It might seem surprising, but a significant majority of managed service providers (MSPs) still rely heavily on spreadsheets for critical business functions. While incredibly versatile, using tools like Excel for core operations presents substantial, often overlooked, risks. Experts in the industry are vocal about the dangers this practice introduces, highlighting how it can impede growth and compromise security.
One of the most pressing concerns is data security. Spreadsheets are notoriously easy to share, lack granular access controls, and sensitive client information or company financials stored within them are vulnerable to accidental deletion, corruption, or unauthorized access. This reliance creates a fragile foundation susceptible to breaches and compliance failures.
Furthermore, scalability becomes a major hurdle. As an MSP grows, managing complex data, multiple clients, and increasing service demands within disparate spreadsheets quickly becomes unwieldy. They become slow, difficult to navigate, and maintenance becomes a time sink. This lack of robustness actively hinders an MSP’s ability to scale efficiently.
The potential for errors is also dramatically amplified. Manual data entry is prone to mistakes, formulas can break unnoticed, and tracking changes or maintaining version control across multiple users is incredibly difficult. These inaccuracies can lead to incorrect billing, service delivery failures, and poor decision-making based on flawed data.
Beyond security and errors, spreadsheets limit collaboration and integration. They aren’t designed for real-time, multi-user environments, creating bottlenecks and data silos. Integrating spreadsheet data with other essential MSP tools like ticketing systems, RMM platforms, or accounting software is often cumbersome or impossible, leading to duplicated effort and inefficiency.
Ultimately, while a familiar tool, relying on spreadsheets for core MSP operations introduces significant vulnerabilities, hinders efficiency, limits scalability, and prevents the kind of data visibility needed for strategic growth. It’s a practice that carries substantial risk in today’s complex and demanding IT service landscape.
Source: https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/msp-security-playbook-kevin-lancaster/
