At a glance, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access look like they do the same thing. Both platforms have many similarities, which makes it difficult to decide which should be used and when. For starters, both Excel and Access have the ability to store large amounts of data, can run analysis and query tools and perform complex calculations to return needed data.

Both platforms are powerful tools for dealing with data, but if you were to ask a trusted IT Support Company they can tell you that each has clear advantages depending on what kind of data is being managed and what is the end goal for using the data. For example, Excel is a better option for dealing with complex numerical data that needs to be analysed in depth whereas Access is the better choice for managing and maintaining data integrity in a format that can be accessed by multiple users.

There are however many cases in that users can benefit from using both platforms for the same data. This is ideal when you use Access to store data and then Excel to further analyse it.

To help you decide which would be the best program to be used we’ve broken down the benefits of each.

Using Microsoft Excel

Excel is typically seen as a flexible spreadsheet program that can store and analyse large amounts of data in workbooks and worksheets. The platform is optimized for data analysis and calculations. This means that you can create models for analysing data, write simple or complex formulas for calculation, divot data and present the data in a variety of charts and tables.

You’ll typically use Excel for several reasons which include when you need a flat or nonrelational view of your data that is mostly numeric, using PivotTable reports for hierarchical data, creating charts regularly, using conditional formatting icons, colour scales and data bars and finally for performing what-ifs analysis operations for statistical, engineering and regression analysis.

Using Microsoft Access

While Excel is more flexible and better for analysing and calculating data, Microsoft Access is a more convenient platform for working with and managing data. Access also stores data in tables like Excel worksheets, but Access tables are made to be better for doing complex querying on data stored in other tables.

According to companies that offer IT Support in London, Access is the most ideal when it comes to tracking and recording data regularly, and then displaying, exporting and printing subsets of that data. You can also use Access when you want to automate actions you frequently perform to save time.

Access is preferred when you’re looking for less flexibility and more structure for the data. Users can have better control when entering data, placing values that can be entered and specifying how data in a table is related to other data in another table. With that structure and unique identifiers, you can ensure data integrity all while using the quickest way to retrieve and sort data.

You’ll typically use Access for several reasons which include needing to collaborate and share databases with additional security, needing additional tables for data sets that were originally flat or nonrelational, running complex queries and producing a variety of mailing labels and reports.

Using Excel and Access together

As mentioned before, Office 365 Consultants suggest making use of both Excel and Access. It isn’t a matter of which handles data better overall but rather about what the specific needs are for the data. 

There are many scenarios where you will benefit from taking advantage of both platform capabilities. Say you started on Excel with a worksheet that you used to calculate and analyse data, but it’s become too large and complex and now others need to have access to the data. You can now import or link the worksheet to Access and continue working on it. Alternatively, you may have a database in Access that you want to create a professional-looking chart or create a detailed PivotTable report. You can then import that data into Excel to make use of its features that Access doesn’t have.

Whichever platform you began with you can alternate between the two at any time by transferring data from one to the other by copying, importing, or exporting.