The Evolution of

The Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet is a modern tool, but its roots are deeply entwined with the history of human
innovation. Learn the spreadsheet’s origin story — and find out what the future may bring.

In the beginning...
It all started with a THE ABACUS
need for calculation.
Before Arabic numerals, MMXIV Invented in ancient
people used symbolic times, improved
numerals. MCII computation.
These were pretty, XIV But no one could
but crummy at show their work —
computational math. which is bad for business.

THE RISE OF
ACCOUNTING

1400s
Invention of printing enables the spread 1494
of Arabic numerals and the concept of
place value in arithmetic to Europe. Franciscan monk and mathematician
Luca Pacioli introduces double-entry
bookkeeping to the world of business.

Double-entry bookkeeping spreads

throughout the world via the Venetian
merchants who adopt it.

MATH SPREADS
TO THE MASSES

Around
1622

William Oughtred invents the slide rule.

1800s
Blackboard slates are adopted
widely in U.S. schools.

3+1=4

DAWN OF AUTOMATED
CALCULATION

1885

William Seward 1914

Burroughs files for
his first patent on a
calculating machine. Calculators are in wide
use among commercial
businesses.

1969

1972
Hewlett Packard introduces
the HP-35, the first advanced-function,
pocket-sized calculator. It’s an instant
sensation.

Sharp launches the popular

battery-powered calculator, the QT-8D. 10,000 100,000
units projected units actual
first-year sales first-year sales

THE DESKTOP
COMPUTER ERA

Initially, spreadsheets were all

about efficiency of computation.
1979
VisiCalc is released as the first spreadsheet
program for a computer. 1983
Lotus 1-2-3 is introduced.
1987
Excel and Quattro Pro are introduced.
1990s
Spreadsheets become more user-friendly.
People begin using them to manage
work beyond computational efficiency.

CLOUD CAPABILITIES
DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE

1990s
ISPs greatly expand bandwidth
capabilities, enabling cloud computing 1999
apps to offer business-ready speed and
efficiency.

2000
Amazon Web Services offers a suite of
cloud-based services, including: Salesforce.com is a key pioneer of
delivering enterprise applications via
a website - known as cloud computing.

Storage Human intelligence through Computation

Amazon Mechanical Turk

SPREADSHEETS DOMINATE
THE WORKPLACE

2010

2013 500 MILLION

people worldwide were using
BUSINESS EMBRACES Microsoft Office alone.
THE CLOUD 94% market penetration rate of Microsoft Office suite
8%
of businesses report no Many businesses turn to Google
plans to use cloud-based
applications Apps to provide additional
spreadsheets with much-needed
49% collaboration capabilities.
say they’re either
heavily using cloud
apps or running at least
43%
are developing or
some applications in beginning to implement
cloud projects
Also
the cloud

60% of spreadsheets have no formulas — meaning

spreadsheets are used to manage much more than
Yet the biggest spreadsheet providers continue just computational work
to add features focused on data analysis
So spreadsheets are still overwhelmingly used
to manage work, and cloud-based collaboration is
firmly entrenched across enterprises.

CHARTING THE FUTURE

Tomorrow’s spreadsheets must satisfy

Collaborating Managing tasks, Organizing everything Using familiar,

in the cloud not just numbers in one place intuitive tools

The spreadsheet is here to stay. The only question is …

Who will make the best one?
Try the spreadsheet application of the future now at www.smartsheet.com/future

Sources:
Gleeson-White, Jane. Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Shaped the Modern World. W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcalculator.htm
http://americanhistory.si.edu/teachingmath/html/release.htm
http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator.php
http://books.google.com/books?id=Gj4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/book/sheets/sheet.html
http://www.dailytech.com/Office+2010+to+Launch+Today+Microsoft+Owns+94+Percent+of+the+Market/article18360.htm
http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/A-history-of-cloud-computing
http://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/management-software/can-google-apps-unseat-microsoft-in-the-enterprise.html
http://www.rightscale.com/news_events/press_releases/2013/rightscale-2013-state-of-the-cloud-survey-reveals-a-cloud-value-imperative.php
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-best-new-features-in-excel-2013/#.