Databases can scale as your business grows
Databases can easily handle multiple users
Databases store information accurately and reliably
Databases allow you to avoid redundant information
Databases can process your data in powerful and interesting ways.
Databases are scalable
Database systems are capable of storing and handling gigantic amounts of information, sweden phone number data which is why websites like Google , which have to deal with terabytes (even petabytes ) of data every day, need a database to function.
You may not be dealing with terabytes of data on a day-to-day basis just yet!—but the fact that databases can handle massive amounts of data means that a well-designed database can last for many years as you accumulate more data over time. Your business will only grow, and investing in a database that can grow with you will save you from future headaches.
Databases and Spreadsheets: Scalability
Imagine you’re running an online clothing brand, and you want to track every order that comes in, from the request to the purchase. If you’re a small-scale operation and you’re only fulfilling one to two orders per day, it might be enough to start by tracking your order information in a spreadsheet.
However, as your order volume increases—perhaps your brand becomes more popular, you start offering more types of clothing, you probably need to add more people to your team, and you might need to open brick-and-mortar stores—the sheer volume of data will start to weigh down your spreadsheet, and you may start to experience slowdowns or even crashes. Performance issues with your spreadsheet will only increase if your business continues to thrive for several years. In contrast, databases have much larger storage capacities and are designed to last for the long term.
You can try and start to solve the problem by storing your order information in multiple spreadsheets—but this makes it harder to find the information you need, and creates data redundancy issues .
Databases can handle multiple users
Databases become an even more powerful tool when you need to collaborate with others. Unlike spreadsheets or lists, databases are built from the ground up to support multiple people working together and taking action on a shared set of information. Database management systems also have built-in mechanisms to ensure that data remains consistent even when multiple people are accessing the data at the same time—so you won’t have situations where one person tries to make a change that conflicts with a different change that another person tried to make at the same time.
Additionally, most data management systems also give you the option to control who can access what information, and also who can change that information.
Databases vs. Spreadsheets: Dealing with Multiple Users
Returning to our clothing brand example, as your business grows, you’ll find that you need to bring on more people to scale production. If you’re running your business with traditional spreadsheets, only one person can access and make changes to a file at a time, making it difficult and less productive for all employees. The situation is made even worse if different employees work with different versions of the same spreadsheet, which becomes wildly different as time goes on.
New cloud spreadsheet programs manage to avoid some of the problems associated with conflicting versions and changes, but they also lack the granular access controls that many database management systems offer
