How Microsoft Excel Conquered Corporate America

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.

Sarah Holder (0:09)

This week in Las Vegas, a group of elite players faced off to compete for a coveted world championship title.

Dina Bass (0:22)

It really does feel like you're, you know, at Madison Square Garden watching the Nick Starting Five run out. With a little bit less excitement, maybe.

Sarah Holder (0:34)

The competitors enter the arena through a tunnel, pro-sports style.

Dina Bass (0:38)

Everybody runs out to cheers, befitting their celebrity and skill in the world of spreadsheets.

Sarah Holder (0:53)

Yep, that's right. We're talking about the world championship of Microsoft Excel. Dina Bass, who's covered Microsoft for decades and now writes about AI, says since the first competition in 2012, Microsoft excelling has become something of a serious e-sport.

SPEAKER_4 (1:12)

All right, audience, we're going to need your help. We're going to count it down. We're going to start at five. Let's go.

Sarah Holder (1:16)

It even has commentators.

SPEAKER_4 (1:18)

Three, two, one.

Dina Bass (1:21)

Have you ever seen video game speed running where people try to finish a Mario game as quickly as possible? That also has that play-by-play commentary because otherwise, normal people wouldn't understand what's going on. They give them something to solve and you're watching it, but it moves so quickly, you don't know what you're watching.

SPEAKER_4 (1:41)

On the right side of the screen as well, if you're wondering what's flashing on the right side there, those are his keys and his shortcuts. So obviously at this level.

Sarah Holder (1:48)

What you're watching these pro-spreadsheeters do isn't too different from what millions of office workers around the country do every day. Sit at a computer and put numbers into cells.

Max Chafkin (2:00)

The genesis of this competition was financial modeling.

Sarah Holder (2:04)

That's Max Chafkin, who writes for Businessweek and co-hosts the magazine's podcast, Everybody's Business.

Max Chafkin (2:10)

So it used to be a competition to see who is the best at financial modeling, which is of course how most people use Microsoft Excel. And they changed it a couple of years back to make it more accessible. So now what they model are games. But at the end of the day, viewers are like looking at a spreadsheet, like a normal Excel spreadsheet with, and there's like a little mini screen inside, like an inset screen, like on a video game where you see the athlete, you know, clicking the mouse and like, and manipulating the, you know, the cells.

Sarah Holder (2:41)

It's not exactly an NBA game. But watch an Excel wizard input functions at warp speed, and your pulse might start racing, which is not the kind of emotion people usually associate with Excel. Somehow, despite its association with badly lit offices and boring capitalist grunt work, Excel has become one of the most influential computer programs in the world, and not just in the world of eSports.

Max Chafkin (3:10)

Excel is like the most, I think it's like probably the most important piece of software that has ever been created. Basically, like it runs almost every single business, it runs every single non-profit, it runs like any big organization you can think about, is in some sense operating on Microsoft Excel because it's the dominant spreadsheet platform.

Sarah Holder (3:37)

I'm Sarah Holder and this is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. Today on the show, Microsoft Excel is now 40 years old. In an age of AI and Google Sheets, can it last another 40? For many people, Microsoft Excel's classic green and white grid and its seemingly infinite scroll of columns and rows bring up strong feelings.

SPEAKER_6 (4:04)

How do you feel about Microsoft Excel?

SPEAKER_7 (4:07)

I love using it.

Sarah Holder (4:08)

This is something our producer David Fox discovered walking around New York City's Bryant Park during a lunch break.

SPEAKER_6 (4:14)

Do you have a favorite Excel formula or function?

SPEAKER_7 (4:18)

Oh my gosh. I mean, it's really basic, but I love account if or account a. X lookup. HEA is a good one.

SPEAKER_6 (4:25)

I use a lot of if and statements.

SPEAKER_8 (4:26)

I like being able to like copy things, you know, when you just drag the cursor down.

SPEAKER_7 (4:30)

I mean, if you're really a pro, you don't use the mouse, but I will use the mouse just for efficiency.

Sarah Holder (4:37)

Bloomberg's Dina Bass and Max Chafkin say those kinds of reactions are pretty typical.

Dina Bass (4:42)

Excel just symbolizes drudgery, right? It's every workplace movie stereotype. You know, it's the office in Slough. It's office space in your nine bosses. The user interface is dull. It hasn't really changed much.