relatively unique in that it did not focus spreadsheet level and found that people with
on a specific application or example which is more spreadsheet experiences and training did much
common in the literature. Barreto (2022) also better. They also found that corporate culture
published a paper using Microsoft Excel to teach played a role and those who valued training had
microeconomics. more advanced users. It was unclear if other
companies relied on new hires to have
In addition to Economics, studies were found for spreadsheet experience. This was one of a few
using Microsoft Excel to teach in other domains. studies by the Spreadsheet Engineering Research
For example, Divisi et al. (2017) presented a Project
paper on statistics and how Microsoft Excel has (http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/spreadsheet/)
functions to help with learning statistical and focused on Microsoft Excel.
processes. Chaamwe and Shumba (2016) wrote
a paper using Excel to teach statistics in an e- However, the lack of research on spreadsheet
learning environment. Khan (2007) wrote about usage has not gone unnoticed. Grossman (2007)
using Excel to teach physics. Al Rawahi et al. commented on the lack of spreadsheet research
(2006) demonstrated Excel in math. Munisamy in comparison to research on other programming
(2009) showed how Excel could be of benefit to languages despite its wide use and impact on
operations research. Willis (2016) implemented business. Today there are still gaps in
Excel in accounting information systems. spreadsheet research, specifically as it relates to
Mangeiro et al. (2010) provided an example of a determination on the more preferred
using Excel in a financial management class. spreadsheet software of business, and trends in
Conant and Chaille (2022) created an excel-based spreadsheet skills, knowledge, and abilities.
classroom exercise to demonstrate an asset There is a fair amount of Reddit chat boards or
depreciation method comparison. simple blog reviews and not so much in peer-
reviewed research. This study seeks to address
this gap in research.

Position Description Analysis and displacement of spreadsheet applications and the

Curriculum Development emergence of Google Sheets as a competitor in
Current literature has examined methodologies the spreadsheet application market, it is
faculty can use to determine if their programs are important to study its demand in comparison to
adequately preparing students for their current the demand for Microsoft Excel in position
workforce environment. Downey et al. (2008) descriptions and understand how the changing
mentioned that examining job postings was an work environment may be impacting employer
excellent method to determine the in-demand expectations. Concomitantly, understanding the
industry skill and tools. This approach was changing expectations of employers can help
supported in Harper (2012), McArthur et al. faculty in higher education respond to that
(2017), and Munmun et al. (2022), who similarly change to maintain student preparation to
found that examining job postings can perform in the workplace. This study uses
successfully enhance the understanding of the position analysis to determine if faculty should
industry's expectation for particular skills and consider updating courses to include Google
tools and as well as the employment Sheets as part of the future curriculum as well as
environment. Harper (2012) and McArthur et al. measuring demand for particular analysis skills
(2017) discussed the importance of reviewing that can be performed using spreadsheets.
position announcements in a specific area where
the industry demand is emerging. Overall, job The literature review demonstrated the link
advertisements can successfully show the hiring between data analysis skills and spreadsheets.
trends, labor demand analytics, and specific skill (Formby et al. (2017); Treadwell et al. (2013);
requirements, and can be the most effective and Coleman and Blankenship (2017); Raglan and
reliable resources to design curriculum within and Ramachandran (2014); and Lee et al. (2018)).
across courses (Ahsan et al., 2013; Carnevale et Specific skills considered in the literature included
al., 2014; Carnevale et al., 2014; Diamond et al., the ability to create spreadsheets, charts and
2014; Frankenfeld, 2017; Hirudayaraj & Baker, data analysis. This led to the question of how
2018; Meyer, 2017; Reeves & Hahn, 2010; important these skills are currently. The first
Rosén, 2014; Stanton, 2017; Templin and Hirsch, research question and hypotheses are:
2013, Wellman, 2010).
1. Do employers consider having the ability
Desai & Von Der Embse (2001) and Uğur & Hamit to create spreadsheets, charts, and analyze
Turan (2019) suggest strategies to develop data to be an important skill for students
effective curriculum based on practitioner surveys and new hires in 2021 as compared to 2019?
built on the existing curriculum literature and job
postings, one of which focused on concentrations H1: The prevalence of general spreadsheets
and the other on academic departments and knowledge, skills and abilities for new hires is
industry to collaborations to understand current significantly higher in 2021 than in 2019.
and future emerging needs. proposed a
"synergistic approach" to employ both integrative H1a. The prevalence of data analysis knowledge,
and intensive strategies in higher education skills and abilities for new hires is significantly
program development. The authors focus on higher in 2021 than in 2019.
"assessing industry trend for specific IT". This
"assess industry trend" means to find out the H1b. The prevalence of developing charts
promising tools and skills associated with them, knowledge, skills and abilities for new hires is
then assessing how complex/difficult they are, significantly higher in 2021 than in 2019.
alignment with student body, and local industry
needs to determine what should be included in The literature review also discussed the strengths
curriculum. and weaknesses of Microsoft Excel and Google
Sheets as tools (Simplilearn, EDUCBA, and
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STUDY WallStreetMojo.com). These strengths and
weaknesses are important based on the
This study seeks to understand the trends in expectations of the position.
employer perception and value of spreadsheet
skills and preference using employer position While it is important to study the overall
analysis. Specifically, the study compares expectations of spreadsheets knowledge, skills
employer expectations between Microsoft Excel and abilities, specific tool knowledge is also
and Google Sheets. To provide a context, the important. Given that Microsoft products have
study also sought to determine the significance of been on the market longer, it may be expected
data analysis skills. Given the historical that Microsoft Excel would be listed as a required

