Google Sheets: When remote work reinvented itself
Google launched Sheets on 6 June 2006. They acquired the technology from 2Web Technologies.
Origin: Google Spreadsheets started as a separate product with a waiting list. It later integrated into Google Apps.
Google Sheets vs. Microsoft Excel
- Excel: powerful with VBA macros, handles heavy datasets.
- Google: accessible, enables real-time collaboration, straightforward.
You don't need billions of rows or cells. What you really need is the ability to work from anywhere.
Excel or Sheets: which is better?
It depends on what you're doing:
- Sheets: collaboration, accessibility, moderate volumes.
- Excel: advanced analysis, massive datasets.
Functions and uses of Google Sheets
What can you do with Sheets?
- Personal and business budgets
- Small databases
- Analysis and statistics
- Task lists and calendars
- Automated email sending
- Activity planning
What Sheets has that Excel doesn't
- Real-time collaboration
- Multi-platform access
- Improved shared experience
What Excel has that Sheets doesn't
- VBA macros
- Heavy data analysis
- Capacity: 1,048,576 rows × 16,384 columns
Sheets capacity: max. 10 million cells or 18,278 columns.
Is it free?
Free version with a Gmail account. Companies with a corporate domain: around €6/user/month (Workspace).
Excel or Sheets?
Whichever you choose, you'll learn both.
- Excel: 30+ years perfecting advanced analysis.
- Sheets: built from the start for real-time collaboration.
What you learn in Excel doesn't all carry over to Google Sheets, and vice versa.
Hard to learn?
No. You need to understand two things:
- How to ask questions of the tool.
- How to read its answers.
The core principle: everything starts with =.
=FUNCTION(range) // example: =SUM(A1:A5)
Conclusion
The more you practise, the more natural that conversation between you and the spreadsheet becomes.
CTAs
- "Book my appointment" – 30-minute networking session
- Related courses: Google Sheets, Apps Script
