Excel 2007 / 2010
Excel 2007 is the latest available version of Excel and has been available since the 31st January 2007. Despite it being available for so long now and having been available in beta version for over a year prior to January 2007 it has yet to be adopted in full by most British real estate companies.
Excel 2007, although now complete with a few new great features, 2007 was designed with the ‘new’ user in mind, Excel 2010 refines the new layout even further. Among the issues are:
New user interface, launching the concept of ribbons on all office software (a nightmare if you have spent years learning where everything is on the old system, and need to get a model done quickly)
Visual shortcuts (easier for new users, however it does mean many existing shortcuts are no longer efficient, and some have been lost altogether)
Extra functionality on charts, and conditional formatting (great for the research and reporting, but can seem a bit heavy handed on the new ‘buttons’)
Some new functions (although useful, the same results were possible without them)
16000 instead of 256 columns (potentially very powerful, Bayfield Training has been bemoaning the limited number of columns for years, but crucially it makes 257+ column spreadsheet not backward compatible with earlier versions of Excel)
Last but not least is the cost. We have found that some smaller companies have transferred to or adopted Excel 2007 but only a few companies employing more than 250 people has done so and even then only in selected departments. Of Course upgrading a whole company is a lot more expensive than a few computers. Hence we urge companies to make this not just an IT purchasing decision.Current users of Excel need to be prepared for the transition. They also need to be made aware of the impact that the new spreadsheets will have on their clients systems, and also the impact of clients’ spreadsheets on their own systems.
It is important to start preparing now because once two or three of the largest companies switch to Excel 2007 or jumpt straight to Excel 2010 it will very quickly become an immediate requirement for the rest of the industry.
Bayfield Training can help in a number of ways. We can provide a 2-hour user conference within your firm to familiarise Modellers, Analysts and all other current Excel users on the new features, layout and potential traps in the new software. If needed, we can liaise with your IT department. And of course all of our listed courses can be delivered in the new Excel 2007/2010 format, with comprehensive up-to-date accompanying documentation.
Please contact us in the first instance for advice and assistance with your move to the new software.