or preferred knowledge, skill or ability more often chain, logistics, economics, human
than Google Sheets. Thus, the next research resources
question and hypothesis are: • Degree restriction: Bachelor’s required or
preferred
2. Do employers prefer Microsoft Excel skills • Experience restriction: Two years or less
over Google Sheets skills?
This extraction resulted in 21,398 non-duplicated
H2: The prevalence of MS Excel knowledge, skills position descriptions of which there were 5,970
and analysis is significantly higher than Google positions for 2019, 7528 for 2020, and 7900 for
Sheets in positions posted. 2021. There were 284 remote positions posted in
2019, 2160 in 2020 and 1794 in 2021. Table 1
Since Google Sheets was initially designed as a shows the breakdown in position descriptions that
collaborative tool (Simplilearn, EDUCBA, and requirements for general spreadsheet, data
WallStreetMojo.com), it may be considered a analytics and collaboration skills.
stronger collaborative tool than Excel. Although
collaboration is an expectation in the workplace in COLLAB- DATA SPREAD-
general, the increase in remote work during 2020 YEAR ORATION ANALYTICS SHEETS
and 2021 may have created a demand for the 4047 1061 4378
ability to collaborate electronically including using 2019 (43%) (11%) (46%)
tools such as Google Sheets. 5502 1426 5777
2020 (43%) (11%) (46%)
Thus, it seems relevant to analyze if there is 5672 1646 6402
correlation between the spreadsheet tools and 2021 (41%) (12%) (47%)
work environment expectations such as
TOTAL 15221 4133 16557
collaboration and working remotely. The next
Table 1: General Skills Requirements 2019-
research questions and hypotheses studied were:
2021
3. Do employers who list positions as remote
prefer Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets? The positions were analyzed using text extraction
to identify the keywords relevant to the study.
H3. There is no significant correlation between The keywords used for the extraction tool were
collabor* for collaboration, remote to identify
remote work environments and preference for
remote positions, Microsoft+Excel,
Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets in posted job
positions. Google+Sheets, data+analytics, visualization,
charts and or graph for charts; pivot+tables,
4. Do employers who list collaboration as a statistics and/or data+analysis for data analysis;
required or preferred skill prefer either and spreadsheets for spreadsheets-general. If a
keyword was found in the position description,
Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets?
the observation was coded with a 1, and 0
H4. There is a higher correlation between otherwise. The final list of variables was YEAR, MS
collaboration skills and Google Sheets than for EXCEL, SHEETS, REMOTE, COLLABORATION, and
collaboration skills and Microsoft Excel. DATA ANALYTICS.
Several statistical methods were used to address All the variables except YEAR were coded as
binary (0,1). The breakdown in positions that
and provide a response to the four research
specific Microsoft Excel and/or Google is shown in
questions. We analyzed job postings from
Indeed.com for the years 2019 to 2021. Table 2. Figure 3 presents the most frequently
occurring software requirements overall job
Indeed.com is a free service to job seekers, postings over the years 2019-2022 and illustrates
where employers post position openings and how Excel has held a steady rate while Google
applicants can upload a resume, create job alert Sheets experienced an increase between 2020
and 2021. It is important to note that many
emails, search for jobs, save them and apply to
people were forced to work remotely in parts of
them directly. (Indeed.com, 2022) Positions were
extracted from the indeed.com data using the 2020 and 2021.
following requirements:
• Position Keywords: accounting,

