As your commercial enterprise grows and also you want to keep accurate information on a computer beyond what is affordable to do with a spreadsheet program, you should take into account adding database management software program.
Karen Stille placed an awesome comparison of the capabilities of database and spreadsheet software a website, QCISolutions. In summary, she states that:
"As a preferred rule of thumb, databases should be used for records garage and spreadsheets should be used to investigate facts.
"In a nutshell we use a database if...
the information is a large quantity that would come to be unmanageable in spreadsheet form and is related to a specific subject.
you want to preserve facts for ongoing use.
the facts is subject to many changes (change of deal with, pricing modifications, etc. ).
you want to generate reports primarily based at the statistics.
Use a spreadsheet if...
you need to crunch numbers and carry out computerized calculations.
you need to song a easy list of statistics.
you need to without difficulty create charts and graphs of your statistics.
you need to create "What-if" situations.
"In most cases, using the combination of a database to store your commercial enterprise statistics and a spreadsheet to research selected records works satisfactory". (Stille 2009)
Microsoft's broadly-used database management software program is known as get right of entry to, and versions of Microsoft office that use access are to be had for purchase. more statistics is to be had at the Microsoft website online (Microsoft). however, open source database management software is likewise available for free of charge to you. you may wish to study one of the following open supply applications to see if one in every of them meets your wishes:
MySQL (MySQL 2009)
Zoho writer (Zoho 2009)
One of the winning issues with using open supply software program in place of software program you purchase is the level of support you may anticipate from the software program's creator. if you pay for software program, you have got a right to anticipate awesome documentation and aid. If the software is unfastened, sometimes documentation and aid do now not meet the identical standards. a great deal of the aid you get is from the community of customers. As of this writing, the worldwide community for get entry to is lots large, and there are many books written about it. The open supply databases are simply as useful, but locating statistics and aid may be a greater tedious method. but, consistent with the Gartner group, a distinctly-respected generation research enterprise based totally inside the US, open supply database control software is becoming greater attractive. In a document released in November 2008, they made the following observations:
"At some stage in 2008, on the grounds that our remaining note about open-source database management structures (DBMSs), we've seen an boom within the hobby and use of open-source DBMS engines in a manufacturing environment. As this fashion keeps to advantage velocity, the value benefits of the use of an open-supply DBMS is growing and the chance of the usage of it's far decreasing.
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