Why Excel is Not a BPM Platform – and What Risks Companies Underestimate

Excel – The Popular All-Rounder with Dangerous Side Effects

Excel is ubiquitous. It’s affordable, flexible, familiar to every employee – and therefore often repurposed: as a planning tool, as a ticket system, as process documentation. The step to also “manage” business processes in Excel seems obvious.

But that’s precisely the problem: Excel is a powerful spreadsheet tool – but not a platform for Business Process Management (BPM). Those who map processes in Excel are relying on a single solution without versioning, without validation, without central governance. What appears pragmatic in the short term becomes a burden for IT and the organization in the medium term.

Process Management Without Governance is Not a Strategy

A BPM platform creates structure, commitment, and traceability. Processes are clearly modeled, versioned, validated, and assigned responsibilities. Excel doesn’t offer this.

In large organizations with several hundred or thousand users, a patchwork quickly emerges without central control: different versions of process lists, manual workarounds, contradictory responsibilities. The result: no reliable process inventory, no central control, no sound optimization possible.

Scaling Limits and Shadow IT: The Invisible Costs

What begins with a few processes quickly grows in breadth. Teams adapt their own Excel logic, maintain macros or VBA scripts to simulate automation. This creates hundreds of individual Excel files – without support, without lifecycle management, often without IT involvement.

The consequences are serious: The IT department loses control, security gaps emerge, redundant data storage and significant effort for troubleshooting or support. The biggest problem: This shadow IT usually stays under the radar – until it becomes a risk.

We know this scenario from over 20 years of project work, including for BOSCH: There, we are regularly confronted with highly complex Excel files as a starting point. In many cases, we develop robust multi-user planning tools based on these, with role-based control, validated data entry, and individually customized interfaces – exactly where Excel reaches its limits.

Security and Compliance Risks in Excel Proliferation

Large companies are subject to strict requirements for data protection, IT security, and auditability. Excel offers no infrastructure for this: No rights management, no audit security, no logging. Data is stored locally, often shared unencrypted, and rarely backed up regularly.

Especially for sensitive processes – such as in the HR department, in purchasing, or in compliance – the use of Excel is a significant risk. Even minor data breaches can lead to massive reputational and liability damage.

Why BPM Platforms Are More Than Just “Software”

A modern BPM platform integrates into the existing IT landscape, scales with the organization’s requirements, and offers more than just process models: It enables automated workflows, clear role and rights distribution, transparent evaluations, and a continuous improvement culture.

Above all, it creates trust: Processes are systematically mapped, centrally managed, and comprehensible for all stakeholders. IT regains control – and the departments get a tool that truly supports them.

Conclusion: Processes Must Be Allowed to Grow – But in a Structured Way

Excel is not a BPM system – and it shouldn’t be one. Those who want to digitize and optimize processes sustainably need a platform that combines scalability, governance, and security.

For IT managers and CIOs, this means: Act now, before the process landscape becomes a black box. Because the longer Excel serves as a substitute solution, the more expensive the later transition will be – both organizationally and financially.

Let’s work together to free your processes from the Excel jungle. In a non-binding workshop, we analyze your current situation – and show realistic alternatives.