management, information systems,
marketing, sales, operations, supply

MS GOOGLE a correlated skill for remote work than Excel.

YEAR EXCEL SHEETS BOTH Similar results were found for collaboration. The
3587 1243 957 correlation matrices can be found in Tables 3, 4
2019 and 5.
(61%) (21%) (18%)
4546 2008 1395
2020 Overall Correlation Matrix (2019, 2020
(57%) (25%) (18%)
4724 2899 1715 and 2021)
2021 Tool Remote Work Collaboration
(51%) (31%) (18%)
TOTAL 12857 6150 4067 Google
0.038 0.17
Sheets
Table 2: Positions mentioning MS Excel,
Google Sheets and/or both. Microsoft
0.014 0.16
Excel
Table 3: Overall Correlation Matrix
Correlation Matrix for 2019

Tool Remote Work Collaboration
Google
0.002 0.12
Sheets
Microsoft
0.0024 0.11
Excel
Figure 3: Most Frequently Occurring
Table 4: Correlation Matrix for 2019
Software Requirements
The variables were analyzed using parts of the Correlation Matrix for 2021
approach in Uğur, & Hamit Turan (2019). Since
Tool Remote Work Collaboration
all the data is binary, the statistical analysis used
Google
t-tests for those hypotheses that compared pairs 0.019 0.16
Sheets
of data and correlation for the hypotheses that
Microsoft
focuses on relationships between values. 0.013 0.13
Excel
Table 5: Correlation Matrix for 2020
4. RESULTS
The t-tests comparing Google Sheets demand to
The data variables analyzed in the study were MS
MS Excel demand had a p-value of .000 with
EXCEL, GOOGLE SHEETS, SPREADSHEET-
means of .3 and .6, respectively. The t-test
GENERAL, REMOTE, CHARTS, COLLABORATION,
comparing Google Sheets demand, MS Excel
and DATA ANALYTICS.
demand, data analytics demand, and
spreadsheet-general demand between 2019 and
A correlation matrix was created for the variables
2021 found all the comparisons to be significant
to determine the strength of the relationship
with p-values of .000 with higher means for 2021
between remote work, collaboration and the two
than for 2019.
tools. The correlation between remote work and
Google Sheets was .038 as compared to .014 for
The last t-test compared the 2019 and 2021
remote work and MS Excel indicating that Google
demands for general spreadsheet skills, data
Sheets was a slightly more preferred tool than
analysis and charts. The results indicate higher
Excel for those working remotely. Similarly, the
demand in 2021 than in 2019 for each as follows:
correlation between collaboration and Google
Sheets was .17 as compared to .16 for
• Data analysis had p-value of .000 with
collaboration and MS Excel, indicating that Google
means of .6 and .45, respectively
Sheets was a more preferred tool than Excel for
• Charts had p-value of .000 with means of
those positions stating collaboration as a required
.56 and .31, respectively
or preferred skill – but not by much.
• Spreadsheet-general had a p-value of
.000 with means of .7 and .56,
However, when the correlations were performed
respectively.
by year, the correlation between remote work and
Google Sheets increased from .002 in 2019 to
Based on the results, all hypotheses can be
respectively to .019 in 2021 as compared to
accepted. However, for the question of
.0024 in 2019 to .013 for Excel and remote work
prevalence of MS Excel or Google Sheets, it
indicating that Google Sheets is growing faster as
should be noted that based on the trend analysis,

