What Is Microsoft Excel | What Is MS Excel
Excel Database | Excel Spreadsheet
Microsoft Excel – A Powerful Spreadsheet & Custom Application Development Tool
Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used spreadsheet applications worldwide, available across platforms including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Known for its powerful functions, data visualization tools, pivot tables, and macro programming capabilities, Excel has long been the industry standard for analyzing and managing data.
Since surpassing competitors like Lotus 1-2-3 in the early 1990s, Excel has become a core tool in the Microsoft Office suite and remains a cornerstone of business productivity.
But Excel is more than just a spreadsheet — it's also a highly flexible custom application development platform. Organizations use it not only for data analysis but also to build custom business tools when off-the-shelf software is too expensive or lacks key features.
Excel as a Development Platform
Excel’s development power comes from Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a built-in programming language that allows for:
- ✔️ Automating repetitive tasks
- ✔️ Creating dynamic, interactive tools
- ✔️ Integrating with databases and external systems
- ✔️ Building user-friendly applications with ActiveX controls
- ✔️ Using DAO (Data Access Objects) and ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) for robust data manipulation
This makes Excel an incredibly powerful platform for small business tools, reporting dashboards, and custom workflow automation.
Excel Version History & Expertise
Microsoft Excel has undergone major updates over the years, each adding features, improving performance, and expanding compatibility. Here is a summary of key Excel versions:
- Excel 1.0 – Released in 1985 (Mac), 1987 (Windows)
- Excel 2.0 – 1987 (First version for Windows)
- Excel 3.0 – 1990
- Excel 4.0 – 1992
- Excel 5.0 – 1993 (Introduced VBA support)
- Excel 95 (Version 7.0) – Released in 1995 (32-bit Office integration)
- Excel 97 – Released in 1997 (VBA 5.0, IntelliSense)
- Excel 2000 – Released in 1999 (Improved web features)
- Excel 2002 (XP) – Released in 2001
- Excel 2003 – Released in 2003
- Excel 2007 – Released in 2007 (Introduced Ribbon UI, XLSX format)
- Excel 2010 – Released in 2010 (Sparklines, improved PivotTables)
- Excel 2013 – Released in 2013 (Cloud integration, Flash Fill)
- Excel 2016 – Released in 2015 (Power Query, more collaboration)
- Excel 2019 – Released in 2018 (Dynamic arrays, new charts)
- Excel for Microsoft 365 – Continuously updated (Latest features including LAMBDA, XLOOKUP, Python in Excel)
At Winning Solutions, Inc. (WSI), we’ve been working with Excel since Excel 2.0. Our developers have extensive experience with every version of Excel, including the latest Microsoft 365 updates.
Why Choose WSI for Excel Development?
Whether you need a new custom Excel application, VBA automation, or integration with SQL Server, WSI has the expertise to build reliable and scalable solutions for your business.
Contact us today to discuss your Excel development needs and learn how we can transform your spreadsheets into powerful business tools.
Articles on Microsoft Excel Programming
✅ ARTICLE 1 — What Is Microsoft Excel and Why Businesses Still Depend on It
✅ ARTICLE 2 — Microsoft Excel as a Custom Application Development Platform
✅ ARTICLE 3 — Excel VBA: The Engine Behind Automation and Intelligence
✅ ARTICLE 4 — Microsoft Excel Version History and Why Experience Matters
✅ ARTICLE 5 — Why Choose WSI for Custom Microsoft Excel Development