Google Sheets demand is growing slightly faster Further, 2020 and 2021 represent the two years
than MS Excel as a knowledge, skill or ability and with most companies asking workers to work
that growth is correlated with growth in remote remotely due to a pandemic. This may artificially
work. impact positions’ demand for remote work and
collaboration. We also intend to examine the
Further, the results also suggest that faculty 2022 data to determine if the trends found for
should be cognizant of the trends for increasing 2019 through 2021 continued in 2022.
demand for data analysis skills and spreadsheets
skills in general, as well as the increase in Although the data was validated with three people
demand for collaboration skills and the number of reviewing a random selection of the observations
positions that allow for remote work. There for algorithm accuracy in extracting results, it is
should be curriculum consideration of a balance likely there are other keywords that were missed
between face-to-face and remote work in that might suggest a preference for specific data
programs to ensure students become comfortable analytics or analysis skills.
with both. Also, faculty should analyze and ensure
sufficient collaborative projects that require Another limitation is the scope of this study.
online and face-to-face interactions to help Examining job postings only partially answers the
students build collaboration skills in both question of which software program should be
environments. Lastly, faculty should examine the taught. Companies have cultures to which have
depths and applications of data analysis and their own norms and behaviors and can influence
spreadsheet skills throughout the curriculum to decision making. Surveying employers on their
ensure that students are exposed to a variety of software preference, value, and adoption could
skills including but not limited to statistical also help provide more answers as to what should
analyses such as trend, descriptive statistics, and be taught.
regression; pivot tables; and effective chart and
graph techniques. Lastly, previous studies (Bakir et al., 2019;
Rebman et al., 2021; Tastle et al., 2017) have
As to whether there should be an emphasis on discussed Microsoft Excel certification curriculum
Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, though, the programs and their impact on producing strong
answer is less definitive. Although Microsoft Office Excel knowledge workers. Future research would
365 was introduced in 2011, it has increased its be helpful to determine if employers reported the
collaborative tools with Teams and OneDrive, and having the same perception and value of MS Excel
offers multiple ways to share documents. certified employees. It would be interesting to
However, the ability to simultaneously edit combine the results of employer preference to
documents in Google Suite is probably one of the employer perceived value of certification and
reasons that demand for Google products is compare it with employer job postings. Such are
increasing. Further, this analysis was a national questions we learned from this study that we plan
view rather than a regional view. Faculty are to address in the future.
encouraged to analyze the position descriptions
for their regions to determine if the national 6. CONCLUSION
results hold true for their specific region.
This study was conducted as a response to
5. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH questions regarding curriculum, specifically
whether Microsoft Excel should be taught or
This study provided a US-based lens for specific replaced with Google Sheets. The results
skills for new university bachelor-level graduates. reinforce previous studies in that MS Excel is still
While a national view is helpful, individual preferred over Google Sheets, at least in terms of
campuses would benefit from an analysis based job postings. The increase of remote jobs
on the student population it serves. For example, indicates that Google sheets should not be
if the student population is largely regional, then disregarded. As companies determine their new
a regional perspective is needed. If the student normal, there may be increased demand for
population has a significant percentage of products that promote and support collaboration
international students, then a global perspective the way Google products do.
should be considered. This is perhaps the highest
limitation of the study. The data is also from one As technology changes, it is important that faculty
source. One of our next steps is to analyze the analyze regional or local trends to determine if
data by states or cities and compare regional their respective curriculums adequately address
expectations. knowledge, skills and abilities required by
employers. However, there doesn’t appear to be

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Appendix 1. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets Comparison
Software MS Excel, 1987 Google Sheets, 2006

Developed By
Certification YES, MOS NO, discontinued
Languages 91 Languages 83 Languages
Expensive, Office 365 online Cheap. Free. Business

Price
$8.25 a month subscriptions is $5 a month
As data size increases,

Large Data
Ideal for large data sets Google slows down. More
Sets
suitable for small datasets.
No default to share file users Google Sheet default set up

Collaboration must set up for
connection collaboration
Chatting Not Available Available in sidebar
Tracking Available, but manual Automatically available
Online/offline Can be used on &offline Can be used on and offline
Maximum 2 million cells

Cell Quantum Around 17 billion cells available
available
Number of supports limited

Supports 400 functions
Functions functionality
Tool for
Superior for data visualization Only simple chats, Gantt or
Statistical
since many formulas are built-in a flow chart must be done
Analysis &
in Microsoft Excel. manually
Visualization
Seamless and Excel is easy to use, needs File automatically

easy to use manual file save. saved to Google Drive
Has built in macros, custom

Usage of Google Sheets has just
macros, VBA or find premade
macros added macro functionality
one

Software MS Excel, 1987 Google Sheets, 2006

Developed By
Certification YES, MOS NO, discontinued
Linkage/sync
Data can be imported
with external Data needs to be imported
directly from Internet
data
Appendix 2 Sample list of Experts on Predicting Spreadsheet software (Invenstintech.com)
There is a running joke in BI communities.

“What is the most used feature in any business intelligence solution?”
It is the Export to Excel button.
Excel continues to be the #1 platform when it comes to analyzing data, finding information,
preparing charts and presenting them to decision makers. In that sense, I see Excel playing a strong
role in BI workflows in future.
/* -Purna Duggirala */
Excel will be right where it always has been – at the center, loved by its users, disliked by IT and the
target of endless attempts to replace it by third party BI software vendors.
/*- Chris Webb*/
BI makers understand that Excel is here to stay, it is versatile and works excellently with the web
and BI systems.
/* – Tom Urtis*/
The addition and integration of the new Power BI tools within Excel really opens up the possibilities
for any type of analyst or everyday user to get involved in Business Intelligence.
/* – Jon Acampora*/
Not everyone works with millions of rows of data. What matters to everyone, anywhere, is what
they can do with the data.
/* – Andrew Engwirda */
The user will ultimately define how Excel fits into the BI workflows. It could happen at any point in
the BI process.
/* – Jordan Goldmeier*/


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Information Systems Education Journal (ISEDJ) 21 (5)

ISSN: 1545-679X November 2023

An Industry Survey of Analytics Spreadsheet Tools

Carl M Rebman, Jr.

Loreen Marie Powell

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 29

1. INTRODUCTION review recent position descriptions, survey

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 30

2. LITERATURE REVIEW businesses could suffer from loss of profit or

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 31

In addition to research studies on specific

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 32

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 33

Position Description Analysis and displacement of spreadsheet applications and the

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 34

• Position Keywords: accounting,

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 35

MS GOOGLE a correlated skill for remote work than Excel.

Correlation Matrix for 2019

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 36

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 37

an immediate need to remove MS Excel training Business Students Need?. Journal of

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 38

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 39

Ragland, L., & Ramachandran, U. (2014). comparison of requirements in program

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 40

Appendix 1. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets Comparison

Software MS Excel, 1987 Google Sheets, 2006

Certification YES, MOS NO, discontinued

Languages 91 Languages 83 Languages

Expensive, Office 365 online Cheap. Free. Business

As data size increases,

No default to share file users Google Sheet default set up

Chatting Not Available Available in sidebar

Tracking Available, but manual Automatically available

Online/offline Can be used on &offline Can be used on and offline

Maximum 2 million cells

Number of supports limited

Seamless and Excel is easy to use, needs File automatically

Has built in macros, custom

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 41

Software MS Excel, 1987 Google Sheets, 2006

Certification YES, MOS NO, discontinued

Appendix 2 Sample list of Experts on Predicting Spreadsheet software (Invenstintech.com)

There is a running joke in BI communities.

©2023 ISCAP (Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals) Page 42

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